outhern and eastern coasts of Otago. The accumulation of great amounts of worked and partially worked greenstone on sites like Murdering Beach, near Dunedin, may safely be attributed to the trade requirements of the north. There is satisfactory evidence, not yet published, that virtually the whole of the Murdering Beach greenstone was brought together early in the nineteenth century.
The method of transport north was dictated by special geographical conditions. In the North Island, transport of goods was carried out wherever possible by canoe. The east coast of the South Island is rough and harbourless, except at Banks Peninsula and about Dunedin. In consequence, porterage was organized on a large scale to take the place of water transport north and south. The system has been described by Stack (p. 186): “The trade created by the system of food exchange established by Tu Rakautahi necessitated the employment of a large body of porters, who were constantly employed carrying heavy loads to and from the various pas extending
from the north to the south of the Island. The labours of these men were greatly increased by the practice which prevailed of giving each more than one load to carry. This necessitated the formation of depots, between which the carriers went backwards and forwards, travelling over the same ground again and again, until they reached their final destination. The weight of an ordinary load was seldom short of a hundred pounds. Attached to the lower end of each burden was a sort of stool, to enable the porter to rest at any time during the journey, without the trouble of disengaging himself from his load.”
It is remarkable that no other investigator has described this system. But there is nothing unlikely in the existence of such a system, and it is confirmed by Andersen (1916, pp. 33–34), who relates that Te Maiharanui killed the porters who had carried his burdens north. The system seems to have reached its greatest development on the route between Otago and Banks Peninsula, but it was present north of the peninsula, and probably had its northern terminal about Kaikoura. It is presumably by this means that Otago greenstone passed to the north.
[Since this paper was written, Mr C. O. Hutton has informed the writer that in the course of geological field-work, he has obtained nephrite-greenstones in situ in the Caples Valley, west of Lake Wakatipu; and further, that a coarsely fibrous tremolite-schist obtained by him from Springburn Creek (Cromwell Survey District) is identical with an unusual specimen (No. 1840) described by Dr F. J. Turner (1935, p. 190) from a Maori camp site at the mouth of the Shag River. Details of Mr Hutton's work will appear in a later volume of this journal.]
Andersen, J. C., 1916. Jubilee History of South Canterbury. Whitcombe and Tombs.
Beattie, H., 1920. The Southern Maori and Greenstone, Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 52, pp. 44–52.
Best, E., 1912. Pounamu or Greenstone (Nephrites), Dominion Museum Bulletin 4, pp. 156–196.
Chapman, F. R., 1891. On the Working of Greenstone or Nephrite by the Maoris, Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 24, pp. 479–539.
Cook, J., 1785. A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, vol. 1, Hughs.
Firth, R., 1929. Primitive Economics of the New Zealand Maori, Routledge.
Forster, J. R., 1778. Observations Made During a Voyage Round the World, White.
Polack, J. S., 1838. New Zealand, vol. 1, Bentley.
Shortland, E., 1851. The Southern Districts of New Zealand, Longman Brown.
Skinner, H. D., 1923. The Morioris of Chatham Islands, Memoirs of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, vol. ix, no. 1.
——, 1924. Results of the Excavations at the Shag River Sandhills, J.P.S., vol. 33, pp. 11–24.
Smith, S. P., 1910. History and Traditions of the Taranaki Coast, Thos. Avery and Sons.
Stack, Rev. J. W., n.d. The Sacking of Kaiapohia, Whitcombe & Tombs.
Teviotdale, D., 1924. Excavations Near the Mouth of the Shag River, Otago, J.P.S., vol. 33, pp. 1–10.
——, 1932. The Material Culture of the Moa-Hunters in Murihiku, J.P.S., vol. 41, pp. 96–119.
Thomson, A. S., 1859. Story of New Zealand, 2 vols., Murray.
Wilk