Conservation work under the floor of New Zealand's oldest building has produced a small historic find.
A penny dated 1806, complete with images of George III and Britannia, has been uncovered at the Kerikeri Mission House in Northland.
The house is part of the Kerikeri Mission Station and stands next to the
Stone Store, the country's oldest surviving trading post.
The Historic Places Trust's heritage adviser at the station, Fergus Clunie, said today that the coin was likely to have belonged to a missionary carpenter working on the house in 1821 or 1822.
At the time, the Kerikeri Basin was a place of great tension between local Maori and the missionary settlers, he said.
Ngapuhi chief Hongi Hika, the uncle of Hone Heke, had begun raiding other tribes to the south and the basin frequently became the scene of violence towards captured prisoners, much to the missionaries' discomfort.
"It's intriguing to think that the last time this coin saw the light of day, the clash of cultures on the Early Contact period was in full swing," Mr Clunie said.
"Huge changes were happening in the basin and other parts of the country."
He said the coin would be cleaned and displayed in the house.
- NZPA
