Excavating the waka

There’s been great excitement among Southland Māori, museum and heritage circles recently, with the discovery of an historic waka, lodged in the wet sands of Omaui, 20km southwest of Invercargill. The partly-buried waka was discovered by Invercargill historian and city councillor, Lloyd Esler in December, when he was out beachcombing. His experienced eye correctly identified the protruding form as something more than a log of wood.

A small group including David Dudfield, Southland Museum & Art Gallery resident archaeologist, local iwi and history buffs excavated the waka and Bluff’s Te Rau Aroha Marae member, Bubba Thompson was excited to see the marks of adze carving on the hull of the retrieved waka. Thompson thought the waka could have originated in the early 1800s, saying it was likely a waka tiwai – a small waka used by local Māori to paddle the bay fishing.

The 3.5m-long waka – probably one of the largest wooden  artefacts found in Southland – was taken to Southland Museum & Art Galllery, where it was immersed in a custom-built water tank filled with a mix of salt and fresh water, to prevent it from drying out and cracking. The waka spent several weeks in the tank before University of Auckland anthropology departmment wet wood conservation expert, Dily Joohns arrived to assess it.

Moving waka to Museum

The excavation and conservation of the waka has been a combined initiative between Te Ao Marama, NZ Historic Places Trust, Southland Museum & Art Gallery and local runaka, and Ngāi Tahu kaumātua, Michael Skerrett met with Ms Johns during her visit. Skerrett agreed that a wood sample should be taken to Auckland for assessment and carbon dating so local iwi could get a clearer picture of the waka’s origin. The waka itself will stay at Southland Museum & Art Gallery.

Dilys Johns says it will take around three years for chemical preservation treatment to be carried out on the waka, and then another year for it to dry sufficiently for museum display, which, says Michael Skerrett, will provide locals with a valuable opportunity to access and learn more about their heritage. David Dudfield meanwhile, says that subsequent Auckland analysis of the wood has revealed that the waka is not made of totara as originally assumed, but of rimu – Dacrydium cupressinum – which makes the waka a rare speciment indeed.