Hokitika Museum celebrates Archaeology Week
Exposed Histories at Mahitahi / Bruce Bay
Kāti Maahaki, Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio, Poutini Ngai Tahu, Hokitika Museum, Department of Conservation
In 1985 archaeological remains were discovered in an exposed midden near Heretaniwha Stream in Mahitahi/Bruce Bay. Department of Conservation archaeologist Ray Hooker and Kevin Jones excavated the midden and documented the artefacts, six of which were deposited at Hokitika Museum.
To mark NZ Archaeology Week 2024, Hokitika Museum arranged for the artefacts to revisit their place of origin at Mahitahi/Bruce Bay. The selection of adzes, grindstones and a drill tip were presented at a wānanga that followed the Anzac Day commemorations at the Marae on 25 April. With a good crowd in attendance, it was an opportunity to reconnect the artefacts with iwi and share knowledge about the tūpuna that created them.
In a joint presentation, Hokitika Museum Director Laureen Sadlier examined the role of museum collecting practices, and Ngati Maahaki historian Paul Madgwick explained the settlement and significance of Mahitahi to the people of Makaawhio. DOC heritage advisor Tom Barker interpreted the archaeological data for the area, which included the excavations of Haast in 1868, Hooker and Jones from the 1985 dig, and the Ngai Tahu Heritage Unit work led by Brian Allingham in 1999.
An interesting discussion followed as people remembered working on the dig with the DOC archaeologists twenty-five years ago. The Heretaniwha archaeological site is one of many known in the area, and excitement mounted when a previously unknown midden site was mentioned by an older resident.
Laureen Sadlier noted that the event was an important milestone for Hokitika Museum, ‘As kaitiaki of these taonga, it is crucial to keep these connections warm and alive. A museum collection should never grow cold’.
Photos and Text – supplied by Hokitika Museum
