Explore Doubtless Bay’s past at Butler Point archaeological open day

Doubtless Bay residents and holiday makers will have a unique opportunity to discover the area's local heritage. Photo / NZME

Local residents and holidaymakers in Doubtless Bay will have a one-off opportunity to experience some of the area’s bicultural history first-hand on January 9.

A free open day – part of an archaeological excavation at Butler Point – will take place on Thursday, January 9, between 10am and 2pm at 31 Marchant Road, Hihi.

The community-based excavation is being led by Mangōnui-based archaeologists Justin Maxwell and Jennifer Huebert, with volunteer support from local iwi and Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

The excavation will focus on a gently sloping area on the Butler Estate close to the beach. Previously almost impenetrable, several large flame trees and scrub were removed in 2024 enabling the area to be archaeologically investigated.

“We found some 19th century European materials on the ground’s surface after the removal of the vegetation, along with a Māori midden which had been uplifted by the flame trees over time,” says Maxwell.

“We undertook a surface survey, mapped the artefacts and probed the sub-surface while leaving remaining vegetation and slash in place to protect any other surface artefacts or features that may be present. The vegetation will be carefully removed as part of the excavation.”

The surface artefacts – including handmade bricks and fragments of window glass consistent with the early 19th century – confirmed the presence of an early European structure. The midden also showed that Māori were living on or near the terrace prior to that.

Known as the ancestral landing place of the waka Ruakaramea and its captain Moehuri, the Mangōnui Harbour was once home to a large Māori population which is reflected in the large number of archaeological sites and features found around the Mangōnui area and adjacent Doubtless Bay.

Three significant pā – Rangikapiti on the south head of the harbour entrance, Rangitoto on the north head, and Moehuri on the Butler Estate – overlook the harbour entrance. Together they formed a network of sites that would have observed, and probably also controlled, access to Mangōnui Harbour and the waterways beyond.

“The waters here provided plentiful marine resources, and the geology and soils of the area were favourable to Māori settlement and growth,” says Maxwell.

“The area also became a key focus of early Māori-European interactions starting with visits from whaling ships obtaining provisions and timber in the late 18th century.”

With the different layers of human habitation and interaction in mind, the excavation will investigate evidence for Māori occupation and use of the area; as well as colonial-era European and/or Māori occupation; the characteristics of the occupants; the activities they were undertaking at the time; and how people interacted with other residents and visitors here.

“Although there has been some surface disturbance, it is likely that intact subsurface archaeological features will still be present – and it is these that will help us answer some of our research questions,” he says.

As well as being an extensive archaeological landscape of importance to Māori, Mangōnui was also a place where early interaction between Māori, Europeans, and Americans occurred, as well as being a place of early foreign settlement.

“We also have two broader goals. We want to engage the local community and increase people’s understanding of the heritage and archaeological values of the sites at Butler Point while also working with iwi participants to help Ngāti Kahu increase the skills of their cultural monitors,” he says.

“This area has the makings of a compelling archaeological excavation, and we are looking forward to sharing what we find.”