Auckland waka discovery: NZTA veteran excited over buried Maori artefact - 'Never found anything like this'

April 30, 2018

Mark McKenzie says while his digger drivers that found the waka aren't quite Indiana Jones they are very curious.

A highly experienced NZTA manager says the discovery of a buried waka north of Auckland is "significant" for the country and he has "never found anything like this".

The comments from NZTA Portfolio Manager Mark McKenzie come after a a partially complete waka, believed to be about 10 metres long, was uncovered north of Auckland during excavation work for the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway.

"It's huge, for the agency it's immense, I have been in construction for over 35 years and have never found anything like this.

"It's very significant for the agency, iwi and the country as a whole, there is a story to be told here," Mr McKenzie told 1 NEWS at the site today.

The incomplete Maori canoe was discovered on April 16 near the Okahu inlet north of the Johnstone’s Hill Tunnel on State Highway 1.

What is thought to be a 10m long waka is still connected to a kauri tree trunk with the two measuring 17 metres in total.

Sarah Phear says it will take a while before the exciting find can be fully understood.

Project Archaeologist Sarah Phear believes there is still a lot of work to be done before we know everything about the waka's origins.

"We are still at an early stage of trying to understand what we have here, we are trying to figure out how to remove it from the site for conservation," Ms Phear said.

She added that the age of the waka is not yet known. 

Crown Maori/Relations Minister Kelvin Davis said the discovery, which was made during work on the Ara Tuhono Puhoi to Warkworth motorway project, was exciting and would allow researchers to learn more about the cultural history of the area.

Asked whether his team of diggers who found the canoe were like famous movie archaeologist Indiana Jones, Mr McKenzie from the NZTA simply said, "no, but they're curious."

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