MOA BONES FIND

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3440, 8 March 1932, Page 5

MOA BONES FIND

FURTHER PARTICULARS. CAVE ALMOST CLOSED UP. On Saturday Mr. R. Milne and a party of settlers made a visit of inspection to the cave where the moa bones were found by Mr. E. Phillips. The journey to the scene of the find is a rough one, over four miles being done on horseback and l 1 miles on foot through extremely rough country. The bones were in a moderately good state of preservation, and five complete skeletons of moas were found at intervals as the party proceeded along the cave. It. is impossible to arrive at any conclusion as to the time the bones were lying in the cave. The bones were not those of large birds, but tfie present stalactic and stalagmatic formation inside the entrance to the cave had almost closed the aperture, and this must have been three times the present size when the moas entered the cave. As history does not record that the Maoris, who first came to New Zealand six centuries ago, had ever seen a moa, the bones found in the cave must be thousands of years old. About six chains away another cave was found, traversed by a subterranean stream. In this was found the bones of a full-sized moa. The thigh bone measured two feet, and there was a large pelvis bone. These bones were considerably blackened by the action of the water and earth. It was decided not to disturb this cave in any way till the advice of a qualified ornithologist had been obtained. Where the Puroa Stream runs through the district there is another large cave extending 30 chains in from the stream. There are some beautiful chambers and limestone formations in this cave, but no moa remains were found there.

In all three caves the stalactites and stalagmites give off a musical and resonant sound when tapped by the knuckles. The locality of these caves is typical of the limestone outcrops of the King Country. The only previous find of moa remains in this locality was at Piri Piri, above the Marakopa Falls, where the Maoris found some odd specimens of bones.

In a number of caves in the district complete Maori skeletons have been discovered on ledges, the theory being that these are the remains of the dead and wounded of retreatingforces during the inter-tribal fights, placed there to hide them from the enemy.