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Gisborne Pilot Project
Location of the survey area (NZHPT)
An exciting pilot project has been completed in the Gisborne district.
The Gisborne Pilot Project involved reviewing a sample of archaeological
sites in the vicinity of Tolaga Bay, north of Gisborne which have
been included on the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) Register
of Historic Places, Historic Areas, Wahi Tapu and Wahi Tapu Areas.
The project was led by NZHPT staff working in partnership with the Department
of Conservation (DoC), New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) and
in collaboration with the relevant landowners, managers and local iwi.
The 45 sites that were selected for the study sample are located in the
immediate Tolaga Bay area, and were entered onto the Register in the mid
1980s. They span from the period of first Polynesian settlement in the
14th – 15th centuries A.D, through the time of initial European contact
in the late 18th century. The sites comprise of pa, pits, pit/terraces,
terraces, middens, and gunfighter pa sites.
These sites were registered for their archaeological values, but the
information collected for most of the sites was very limited, often containing
no more than basic location information. As part of the Pilot Project,
all 45 registered sites were revisited. Information was collated and used
to compile a short report for each registered historic place that was
added to the Register Online.
The Gisborne Pilot Project has resulted in helping to raise the profile
not only of the sites in the study, but also of the archaeological and
cultural sites within the Tolaga Bay area.
There are currently just over 1000 archaeological sites on the NZHPT
Register. These sites were generally entered onto the Register as a result
of regional studies, focusing on areas such as Otago, Porirua, Tasman
Bay, the Aupouri State Forest, and the Western Bay of Plenty. The majority
of archaeological sites on the NZHPT Register are of pre-European Maori
origin (midden, ovens, pa, terraces, pits), but there is also a range
of historic sites including military redoubts, goldmining sites and Chinese
sites.
Please note that these sites are on private property. Permission to
access these sites is at the discretion of the individual owners.
Pilot Project Sites
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Terraces along summit of Titirangi ridgeline, Tolaga Bay (NZHPT)
Find out more about the sites in the Pilot Project:
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The Gisborne Pilot Project has helped raise
the profile not only of the sites in the study, but
also of the archaeological and cultural sites within the Tolaga Bay area
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