MAORI LOAN EXHIBITS

Grey River Argus, 26 September 1944, Page 2

MAORI LOAN EXHIBITS

MANY INTERESTING ADDITIONS. Many interesting additions have been made to the Canterbury Museum’s travelling loan exhibit of Maori relics from Westland, now on view at Reefton, and concluding at Westport next month. With the addition of artifacts from as far south as the Haast river, and as far north as Karamea, much new information is being gained on the old Maori trails of early Westland. A rare type of fish-hook sent by Mr J. Mattson, Haast, is in the form of a small “minnow”, cleverly shaped in slate. A bone barb would originally be lashed on to the “tail” of the minnow, and the hook trolled in lure fashion to take voracious fish such as Kahawai. This hook type possibly came into use as much as 1000 years ago, and had been out of use several hundred years before the arrival of the Pa'keha. From Okuru comes an adze of best quality greenstone loaned by Mrs J. Dennehyi, and adzes of granite and greenstone, the latter greatly discoloured by age, found by Mr C. Eggeling among Maori ovens on an inland beachline overgrown with large forest trees. The most striking addition is an unusually large and perfect specimen of the stone club or patu (the mere is the same club in greenstone) ploughed up at Rotomanu by Mr J. Ryan. As portions of two others were also found, the site was probably th e scene of one of the frequent battles between the Ngai-tahu of Canterbury and the earlier Westland tribe whom they dispossessed about the seventeenth century. The Cannibal Gorge at Maruia was also the scene of a battle between invaders from Kaikoura, and the Mawhera Maoris, in which the latter pursued and exterminated the raiders. Few relics have come to light as yet from this area, but two adzes from this district come from Mr W. Williscroft. Several fine adzes from the Grey district came in when the exhibit was under the. supervision of Messrs E. L. Kehoe and R. Barrowman, and these will be on display in the Canterbury Museum when the travelling exhibit is completed. To date the lower Inangahua, between the Junction and Cronadun, seems to be richest in Maori finds, and there are fw farms, broken in from the bush, where adzes were not found. This must have been on the chief overland route between the Buller and the Grey, and it is surprising how many valuables the Maoris contrived to lose in the course of their travels to and fro. Small collections from here have been added by Messrs J. D. Andrew, J. K. Silcock, A. W. Bell and Della Vedova.

These include a large, well-made adze from the latter, a large piece of part-ly-worxed greenstone from Mr Bell, and two rather similar greenstone pendants, from Mr Silcock, and from Mr Andrew. These are in the form of a small, thin-bladed adze, with sharpened edges, and are drilled at the top for suspension. It is.gratifying that so many pieces can still be made available for display and study, but in many cases the Museum authorities hear the usual story of rare pieces, perhaps found in inaccessible spots on which one would wonder why Maoris ever ventured, given away to some passing enquirer and now unable to be traced. The Canterbury Museum authorities are eager and willing to take into safe custody all suefi relics, to be held for the enjoyment of. the Canterbury public in the meantime, and eventually to be returned to some properly constituted provincial Museum for Westland.