Shirt a Phobia

Sample Page

Palliser Bay is at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand, to the southeast of Wellington. It runs for 40 kilometres (25 mi) along the Cook Strait coast from Turakirae Head at the southern end of the Remutaka Ranges to Cape Palliser, the North Island’s southernmost point. The coastline is exposed to the weather and winds.[1]

Inland from the bay is the plain of the Ruamāhanga River, which has its outflow in the bay. This river flows through Lake Wairarapa, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the coast.

There are several notable geographical features in the area, including the Pūtangirua Pinnacles, Kupe’s Sail and the Whatarangi Bluff, the erosion of which has had dramatic effects on the coastline. Some of these cliffs are made of mudstone and are therefore easily eroded, and sometimes collapse.[1]

Archaeology

Palliser Bay is an important Māori archaeological site. Stone rows raised for cultivation along the eastern shore of Palliser Bay, noted by archaeologists as early as 1904, hinted at historic horticulture practices. The first major excavations were undertaken between 1969 and 1972.[2] Early writers suggesed the Tini o Awa people, or their contemporaries the Kāti Māmoe or Waitaha people may have built these stone rows.[3][4]

The purpose of the stone rows is not clear. The prevailing idea is that the stone was a by-product of gardening and was re-used to mark the edges of the plots.[5] Another suggestion is that the stones were mined and lined up for the purpose of building rows not necessarily for gardens.[6] Terrace gardens on the slopes are thought to have housed vegetation for majority of the time Palliser Bay was settled.[7] Kumara and gourds are the most plausible vegetation in the gardens, as these can withstand cooler temperatures, mature in <12 months, and can be stored for longer periods of time in pits. It is also suggested that one of the purposes of the stone rows is that it creates protection for sprouts.[7] Although kumara is the best fit as a staple food, it does not last all year in storage, so the Palliser Bay settlements needed another source of food.[8]

Quantities of foreign raw material found during examinations of Māori archaeological sites revealed a network of historic communication through Cook Strait.[9] An adze was found on a long beach ridge in Palliser Bay, locally known as the Great Wall, in 1970. This beach ridge has been modified with stone walls and kumara gardens before European settlement. Small adze, fishhook tabs of moa bone, chert, and obsidian flakes are commonly recovered at the beach. The adze found at the Great Wall had unusual dimensions in a New Zealand context, but were similar to those found in the Tuamotu Islands, Lower Cook Islands, Austral Islands, and the Society Islands in tropical Polynesia. The adze was made from basaltic rock which could be from the Cook Islands or from New Zealand.[10]

Sea mammal hunting was common around New Zealand, but difficult in Palliser Bay because of the lack of adequate weather resulting in less frequent marine hunting. Compared to other coastal archaeology sites, Palliser Bay had a wider range of sea mammal species such as New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri), dolphins (either dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) or common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), baleen whales (Mysticeti), pilot whales (Globicephala melaena), New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri), and southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina). However, there was no abundance of these species so were an unreliable food source. Palliser Bay exhibits both hunter-gatherer and horticulturalist systems at work at the same time. This does not fit the archaeology interpretation of New Zealand dichotomy of this time. [11]

A suggestion is that these small communities were most active from AD1150 – AD1500.[8] However, more recent findings through carbon dating revealed the bay was first settled in the 1300s, with evidence for six separate communities on the eastern side with a total population of about 300.[12] Because these groups were so small, its theorised that the six settlement sites may have been the same group who just travel in-between seasons to escape inhospitable weather conditions.[8] Another thought is that the six small groups were parts of a larger aggregate, and may have convened every so often for trade and/or marriage.[8]

The Washpool Valley was once full of native bush, but after over 800 years of significant forest fires (slash-and-burn) a grassy valley with a shingle river formed. Because there was no more dense forest it became harder to have bush birds, rats, and berries as a food source.[13] There was also hardship with shortening growing seasons for kumara and gourds due to the arrival of the Little Ice Age (AD1650), having an increase of lower temperatures, frequency of heavy rainfall, and unsettled stormy weather. Because of this, erosion of the Makotukutuku River was sped up and pushed sediment into shallow coastal waters, agitating shellfish and decreasing their populations. This could have added to the settlement abandonment between 1550 and 1625.[14] There were eight fishing lure shanks discovered that were made of moa and sea mammal bone, although some argue that moa were not hunted in this region.[13][8]

Sites in Washpool Valley in the Palliser Bay area date back to around ~AD 1180 – AD 1550.[15] A variety of fish species were found in small numbers, but are still seen in the environment today including the tarakihi (Cheilodactylus macropterus), red codling (Pseudophycis bachus), and barracouta (Thyrsites atun).[13] This is unique as the rest of New Zealand typically only has very few fish species, but with high populations. Shellfish species such as blackfoot pāua (Haliotis iris), maihi (Melagraphia and Diloma spp.), radiate limpet (Cellana radians), cat’s eye snail (Lunella smaragda), brown rock shell snail (Haustrum haustorium), cooks turban snail (Cookia sulcata), pipi and tuatua (Paphies spp.), are thought to have made up the bulk of a shellfish diet for early Māori communities.[13]

Species commonly hunted from the rocky inshore areas at Black Rocks in Palliser Bay are fish such as greenbone (Odax pullus) and wrasses (Pseudolabrus spp.). There were also birds like the fluttering shearwater (Puffinus gavia), huttons shearwater (Puffinus huttoni), red-crowned parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae), and less commonly domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris). Further discoveries show that eight shellfish species in this area were heavily collected and exploited: maihi (Melagraphia and Diloma spp.), radiate limpet (Cellana radians), cat’s eye snail (Lunella smaragda), dentate limpet (Cellana denticulata), blackfoot pāua (Haliotis iris), yellowfoot pāua (Haliotis australis), and crayfish (Jasus edwardsii). [16]

It is difficult to know for sure how this impacted shellfish populations and how quickly their numbers dropped as their growth process is complex. Other possibilities as to why these populations declined so much are environmental change, cultural preference, or sampling effects (higher possibility in archaeology depending on whether it is possible or desirable to excavate as a whole in areas difficult to get to, like at Black Rocks).[16]

In the 12th–13th century, crayfish populations were over-collected which caused their numbers to diminish, and today still have not recovered. This decrease in available food and the ongoing difficulty of growing crops may have lead to the eventual abandonment of east Palliser Bay. Although the marine resources at Palliser Bay are thought to have been exploited, it is inaccurate to think that the Māori communities at Black Rocks were ignorant or unsympathetic to the need for shellfish conservation.[16]

The settlements were abandoned some time between 1550 and 1625, from a combination of falling temperatures which made agriculture more difficult, deforestation through fire, and soil erosion smothering shellfish beds.[17] Summer seasons between AD1450 and AD1800 were unpredictable with temperatures ranging from 4°C – 30°C. Only half of the season was adequate for shellfish collecting and inshore fishing, with strong wind swells lasting days made it difficult to canoe or handline fish, and gardens needing very stable shelter to be successful.[15]

European settlement

Circa 1844 painting of Palliser Bay by Samuel Brees

Palliser Bay was the site of an early whaling station at Te Kopi, until the 1855 earthquake made the harbour unusable. The coast was largely abandoned but for a few cottages, and access was around the coast from Wellington.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Schrader, Ben (11 June 2015) [29 March 2007]. “Wairarapa places – Palliser district’“. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  2. ^ Leach, Helen (1976). Horticulture in prehistoric New Zealand : an investigation of the function of the stone walls of Palliser Bay (PhD thesis). University of Otago. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  3. ^ Smith, S. Percy (1904). “The Occupation of Wai-Rarapa by Ngati-Kahu-Ngunu”. The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 13 (3(51)): 153–165. ISSN 0032-4000.
  4. ^ Adkin, G. Leslie (1955). “Archaeological Evidence of Former Native Occupation of Eastern Palliser Bay”. The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 64 (4): 450–480. ISSN 0032-4000.
  5. ^ Leach, Helen (1976). Horticulture in prehistoric New Zealand : an investigation of the function of the stone walls of Palliser Bay (PhD thesis). University of Otago. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  6. ^ McFadgen, B.G. 1980a. A stone row system at Okoropunga on the southeast Wairarapa coast and inferences about coastal stone rows elsewhere in central New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Science 23: 189–197.
  7. ^ a b Leach, H M (February 2001) [1979]. “The Significance of Early Horticulture in Palliser Bay for New Zealand Prehistory”. In Leach, B.Foss; Leach, Helen M. (eds.). Prehistoric Man in Palliser Bay. Bulletin of the National Museum of New Zealand. Vol. 21. Wellington: Museum of New Zealand Bulletin. pp. 241–249. ISBN 978-0-9951384-1-4.
  8. ^ a b c d e Leach, B. Foss (February 2001) [1979]. “Prehistoric Communities in Eastern Palliser Bay”. In Leach, B. Foss; Leach, Helen. M (eds.). Prehistoric Man In Palliser Bay. Bulletin of the National Museum of New Zealand. Vol. 21. Wellington: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. pp. 251–272. ISBN 978-0-9951384-1-4.
  9. ^ Leach, B. F. (13 May 2010). “Four Centuries of Community Interaction and Trade in Cook Strait, New Zealand”. Mankind. 11 (3): 391–405. doi:10.1111/j.1835-9310.1978.tb00668.x.
  10. ^ Leach, F; Sheppard, P; Parker, R. “A Polynesian Adze from Whatarangi, New Zealand”. Archaeology in New Zealand. 40 (2): 12–17 – via NZ Archaeological Association.
  11. ^ Smith, Ian W.G (February 2001) [1979]. “Prehistoric Sea Mammal Hunting in Palliser Bay”. In Leach, B. Foss; Leach, Helen M. (eds.). Prehistoric Man at Palliser Bay. Bulletin of the National Museum of New Zealand. Vol. 21. Wellington: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. pp. 215–224. ISBN 978-0-9951384-1-4.
  12. ^ Schrader, Ben (1 March 2017). “Wairarapa region – Māori settlement”. Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  13. ^ a b c d Leach, B. Foss (February 2001) [1979]. “Excavations in the Washpool Valley, Palliser Bay”. In Leach, B. Foss; Leach, Helen. M (eds.). Prehistoric Man in Palliser Bay. Bulletin of the National Museum of New Zealand. Vol. 21. Wellington: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. pp. 67–136. ISBN 978-0-9951384-1-4.
  14. ^ Leach, B. Foss; Leach, Helen. M (February 2001) [1979]. “Environmental Change in Palliser Bay”. In Leach, B. Foss; Leach, Helen. M (eds.). Prehistoric Man in Palliser Bay. Bulletin of the National Museum of New Zealand. Vol. 21. Wellington: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. pp. 229–240. ISBN 978-0-9951384-1-4.
  15. ^ a b Leach, B Foss (1981). “The Prehistory of the Southern Wairarapa”. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 11 (1): 11–33. doi:10.1080/03036758.1981.10419449 – via Tandfonline.
  16. ^ a b c Anderson, A. J. “Prehistoric Exploitation of Marine Resources at Black Rocks Point, Palliser Bay.”. In Leach, B. Foss; Leach, Helen. M (eds.). Prehistoric Man in Palliser Bay. Bulletin of the National Museum of New Zealand. Vol. 21. Wellington: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. pp. 49–65. ISBN 978-0-9951384-1-4.
  17. ^ McLean, Gavin (2013). “Palliser Bay”. NZ History. Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  18. ^ Scott, Mark (May–June 2011). “The Beach”. New Zealand Geographic (109).
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Palliser Bay at Wikimedia Commons
  • Te Ara – article on the Palliser Bay area