Occasional Publications in Archaeology No. 1 Planning a Future for New Zealand War Sites and Landscapes Nigel Prickett & Rick McGovern-Wilson (Eds.) 6 July 2009 ISBN 978-0-908577-90-3 (online) Table of Contents 1 Introduction: historical context and archaeological record – Nigel Prickett ..............2 2 The regions..................................................................................................................2 3 The sites ......................................................................................................................4 4 The historic landscape...............................................................................................11 5 Condition, loss, and threats to historic sites and landscapes of the New Zealand Wars – InSitu Heritage Ltd..........................................................................................11 5.1. Recorded archaeological sites of the NZ Wars.................................................11 5.1.1 Methodology...............................................................................................11 5.1.2 Recorded sites .............................................................................................12 5.1.3 Site location ................................................................................................14 5.2 Current condition, loss and threats.....................................................................15 6 References.................................................................................................................15 7 The Catalogue – compiled by InSitu Heritage Ltd ...................................................16 Auckland..................................................................................................................16 Bay of Plenty............................................................................................................17 East Coast.................................................................................................................26 Hawke’s Bay............................................................................................................28 Nelson ......................................................................................................................33 Northland .................................................................................................................33 Taranaki ...................................................................................................................36 Waikato....................................................................................................................63 Wanganui/Lower North Island ................................................................................85 Cover image: Te Porere Redoubt in the Central North Island (NZHPT). 1 1 Introduction: historical context and archaeological record – Nigel Prickett The New Zealand Wars of the 1840s and 1860s-70s were part of Maori–Pakeha conflict over land (whenua) and sovereignty (rangatiratanga) which began earlier and has continued to the present day. The wars were central to this country changing from the Maori land it was for hundreds of years, to one dominated by Europeans. Historian James Belich (1996: 249) refers to ‘swamping’, in which Maori were simply outnumbered by the newcomers. In 1858, two years before the major conflict began, Maori and Pakeha each numbered about 60,000; at the end of the 1860s Maori were one in five of 300,000 New Zealanders; by the end of the century Maori made up only one in twenty of the country’s population. War led directly to the confiscation of large tracts of North Island Maori land and indirectly to the further dispossession of weakened and divided tribes at the hands of the Maori Land Court. To understand the present we must know the past. War was at the heart of a process of expansion and dispossession that has defined our country for 150 years. In today’s renegotiation of the Pakeha-Maori relationship there is no escaping reference to the New Zealand Wars and its results. The primary purpose of the project is the production of a report on the current condition, loss, and threats to historic sites and landscapes of the New Zealand Wars. This will enable the NZHPT, along with other agencies responsible for heritage management (through the Resource Management Act 1991 and other mechanisms) to prioritise and plan for the protection of historic sites and landscapes relating to the wars. The following catalogue lists war sites currently recorded in the New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) Site Recording Scheme. InSitu Heritage Ltd. collated the information on recorded archaeological sites. The NZAA supported this project by providing access to its Upgrade Project Information Management System. Thanks are also due to the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board, Environment and Heritage Committee, for financial support. 2 The regions Fighting in the wars took place throughout much of the North Island and in one instance in the South Island (see Figure 1 for distribution of recorded sites). Major episodes and campaigns may be summarised as follows (after Prickett 2002). Districts involved are added in brackets where not clear from the campaign title. The Wairau Incident 1843 (Marlborough) The Northern War 1845-46 (Bay of Islands) Wellington 1846 Wanganui 1847 2 Figure 1: Recorded NZ Wars sites, by region. 3 First Taranaki War 1860-61 (north Taranaki) Waikato War 1863-64 Tauranga Campaign 1864 Second Taranaki War and after 1863-69 (north Taranaki) Wanganui and South Taranaki 1864-66 The East Coast 1865-66 (Opotiki, Poverty Bay, Hawke’s Bay) Titokowaru’s War 1868-69 (South Taranaki and Wanganui) Te Kooti’s War 1868-72 (Poverty Bay, Hawke’s Bay, Urewera, Whakatane, Taupo) Parihaka Campaign 1880-81 (Taranaki) The above episodes and campaigns indicate the extent of fighting, or, in the case of Parihaka a military campaign without fighting, throughout much of the North Island. In all named districts there is a legacy of historic landscapes and sites which tell the story the wars. This is especially so in Taranaki with 157 recorded sites (31.2% of the total), Waikato (146; 29%), Bay of Plenty (68; 13.5%) and Wanganui (38; 7.6%) which saw the most considerable or significant or prolonged conflict. Other districts with notable sites or groups of sites include the Bay of Islands, Wellington, Poverty Bay and Taupo. Just as there can be no doubt of the significance of the wars in our history, so the related archaeological sites and landscapes are among our most important historic places. Not surprisingly, regions most bitterly contested at the time are among the places people have most wanted to live in then and since. That is why they were fought over. This puts sites of the New Zealand Wars under considerable pressure today from farming, industry, housing, infrastructure and other development. Not all sites can be preserved. Knowledge of what is out there is an essential first step to good conservation decisions. The catalogue assists in this process. 3 The sites The catalogue content is outlined in the attached introductory notes (pp. 11-15). It is important to realise that the 503 sites listed will not be the total of New Zealand War sites and that there will be many others not yet recorded. In early years the site record scheme included only Maori and not European sites, so that there has been a catch-up needed for the latter. Also, a higher proportion of visible sites, Maori and European, will be recorded than sites with sub-surface remains only. Thus most military sites, notably fortifications, are listed, but many – or most – sites related to the wars but not actually military in nature, are not, such as Maori kainga (undefended settlements) and settler homesteads. Site recording has always depended on the experience and interests of recorders, mostly amateur in early years. Sites lacking surface features require careful observation – often with the assistance of historical research in the period of written records, including, of course, the 19th century New Zealand Wars. Written and pictorial historical records are mostly Pakeha in origin and so are more useful for Pakeha than Maori sites. In recent years sites have been recorded from historical information only, bringing in often significant places that might otherwise fall beneath the radar in conservation planning for the lack of 4 identified physical remains. These were generally not recorded in early years of the site recording scheme. Many sites remain unrecorded. All have an important story to tell. Historically significant places which do not yet have a site record include Titokowaru’s two pa at Te Ngutu o te Manu and Moturoa in South Taranaki, as sites without visible remains. Site types such as Pakeha homesteads destroyed during fighting have only recently attracted attention, notably in Taranaki. All will have particular historical information of the people who lived there. They also tell of the broader process in which they played a part. Most recorded New Zealand War sites are fortifications, including 219 European redoubt, stockade and blockhouse sites (43.5% of the catalogue total) and 160 Maori pa and rifle pits (31.8%). There will be more unrecorded Maori sites than Pakeha, if only because there is better contemporary documentation. Some Maori sites of the period can be difficult to distinguish from older pre-European sites. While earthwork sites have a good chance of survival, wooden