TOKOMARU CANOE ANCHOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19748, 22 September 1927, Page 12

TOKOMARU CANOE ANCHOR.

TAKEN TO NEW PLYMOUTH. RELIC NOW IN MUSEUM. The anchor stone of the Tokomaru canoe, which has for some time been treasured in the raukura at the Parihaka pa, was taken possession of last Sunday by Messrs. W. H. Skinner and W. Gray, who paid a special trip to the settlement for the purpose. By an arrangement with the Maoris it has found a safe restingplace in the New Plymouth museum. The stone is the only authentic relic of the migration of the Maoris to New Zealand 500 years ago, according to Mr. Skinner. For centuries it lay near the mouth of the Mohakatino River, four miles south of Mokau, where it was deposited from the canoe. About 25 years ago, when the Mohakatino Bridge on the Main North Road was being erected,, one of the European workmen secretly removed the stone from its resting-place at the foot of a cabbage tree and buried it. Mr. Skinner, whose anxiety to secure the stone for the museum was known, was blamed by many of the Maoris for its disappearance. A search was made by the late Mr. S. Percy Smith and Messrs. G. F. Robinson and J. Strauchon and they discovered where the anchor had been buried in a hollow not far from its original resting-place. They took it further away and again buried it, with the object, it is understood, of eventually having it put in a place of permanent safety. The anchor stone remained hidden, however, for many years. It was not until a ploughshare struck it a ye.ar or two ago that it was again brought to the light of day, to the great joy of the Maoris.