Bottle Digging Convictions Send Strong Message says Trust

New Zealand Historic Places Trust Media Release
15 August 2001

The New Zealand Historic Places Trust expressed satisfaction today over the conviction of bottle diggers Lance Wilson and Basil Westlake in the New Plymouth District Court for their part in damaging a publicly owned site of national significance.

Wilson and Westlake pleaded guilty to a charge against section 99 of the Historic Places Act that on the 23rd April this year they damaged the archaeological site of Marsland Hill in New Plymouth. The police apprehended Mr Wilson who had been digging by torchlight with a large amount of excavation equipment and provisions that had been brought there for the purpose of digging up and removing historic artefacts. Mr Westlake was located at a nearby motor camp later that evening. Both men confessed to police and said that they knew they should not be there undertaking that activity.

"Marsland Hill is one of the most significant military sites in Taranaki" explained the Trust's Central Regional Manager, Vivien Rickard. "It is an historic reserve, reserved for the people of New Zealand, to commemorate the importance of the site to both Maori and Pakeha New Zealanders. The potential for irreparable damage to both the Maori and European fortifications from unplanned and unauthorised digging for artefacts is enormous, and is tantamount to the looting of New Zealand's heritage."

In his sentencing Judge Christopher Harding considered the appropriate fine to be in the vicinity of $7000 - $8000, which he reduced for both defendants in view of mitigating financial circumstances, and their early guilty pleas. Commenting on the sentence, Dr Rick McGovern-Wilson, Trust Senior Archaeologist, noted: "We are pleased that Judge Harding has recognised the gravity of damaging an archaeological site of this significance. Any activity that affects the structure of an archaeological site is permanent and cannot be rectified. Such actions can adversely affect New Zealanders' ability to retrieve vital knowledge about their social origins if they are not undertaken correctly".

He added that the Trust has been working throughout the country with the Antique Bottle and Collectables Clubs of New Zealand to help these groups to comply with the law which protects sites of historic importance. "The message sent today makes it very clear that there are strong penalties for those who do not comply, and that the New Zealand Historic Places Trust will continue to ensure that obligations under law are respected and enforced."

For more information contact:
Vivien Rickard
Central Regional Manager
Tel : (04) 494 8035
email: vrickard@historic.org.nz