Opouawe River we found a stone fireplace, four 18-inch long slabs of rock, almost buried by the passage of the years with blackened hangi stones heaped up within. There were three raised-rim pits on the same little plateau, implying that these were occupation rather than kumara storage pits. Along the coastal strips, especially on the northern and southern boundaries of what is now the ‘White Rock’ Station were the distinctive stone walls, mounds and pits associated with kumara not potato gardens —as was formerly suggested by Adkin, from his study of Palliser sites, ten miles southeast of this area. We did not excavate the mounds here or further north at ‘Flat Point’, for we had not yet received permission from those Rangitane elders most concerned but these hummocks were oddly regular, with no apparent reason for their existence, like the mounds examined by G. L. Adkin at Palliser Bay, and found to contain alternate layers of rock and paua, planted there as part of a ritual to ensure a bountiful harvest, or so Mr Adkin concluded. One cannot be sure of the function of the various stone constructions; some are almost circular and have an opening like a doorway as if they had surrounded former hut-sites; others have mounds and apparent terraces within them, suggesting kumara gardens, the mounds being used for drying the tuber and as a means of removing excessively large stones. Although drilling revealed that much stone remained, it was the Maori practice to leave small stones and to add sand and to burn nitrogenous material like manuka to make the ideal soil for kumara. The gravel was left to retain the heat of the sun and so prolong the growing period. Most gardens revealed charcoal-darkened soils, and except at ‘Glenburn’ Station, nearly all gardens seen so far are on relatively new marine terraces with soil that has probably been minerally enriched by recent submersion (i.e., within the last ten thousand years). The geological work done by Dr W. A. Wellman and by Les Singh, a geology honours student at Victoria University, will be of assistance in determining the age of occupation; so far hangi, middens and pits, but no gardens have been found on the two most recent marine-benches. Primary deposits of sea-borne pumice have been located, but none in conclusive relation to garden or occupation sites, so this chronological aid has not yet been utilised. Here again Dr Wellman's (and others') work in dating the different pumice eruptions and in locating and typing various depositions of sea-borne pumice may yet prove an invaluable aid to dating occupation layers. No radio-carbon dating has been attempted yet, nor will it be until we have material found in a relationship that enables us to make generalisations about the region. The ecological surveys made by Geoff Park and others have helped establish the dominant pattern of vegetation, with two significant omissions which we are attempting to fill. The first is, the nature of vegetation in the region before the European came. From a study of the records, from the papers of Wm. Colenso, Wm. Williams, Robert Stokes, Wm. Ronaldson, Wm. Wade and others, it seems that the coast was already largely cleared. The second study is a vegetation count and analysis to establish (on inadequate sampling so far) that species of flax, karaka and ti or cabbage-tree are found in association with habitation sites. A further survey by ‘plane with Professor D. W. McKenzie experimenting with infrared and low altitude photography should help reveal further changes in vegetation and drainage patterns consequent upon man's utilisation of the land. Test drills on garden sites by Dr J. Macnab and others have generally revealed sandy and organically enriched soils, but some walls seem to be built on a haphazard basis, or for no apparent reason, particularly one at least 250 feet long, standing in isolation, about three miles north-east of the Palliser lighthouse. Aerial photography may reveal other human associations in this area; for the development of new techniques makes it possible for the camera to reveal evidence not visible to the naked human eye. A number of flint, obsidian and argillite flake ‘knives’ and ‘cavestones’ have been found by the group. The argillite adzes found by Mr T. Tyer of ‘Tora’ and by others, seem to bear a close affinity with the stone from D'Urville Island quarries; but these samples have yet to be checked to ascertain their source. (Mr Owen Wilkes, a skilled archaeologist, who will be joining the survey in November, has special knowledge in this field.) Similarly, obsidian samples can generally be traced to their sources. This will tell us something of the