Historic artefacts found at school

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Auckland Point School’s historic playing field is proving a treasure trove for archaeologists, but somewhat frustrating for builders.

Auckland Point School sits on land that was once used as a trading area for Maori and early European settlers. As a result, the school needs to get permission to dig from all of the stakeholders, including six iwi, Wakatu Incorporation and Heritage New Zealand.

The school is currently building a special access bathroom, improving the toilets of the pool area and building a perimeter fence, all of which needed a cultural impact assessment.

Principal Sonya Hockley says the work was supposed to be finished already, but the time delays due to the reports means it may be Christmas before the work is finished.

“There has been challenges, because following a cultural impact assessment there is a 15 day stand down in case any of the stakeholders change their mind.

“It’s challenging for the builders too because they have to down tools and go away but everyone has been incredibly patient, they can see that the cultural sensitivity is very important and that we as the guardians of the site have to be award of the history and look after it for the future.”

And Sonya says the finds have already far outweighed any inconvenience.

Argillite from Maori tools has been found, along with slates, copper nails, crockery and bottles from European settlers.

“When we have these diggings on site it’s really, really interesting and exciting when we discover things,” says Sonya. “We’re learning about our site all the time. We’re getting stories from many people who have connections to this site so our history is being completed by these kinds of processes.”

Sonya says there is still more digging to do as the fence posts go into the ground and when they plant some trees as part of the project. “This site is the most historically significant in Nelson for Maori and European settlement so we feel very special and very honoured to care for it and we enjoy learning more about it.”