Homeless man knew the treasure he found in a city gully had to be handed in

Sunday, 21 February 2021

A hogback-style worked stone toki was found at the bottom of a gully in Edgcumbe Park, Hamilton, and handed into the Waikato Museum.

New Zealanders are discovering a new-found interest in returning taonga tūturu to their place and people of origin.

The Ministry of Culture and Heritage is working with the Auckland, Waikato and Te Awamutu museums to return seven taonga found in the Waikato and Coromandel Peninsula over the past year.

It included worked wood or carvings, worked stone, patu aruhe or fern root beater, bowls and many toki or adze heads, found around lakes, swamps, parks, rivers and a construction site.

Descriptions of the taonga had been publicly notified but the ministry did not want to release photos of the items until it had a chance to speak to those who wanted to make claims of ownership.

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Waikato Museum director Cherie Meecham, left, with senior registrar Anita Robertson, centre, and curator, tangata whenua, Maree Mills, who help record and register taonga handed in by the public.

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There are 13 current taonga notifications on the ministry’s website from around the country. From 2016 to 2020, there were 271 notifications. One notification could feature several artefacts, the ministry said.

Three toki, or adze, were found by volunteers of the National Wetlands Trust at Lake Rotopiko near Te Awamutu.

Curator, Tangata Whenua at Te Whare Taonga o Waikato, Maree Mills, said in her two years at the museum she had seen interest in returning taonga accelerate.

“I think there are two reasons for that. Firstly, more people are aware of the kawa around a find such as taonga, that they can’t hold on to it and it must be returned.

“And there is more awareness of the spiritual and cultural value of a find.

An example of a toki, or adze, found on a shore of Lake Onoke, Wairarapa, in 2014.

“Also, older people might have taonga in their collection and quite innocently put them online for sale because they don’t want to take them to their rest home.

“They’re usually faced with a barrage of criticism before it’s explained to them, what the process is.”

Under the Protected Object Act 1975, any taonga tūturu found after 1975 were under the automatic, interim custody and care of the Crown.

The Act provided for the taonga to be reconnected with the traditional owners, normally the iwi or hapū in the area the taonga was found.

The ministry said taonga should be taken to the nearest public museum after being found, to be assessed and notified.

In some instances, a finder only became aware of the legislation when they took the taonga to a museum for advice, Mills said.

“The Act also protects any taonga from being lost offshore. You can’t sell protected taonga unless you are licensed and that is a tough process to go through.”

Mills was aware of the seven taonga notified recently by the ministry as some were under the interim care of the Waikato Museum.

One was described as a hogback-style worked stone toki, or adze which was found in Edgecumbe Park in Hamilton.

“A young homeless man who had an interest in glass bottles, was using a stick to poke around in the gully of a stream in the park.

“He found the toki and instantly knew it was not something he should be holding on to. He called me to say he was bringing it in straight away.”

Details supplied by the ministry showed that a patu aruhe, the fern root beater, was found in Onukutara, at a new subdivision in north Hamilton.

“The depositor stated that the taonga was found during a subdivision development in October 2002,” the ministry said.

“A contractor working on the site found it and gave it to the developer, who then handed the piece to Mr Hare Puke who housed it with Nga Mana Toopu O Kirikiriroa Trust.

“The trust later returned it to the family and the piece was then deposited with the Waikato Museum by Hare Puke's son and is currently in the care of Waikato Museum.”

Mills said earthworks for new roads and subdivisions was possibly adding to the number of taonga being found.

The museum could also help people return taonga found before 1975, which were not covered under the Act.

“I had a call from a gentleman in Christchurch whose father had broken in land here in the Waikato.

“He said he was in his 80s and it was time the taonga his family had found on their farm was returned to a specific hapū.

“As a boy he had an interest in archaeology and made a note of where each individual item was found on the farm, which was fascinating for the hapū when it came time to see where the taonga were from.”

Mills said she would work to find a kaumātua connected to the right marae, hapū and iwi where the taonga was found, the same process used by the ministry.

“At the moment we are working with a man who was employed to investigate the iron sands at Taharoa [near Kawhia], he is also ageing and wants to return items to a hapū.”

The ministry said the Māori Land Court was responsible for determining ownership and custody of a taonga, found under the Act.

When multiple claims were lodged, the ministry worked with claimants to find a suitable resolution.

The ministry said people had until May 7, 2021 to lodge a claim for any of the seven taonga publicly notified in February.

The seven notifications from Waikato and Coromandel:

* Opoutere, Coromandel Peninsula. Wooden carving, wooden beater: Found in a swamp or a stream at Ohui about five years ago. Ohui is at the northern end of Opoutere Beach where there is a farm and several lifestyle blocks with swamp and wetlands. The taonga were spotted on a spoil heap and are now at Auckland War Memorial Museum for conservation and care while ownership is determination.

* Edgecumbe Park, Hamilton. Hogback-style worked stone toki/adze: Found at the bottom of a gully in Edgcumbe Park, Hamilton, directly below Charlemont St. In the care of Waikato Museum.

* Karakariki Valley, Waikato. Worked stone: Found sticking up from clay in a stream bed, up river from the waterfall in the Karakariki Scenic reserve. In the care of Waikato Museum.

* Onukutara, Hamilton. Patu aruhe/fern root beater: Found during a subdivision development in 2002. In the care of Waikato Museum.

* Lake Rotopiko, Te Awamutu. Three toki/adze: The three toki were found on the edge of Lake Rotopiko at an archaeological site, by volunteers of the National Wetlands Trust. The toki were brought to Te Awamutu Museum while ownership is determined.

* Lake Mangakaware, Waipā. Four pieces of worked wood; patu aruhe; unidentified carved wooden object; pātuki; patu; toki; kumete: The taonga were found during an archaeological investigation at Lake Mangakaware, Waikato. In the care of the archaeologist finder while ownership determination proceeds.

* Taraheke Pa, Taupiri. Degraded timber with lashing holes, large worked section of wood: Item found during an archaeological investigation of Taraheke Pā and remain under the care of their archaeologist finder at this time.