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For questions about the excavation, contact archaeology@historic.org.nz
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Video
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View clips of the corduroy track site. The clips are available in mpeg format - and willopen with Windows Media player
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Discovered
in the "Wall St" shopping mall development - a corduroy
track built across this area of muddy Dunedin possibly ca. 1850s |
The Dunedin City Council's plans to develop its new "Wall Street" shopping complex in George Street have unveiled a fascinating piece of early Dunedin history. During archaeological monitoring of developments on the site on 26 and 27 June 2008, a wooden causeway was uncovered by site archaeologist, Peter Petchey. This structure appears to have been built by cutting of local manuka and kanuka timbers using axes and saws, although an identification of the timber species has yet to be undertaken.
The causeway is sitting on the original 19th century ground level and it appears from an analysis of the archaeological stratigraphy of the site that the structure may have been built when the first settlers were arriving in Dunedin in the 1840s to 1850s.
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Approximate
location of corduroy track noted as dark coloured rectangle on the
red development area. |
During this period, Dunedin was sparsely populated with few buildings. The first settlers living in this area occupied muddy ground and would have built structures like this track to cross particularly boggy areas and streams.
Further archaeological work has revealed about 12m of the track. The
track is 4 metres in greatest length on the George St. end and 2m of the
width of the track is exposed at the Filleul St. end. The track continues
under the development site at the Filleul St (see the map above).
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Dunedin was known as Mudedin in the 19th century for good reason. When settlers arrived, much of the area was soft ground lying next to a lagoon with streams running from the hills above today's Princess & George Streets to the sea. Maori pulled their canoes up to where Princess & George Streets lie today and only those settlers with money built on the high areas of the town. The 'town centre' had yet to be formed when this track was built - the need for it demonstrated admirably in these photos - but early settlers eventually focused the centre of town around the Octagon. The Octagon is located about 300m away from the "Wall St." development, and the site of the track.
It was not until the Otago gold rush in 1861 that Dunedin was flooded by miners and commercial enterprises which saw the rapid construction of housing, businesses and roads. The corduroy causeway provides a snap shot into the activities of the first major phase of settlers in Dunedin before the gold rush and the structure itself is believed to be the oldest European archaeological structure found in Dunedin to date. This makes the causeway of not only regional importance, but of national importance.
The NZHPT is currently working with the Dunedin City Council and its contractors to explore options for retaining the track, rather than losing it altogther. For example, this might include undertaking necessary preservation work, lifting and removing it to another location; or covering it over in full, or in part and showcasing it as part of the development thus allowing further appreciation and research at a later time.
Good examples of protecting and including discoveries such as this track within developments can be seen elsewhere in New Zealand - the remains of structures in the former Te Aro Pa in Wellington were preserved in situ and encased within an apartment building (see "Downtown Discovery", Heritage New Zealand, Autumn 2008). Plimmers Ark is another - visit the website for more information about its discovery and conservation.
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