29/04/2025
Moa bones laid out after excavation at Waikari, February 1939. From an upcoming Fairfax Archives auction. https://bid.thefairfaxarchives.co.nz/auctions/5-1RV9S3/archaeology-in-new-zealand
"MOA SKELETONS
DISCOVERY IN SWAMP
MUCH SCIENTIFIC INTEREST
ALMOST COMPLETE SPECIMENS
[ BY TELEGRAPH —OWN CORRESPONDENT] CHRISTCHURCH, Thursday
Five moa skeletons, some almost complete and excellently preserved, have been dug up during the last few days from an area of swampy ground at Waikari and taken to the Canterbury Museum. Another skeleton has been located, but has not yet been unearthed, and there seems to be every possibility that the swamp, on further investigation, may prove to contain largo numbers of specimens. The find appears to be of great scientific interest, as all the bones in each site of excavation are definitely those of one bird. This brings within sight the prospect of securing one, if not several, complete skeletons of individual birds. Value of the Discovery
Such skeletons are rarer than is generally thought; in earlier discoveries of moa bones in swamps, where the largest numbers have been found, the bones of numbers of birds have been heaped together, and composite skeletons, naturally of far less scientific value, have been made from the bones of different birds.
"This is a very valuable find," said Dr William K. Gregory, head of the department of comparative anatomy in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, who is visiting Christchurch, when he saw the bones at the museum.
"The site of the present excavations is not far from that which is described by W R B Oliver in his book "New Zealand Birds" as "one of the earliest and most important," at Glenmark, north of the Waipara river, "Where, about 1867, an immense number of bones was gathered under the supervision of Sir Julius von Haast and transferred to the Canterbury Museum.'' The Waikari site is situated on the property of Messrs. J. and A. Hodgen, Pyramid Valley.
"The discovery that moa skeletons were buried in the swamp was made when a horse belonging to Messrs Hodgen was bogged and died in the swamp last winter. In digging a hole to bury it they discovered moa bones, and some of these were recently brought to the museum by Mr D Hope, of Selwyn Huts.
"Last week-end a party was organised by Mr R S Duff, the acting-curator of the Canterbury Museum, to visit the site. With the aid of a gum spear Mr. Hope located six skeletons, three of which were excavated. The skeletons were all in good order, and two were of large moas. In each case, however, the cranium, or skull, and several of the neck vertebrae were missing. Mr Duff and Mr P J O'Brien, taxidermist at the museum, went to Waikari again, when two more of the skeletons which had been located were unearthed. This time the cranium, in very good condition, was found with one of them." (NZ Herald 10 February 1939)
