The NZAA Council are pleased to announce the successful applicants of the Walton Fund for 2020.
Christina Paterson is undertaking a project to update New Zealand archaeological site records on Stewart Island/Rakiura, specifically focusing on the areas of Port Adventure, Paterson Inlet and the surrounds of Oban. A large majority of sites in these areas were recorded in the 1970s using the historical research detailed in Basil Howard’s 1940s book Rakiura. The majority of these sites have never been officially inspected or have not been monitored since the late 1970s. This project aims to locate and update the records for 36 sites to contribute to a solid base of accurate records for Stewart Island/Rakiura.
Photo above: A view of Paterson Inlet, looking towards Kaipipi where some of the island’s first saw mills were located. This is an idea of the coastline this project will be working around (on a nice day).
Brendan Kneebone, alongside Andrew McAlister, Dante Bonica, Alex Jorgenson, Robert Brassey and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, will survey and record in detail archaeological sites and features located at Home Bay on Rakino Island, the majority of which are under immediate threat of being severely modified, or destroyed, by sea level rise and coastal erosion (and by human fossicking also). In particular, one of the few known, and largely undisturbed, adze workshops in the Hauraki Gulf (R10/709) is under threat. R10/709 and its associated features cover an extensive area from terracing behind the dunes to well into the intertidal area. This site is of huge significance, with the working floors and manufacturing areas (and associated features) offering a large amount of information potential, which can inform about human occupation on the island and the wider Tāmaki region, and can contribute to our understanding of the use of stone resources.
Current extent of R10/709 at Home Bay, recorded from aerial photography.
