Palliser Bay
Bay in North Island
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Palliser Bay is at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand, to the southeast of Wellington. It runs for 40 kilometres along the Cook Strait coast from Turakirae Head at the southern end of the Remutaka Ranges to Cape Palliser, the North Island's southernmost point. The coastline is exposed to the weather and winds.[1]
| Palliser Bay | |
|---|---|
Typical coastline in Palliser Bay | |
 Location of Palliser Bay | |
| Location | North Island |
| Coordinates | 41°25′S 175°05′E |
| Type | Bay |
| Part of | Cook Strait/Pacific Ocean |
| Basin countries | New Zealand |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Palliser Bay | |
Inland from the bay is the plain of the Ruamāhanga River, which has its outflow in the bay. This river flows through Lake Wairarapa, 10 kilometres from the coast.
There are several notable geographical features in the area, including the Pūtangirua Pinnacles, Kupe's Sail and the Whatarangi Bluff, the erosion of which has had dramatic effects on the coastline. Some of these cliffs are made of mudstone and are therefore easily eroded, and sometimes collapse.[1]
Archaeology
Palliser Bay is an important Māori archaeological site. Stone rows raised for cultivation along the eastern shore of Palliser Bay, noted by archaeologists as early as 1904, hinted towards historic horticulture practices. The first major excavations were undertaken between 1969 and 1972.[2] Early writers suggesed the Tini o Awa people, or their contemporaries the Kāti Māmoe or Waitaha people may have built these stone rows.[3][4]
The purpose of the stone rows is not clear. The prevailing idea is that the stone was a by-product of gardening and was re-used to mark the edged of the plots.[2] Another suggestion is that the stones were mined and lined up for the purpose of building rows not necessarily for gardens.[5]
Sea mammal hunting was common around New Zealand, but difficult in Palliser Bay. This is from the lack of adequate weather, resulting in less frequent marine hunting. Compared to other coastal archaeology sites, Palliser Bay had a wider range of sea mammal species such as New Zealand fur seals, dolphins (either dusky dolphin or common dolphin), baleen whales, pilot whales, New Zealand sea lions, and Southern elephant seals. However, there was no abundance in these species making them an unreliable food source. Palliser Bay exhibits both hunter-gatherer and horticulturalist systems at work at the same time. This does not fit the archaeology interpretation of New Zealand dichotomy of this time. [6]
These revealed the bay was first settled in the 1300s, with evidence for six separate communities on the eastern side with a total population of about 300.[7]
Quantities of foreign raw material found during examinations of Māori archaeological sites revealed a network of historic communication through Cook Strait.[8] An adze was found on a long beach ridge in Palliser Bay, locally known as the Great Wall, in 1970. This beach ridge has been modified with stone walls and kumara gardens before European settlement. Small adze, fishhook tabs of moa bone, chert, and obsidian flakes are commonly recovered at the beach. The adze found at the Great Wall had unusual dimensions in a New Zealand context, but were similar to those found in the Tuamotu Islands, Lower Cook Islands, Austral Islands, and the Society Islands in tropical Polynesia. The adze was made from basaltic rock which could be from the Cook Islands or from New Zealand.[9]
The settlements were abandoned some time between 1550 and 1625, from a combination of falling temperatures which made agriculture more difficult, deforestation through fire, and soil erosion smothering shellfish beds.[10] There is evidence of a large change in the climate in the last millennium, greatly impacting those residing in Palliser Bay. Only half of the summer season was adequate for collecting shellfish and inshore fishing, with wind swells making it difficult to canoe or hand line fish. Growing seasons between 1450 and 1800 are thought to have been more unpredictable. Summer seasons had ranges of temperatures from 30°C with northwesterly winds, down to 4°C when cold fronts came through. Successful gardens needed shelter from the weather, and strong wind swells made this even more difficult.[11]
