16. What can we learn about New Zealand's first settlers from the archaeological excavation at Poukawa, near Hastings?
- Kerry Paul
- Jun 13, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 22, 2025
Archaeological Artefacts
1.1 Artefacts Recovered from a Dig at Poukawa
In 1930, professional surveyor Russell Price conducted a survey at Poukawa, 20 km south of Hastings, to construct a canal outflow for Lake Poukawa. The goal was to provide flood protection and reclaim land for pasture. During the excavation of the drainage channel, Price discovered leg bones of moa standing upright in the soil—without torsos or heads.
Intrigued, he hypothesized that this was evidence of moa hunters and returned to search for further proof. He conducted exploratory digs in 1956 and carried out a detailed excavation in 1962, reporting his findings to the New Zealand Archaeological Association in 1963. Price was assisted in his excavations by scientists from the University of Auckland and the DSIR (Department of Scientific and Industrial Research).
Price uncovered fragmented moa bones and stone tools made from black stone and red quartz, materials not found in the region. Two layers of volcanic ash provided immediate clues to the age of the artefacts. The upper layer was from the Taupō eruption in 186 AD, while the lower band originated from the Waimihia eruption (an earlier Taupō eruption) around 1400 BC. Artefacts found beneath these volcanic ash layers indicated human presence prior to the eruptions, as volcanic ash typically seals everything beneath it.
In 1964, soil scientist Allan Pullar (DSIR) joined Price in further analysis. Charcoal and pollen samples collected from beneath the ash layers led them to conclude that human beings had been present in New Zealand for at least 3,300 years.
Despite their findings, the conclusions were challenged and not widely accepted. The reasons for this opposition remain debatable. However, several practical arguments support the presence of human habitation prior to 1280 AD:
The estimated population of moa in New Zealand around 1300 AD ranged from 58,000 to 2.5 million.
By 1440 AD—just 150 years later—all nine species of moa were estimated to be extinct.
Given that early Māori settlers arrived in relatively small numbers, primarily in the upper North Island, it would have taken multiple generations for their population to grow enough to hunt moa to extinction across the entire country.
The rapid extinction of moa suggests that New Zealand must have been inhabited by significant numbers of humans well before 1300 AD.
These statements raise a series of questions:
If moa numbers were of this scale in 1300 AD and there were relatively few Maori spread around the country, then why did the birds become extinct in 150 years?
Were there large numbers of inhabitants in New Zealand long before the arrival of the Maori and they were largely responsible for the moa becoming extinct? Who were New Zealand's first settlers?
A series of videos by Martin Doutre explores the work of Richard Price and the controversy surrounding his findings. For those interested in an in-depth study of this topic, the following links provide further information:
Video Series on Richard Price's Discoveries:
Which archaeological artefacts found in New Zealand have origins that remain uncertain or subject to debate? Can you identify any?
Your next read in the series: 17. Could these ancient artefacts—the Pouto Ki Rongomaraeroa carving and Tamil Bell—hold the key to uncovering early connections between New Zealand's first settlers and distant civilisations?
