Archaeology of the Bay of Plenty

Archaeology of the Bay of Plenty Garry Law Published by Science & Technical Publishing Department of Conservation PO Box 10420, The Terrace Wellington 6143, New Zealand Cover: Old sulphur mine with HMNZS Mako in the background, White Island, 1960. Crown copyright: Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai. Individual copies of this book are printed, and it is also available from the departmental website in pdf form. Titles are listed in our catalogue on the website, refer www.doc.govt.nz under Publications, then Science & technical. © Copyright June 2008, New Zealand Department of Conservation ISBN 978–0–478–14429–1 (hardcopy) ISBN 978–0–478–14430–7 (web PDF) This text was prepared for publication by Science & Technical Publishing; editing by Lynette Clelland and layout by Amanda Todd. Publication was approved by the Chief Scientist (Research, Development & Improvement Division), Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. In the interest of forest conservation, we support paperless electronic publishing. When printing, recycled paper is used wherever possible. CONTENTS Abstract 5 1. Introduction 6 2. Scope 6 3. Sources of information 8 4. A short history of settlement 10 5. Natural history of the Bay of Plenty area 13 5.1 Geographical and geological setting 13 5.2 Volcanic and tectonic activity 14 5.3 Erosion and deposition periods 18 5.4 Coastal stability and processes 19 5.5 Stone resources 21 5.6 Soils 22 5.7 Vegetation 22 5.8 Terrestrial fauna 24 5.9 Marine fauna 25 5.10 Freshwater fauna 25 6. Anthropology in the Bay of Plenty 26 6.1 Ethnography 26 6.2 Traditional history and archaeology 27 7. Chronological issues 29 8. Resource use 31 8.1 Maori resource use 31 8.2 European resource use 37 9 Maori settlement pattern and character 40 9.1 Archaic occupation 40 9.2 Later prehistoric occupation 43 10. Specific areas 59 10.1 Athenree/Katikati 59 10.2 Ruahihi 64 10.3 Matakana Island 65 10.4 Papamoa 68 10.5 Kohika 71 11. Historical archaeology 73 11.1 Contact period 74 11.2 The ‘Musket Wars’ 76 11.3 New Zealand Wars 79 11.4 Colonial settlement 83 12. Conclusions 98 12.1 Summary 98 12.2 Research issues and opportunities 100 12.3 Constraints to research 102 13. Acknowledgements 103 14. References 103 15. Glossary 121 Appendix 1 Site surveys 123 Appendix 2 Recorded archaeological excavations 126 Appendix 3 Radiocarbon dates 130 Appendix 4 Faunal associations 141 Appendix 5 Cultural tourism and archaeology in the Bay of Plenty Conservancy 143 Archaeology of the Bay of Plenty Garry Law PO Box 87311, Meadowbank, Auckland 1742, New Zealand Email: [email protected] Abstract This report summarises the state of knowledge of the archaeology of the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, and reviews research themes and priorities of the past and for the future. The Bay of Plenty is favoured as a place to live today, but this has not always been the case. Its first settlement by Maori seems to have been sparse, whereas there are numerous sites from the later pre-European occupation period. The early economy was based around the marine resources and soils, which were well suited to cultivation of kumara. The first European visitors took relatively little interest in the region as it generally lacked the gold and accessible timber resources that drove early growth elsewhere, and cobalt-deficient soils made pastoral farming unattractive in much of the area. The development of improved transport resulted in greater growth, and pastoral farming increased as the lowlands and swamps were drained. In the second half of the 20th century, exotic forestry, energy and horticulture were the main drivers of growth in the region, which now has a rapidly increasing population. All of these stories are illuminated by the archaeology of the region, and there is great potential to tell more. To do this, research strategies and plans need to focus on gaining a better understanding of Maori settlement and resource use away from the coast, examining the factors leading to the widespread adoption of pa from about AD 1500, and making better use of the archaeological material arising from mitigation excavations of Maori sites. Comprehensive recording of historic archaeological sites is also needed. Keywords: archaeology, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Tauranga, Whakatane, Maori, settlement, resource use, mining, forestry, transport, energy © Copyright June 2008, Department of Conservation. This paper may be cited as: Law, G. 2008: Archaeology of the Bay of Plenty. Department of Conservation, Wellington. 149 p. 5 1. Introduction The Bay of Plenty, in the northern North Island of New Zealand, seems to be a particularly well-favoured region today, with its mild climate, fertile soils, good energy availability, and its attractive coastline, inland lakes and rivers. However, it has not always seemed as such to human settlers. Volcanic eruptions, extensive wetlands, poor access, sparse mineral wealth, a lingering war and soils deficient in a key trace element (cobalt) hindered its use until quite recently. Archaeological study can elucidate the history of the region, from its earliest Maori settlement and through the phases of development that followed their arrival and the arrival of the first Europeans. For archaeological sites of Maori origin, there is a fairly comprehensive set of data available. Some outstanding work has already been done, but additional and better work is required in some areas. This report summarises what is known and indicates where more knowledge is needed. There is a much smaller body of archaeological work for the historic period (after the arrival of Europeans). This report compares the small amount of survey work that has been undertaken with the extensive potential for further work, as indicated by the written historical record. 2. Scope This report summarises the state of knowledge of the archaeology of the Bay of Plenty Conservancy of the Department of Conservation (DOC). Research themes and priorities of the past and for the future are reviewed. The intention was not to undertake new fieldwork or research. The boundary of the conservancy includes the offshore islands Mayor Island (Tuhua), Motiti, White Island and Moutohora (sometimes called Whale Island) (Fig. 1). On the mainland, the boundary of the study area starts just east of Ohiwa Harbour and follows a catchment boundary until the Urewera Park boundary is met. It then follows the western side of the Park south until State Highway 5 is met, at which point it follows State Highway 5 back towards Taupo. Before Taupo, it diverts along minor roads to the Waikato River at Broadlands. The boundary then follows the Waikato River to Atiamuri, follows State Highway 1 through Tokoroa and Putaruru, and then diverts on to the Waihou River. It leaves that river boundary near Paeroa to follow the northern boundary of the Kaimai/Mamaku Park until it reaches the sea. The area includes the reserve land north of Waihi Beach. 6 �� Figure 1. Bay of Plenty Conservancy, Department of Conservation. The boundaries of the conservancy are not particularly satisfying either from a cultural or topographic perspective, but more or less follow the Bay of Plenty region as it is conventionally understood. In Maori terms, the boundaries cut across several rohe (tribal boundaries). In modern administrative terms, the area includes only the western part of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, and includes all of Tauranga, Western Bay of Plenty, Kawerau and Rotorua local government areas but only parts of several more. Only parts of the Coromandel goldfields are included. Topographically, the area includes only some of the islands in the Bay from Coromandel to East Cape, and only some of the inland volcanic landscape. 7 3. Sources of information TablE 1. Total This study has largely drawn on the site record files in the New Zealand numbER of sitES Archaeological Association (NZAA) Site Recording Scheme, published reports REcordED in thE BAY and the large corpus of unpublished writings about the area. OF PLENTY AS AT 2002. The region falls into six filing districts of the NZAA scheme. No file area SITE numbER is entirely within the conservancy, but the Bay of Plenty file covering New Zealand Map Series 260 sheets U13–16, V13–18 and W13–16 has by far Maori 7905 the greatest proportion of sites. As at February 2002, there were 8259 sites Non- Maori 354 recorded in the conservancy area (Table 1). Total 8259 Appendix 1 gives details on the site recording that has been undertaken in the past and more information can be found in an unpublished working paper for this project (Law 2002a). The dominance of Maori sites in site records is artificial, as much less effort has been made in the systematic recording of historic (since the arrival of Europeans) archaeological sites. Many sites have been excavated in the region. Appendix 2 lists

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