Over the last few years, erosion at Ōkia has resulted in a number of midden blowing out and some very interesting and significant archaeological finds being exposed and excavated.
In late 2007, a wooden structure was excavated, which was later identified as an outrigger float made from totara. It was one of only three known in the country.
Last month, a wooden item was seen poking out of the sand near the same spot where the outrigger float was found. At first, it appeared that it may have been a bailer for a waka but initial excavation revealed that it was much bigger.
The excavation was delayed until more people and resources were available and a couple of days later, a group led by Shar Briden from the Department of Conservation (DoC) and made up of rūnanga members and DoC staff, made the trek down the beach to resume the excavation. After a few hours of digging – and lots of jokes about digging up an old long drop and someone’s dinghy – the first piece came out of the sand. It was washed by Edward Ellison.
Once all the sand was washed away, adze marks and hand drilled holes indicated that we had excavated something special – sections of an old waka.
By the time this issue of Te Pānui Rūnaka is distributed, rūnanga members will have assisted on another excavation at Ōkia – that of a waka hull which has started to erode out of the beach. At this stage, it’s hoped that the conservation of the hull will take place at Ōtākou Marae, providing it’s not too big. Keep an eye out in the next magazine, as I’ll have lots of photos to include.
Edward Ellison holds a washed section of a waka.
From left, Rachel Wesley, Kate Dempsey, Ewan Duff try to identify the object.