MAORI CANOE BUILDERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18298, 15 January 1923, Page 8

MAORI CANOE BUILDERS.

■ '.'■ - - ! -r—■ ! —*»r '-■''. -'.. —*• SELECTION'- OF TIMBER. TOO^S'' ;OF THE ARTIFICERS. '{BY TEE!E&IiAJ?H.'—PKESS - ASSOCIATION.] .'..'•.' . ; ; WELLINGTON. Saturday./; '. A: ; paper /was-;- read, , ; before the /Ethnoip.4. gical, section of'the Science Congress ■ this morning by-Mr. F. V. Knapp, of Nelson, ' on the subject ef -^ Tools : ,of the Tasman Bay Maoris." .Thb/£tate v ' merit in, Hamilton"'. "Maori Art" that! ' war caribe-building" wa-s confined//pririci/: pally:to;.the natives of the East Coaht was j queried by Mr. K"n.ipp, who/ nipn'tioned ' evidences ■■■••'of "old - workshops ..on .the'./Tasman ; Bay; beaches - as" proof that; a flourish- 1 ing war canoe-building industry existed! there.' In past /ages canoes :on that':„coast | were built of tbtiaraj arid ■ allusion .'"'was. made to;the tapriing of certain' suitable/ trees. ; Yoiing ; saplings were /notched, sey- j .-' era! feet/abbve; the ground "to, secure .a j •strip of dry. wood being formed; in the] 'mature / trees /to .'facilitate/'the' hollowing j : out process./ : ; - : :'/.'-/ .•;' i'"-;/ --- -.-/; V- : ' : ■ The fact that stone ■ implements in the j Tasman .Bay--district/Were;-rougher.^arid j , less polished than in the -Noifthern cultural J 'areas, • mi'ght/be due; to' the '■ "that ,j abundant;, supplies of good/ /stone /were 1 available 'locally. ' Most of the. large: adzes arid gouges had been collected and were. in museuriis, and- the'. object of '.the', paper •was/to draw: attention •'to , the rriariy: prtlished, chipped tools/ to which hithertp; little attention -had:|*reen. given.- -^Details by which these might be recognised were given, '~;..//: - .:/.., ..'. ~ -. Mr. .proceeded to suggest,,that 1 the tools' were made -from- chance flakes. '" and not that' "these, were-struck off -in/ different shapes for Serfain purposes:-' The keen eye of the dm iky artificer is.aw at a glance how flakes /could;; bo of service,; -arid hence few wero-w'asted,"' It?.'ihis way the Tasman Bay natives in' use/a wonderful variety, of . makes and shapes which they used in cnnoo-bui/diinr. • ■ Even after/the 'canoe was _ built riiucM ;}emaiued, to to done m/rriaki^^the^ull . smooth."' Stone scrapers were ' necessary as ■well as sandstone rubbers/for sri)oa|hing ' down' a canoe, :; The' figurehead-, -or stern post; bwed: beauty/to, the; open 'finish .'of its 'design., Hrifice drills/and borers ■ were jail-important 'iii.,-carving. work;;; ' The lecturer- classified .these into ,10 d] 8 > tinet -sets. 'Ho also, referred to the bear.i- ---; Itiful greenstone chisels'-which; were; worked-:j 'at a low angle-for shallowijbaryirig.' "V " ; / j