Story: Ideas about Māori origins

The Kaimanawa wall

The Kaimanawa wall

Some theorists who claimed there were pre-Māori civilisations in New Zealand believed this stone wall in the Kaimanawa State Forest provided evidence for their ideas. It was said that the ‘blocks’ indicated that it was built by an earlier culture. However, the wall is a natural phenomenon. The blocks are fractures that appeared as the rock cooled, over 330,000 years ago.

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New Zealand Herald
Reference: 3 May 1996

Permission of the New Zealand Herald must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

K. R. Howe, 'Ideas about Māori origins - 1920s–2000: new understandings', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/document/1603/the-kaimanawa-wall (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by K. R. Howe, published 8 Feb 2005