Te Pokohiwi o Kupe

First Arrivals & Pacific Origins

Te Pokohiwi o Kupe (the Wairau Bar), situated at the mouth of the Wairau River, is one of the most significant archaeological landscapes in the Pacific. Established between 1280 and 1300 A.D., the gravel bar accommodated a permanent village community representing the earliest verified human settlement in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Scientific isotope and DNA testing of ancestral remains confirmed that several individuals buried at the bar consumed food and water consistent with East Polynesia during childhood. This chemical evidence confirmed oral traditions, identifying the settlement as a direct landing location for ocean-going Pacific voyagers.

The natural geography offered abundant resources: vast lagoons supported fish, waterfowl, and eels, the open sea yielded seals and whales, and the surrounding river plains supported large moa populations.

The Jim Eyles Discovery & Archaeological Taonga

The historical importance of the site came to light in 1939 when 13-year-old schoolboy Jim Eyles discovered a complete moa egg alongside polished stone tools in the coastal dunes. Subsequent excavations directed by Canterbury Museum archaeologist Roger Duff revealed an extensive industrial and domestic village.

Excavations revealed that Te Pokohiwi served as a manufacturing centre for stone adzes (toki) crafted from pakohe (argillite) quarried from nearby mountain ranges. These tools were finished on site and traded widely across New Zealand. Other rare taonga (treasures) recovered include carved serpentine ornaments, necklaces constructed from moa bone reels, and pendants fashioned from sperm whale teeth.

Repatriation & Wāhi Tapu [Sacred Heritage]

For decades, kōiwi tūpuna (ancestral remains) excavated during the mid-twentieth century remained housed in institutional museum collections. Following sustained advocacy by Rangitāne o Wairau elders, an agreement was concluded with the Canterbury Museum and the University of Otago.

In April 2009, forty-two ancestral remains were returned to their descendants and reburied in their original resting places at Te Pokohiwi during ceremonial proceedings. Today, the physical bar is recognized as a wāhi tapu (sacred place) under active tribal guardianship, closed to public excavation, with its history shared through cooperative exhibitions at the Marlborough Provincial Museum.