Maori Rock Art

The Waitaki District is blessed with some of the country’s best preserved Maori Rock Art. This can be viewed at the Maerewhenua and Takiroa sites located a 30 minute drive from Oamaru.

The Maerewhenua site is on the Duntroon-Livingston Road approximately 1km from the turn off from SH83 while the Takiroa site is located on SH83, about 3km west of Duntroon. When accessing these public sites, try not to disturb any stock and show respect for both the landowners and the site.

The art panels are mostly positioned on the lower ground level areas of the cliff and feature drawings of pigmented art, black or red or a combination of these two pigments. The motifs vary in size and design and represent a vast range of subjects - from abstract forms to birdlife, fish, lizards, people on horseback and sailing ships.

The red designs were created by an iron-oxide based paint, while the black pigment is charcoal based. A variety of techniques were used to apply these pigments, which is considered unusual at any one site. One reason for the variety might be that the site was periodically occupied for a lengthy span of time.

The popular theory is that the rock art was probably applied over several centuries. While some of the artwork had already eroded away by 1852 when the first European visited and recorded their existence, a considerable amount of work remained before the sites suffered the ravages of early 'science'.

In 1916 several fine examples were removed and are now housed in museums around the country. The sites are now fully protected and such practices unlikely to reoccur.

E: curator@rockarttrust.co.nz
W: www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz/rockart

Entrance to Rock Art

Waitaki Valley - Maori Rock Art

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