December 07, 2016
Mangere stone wall relics of Maori horticulture
An Auckland archaeologist has picked a wall-shaped hole in Fletcher Development’s application to modify and destroy archaeological sites in its Ihumatao social housing area development.
Ian Lawlor says the survey filed with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga seems to assume large standing walls on the south section of the property were of European construction.
He says based on their location, structure and orientation, the stone walls most likely date from the period between 1846 to 1863 when Maori ramped up agricultural production to feed the growing settlements at Auckland and Sydney.
The land was confiscated in the 1860s after the crown launched its war on Waikato Tainui.
Pania Newton from Save Our Unique Landscape, which is trying to prevent the developments, says it is becoming clear that commissioners granted consent before the land could be properly investigated by archaeologists.
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