Notes on the Discovery of some Ancient Maori Relics at Parua Bay, Whangarei.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 24, 1891, Page 704

Papers.—1. “Notes on the Discovery of some Ancient Maori Relics at Parua Bay, Whangarei,” by A. J. Millar. “On felling some bush in September last we found two skeletons placed in hollow trees growing not very far apart. A greenstone ear-ring and some eardrops were near one of the skulls. Some giant puriri trees were growing not far from where the skeletons were found, and these we did not cut down, wishing, if possible, to preserve them. When burning the rest of the clearing-off in March, however, the trees caught fire, and several of them were burnt through and fell. Then the other remains appeared to view, consisting of numerous skeletons—charred, of course, and some of them almost calcined. Close to the bones we found several polished greenstone axes or chisels of small size, and some stone sinkers, together with several chips of obsidian, used no doubt in the process of stone-scraping. The remains were found in a hollow situated between two low-lying spurs near the sea. The fact that so many human bones were discovered within an area of little more than two acres leads me to suppose that the hollow puriris have many years ago been made to serve as a depository for the remains of the dead Maori. One of the chisels found is only 1 ½in. long, and barely ½in. in width. It is of greenstone, polished, and semi-transparent. One of the eardrops is a beautiful specimen. It is about 3in.

long, and not thicker than an ordinary penholder. Its colour is a beautiful light-green, and it is as near as possible transparent.”