566 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



the stock disturbs and breaks the surface-soil ; drifting begins, 

 and in the course of a few years what has been a hill covered 

 with fern and grass becomes a barren waste of shifting sand, 

 which overwhelms the good flat land to leeward of it. Thus 

 the area of the drift constantly increases, and, as the old hills 

 shift their position, kitchen-middens and other buried articles 

 are exposed. It was in a hollow thus formed by the drifting- 

 away of a sandhill that I found the moa-bones, with unmis- 

 takable tomahawk-cuts upon them, in 1881 ; and I have never 

 since visited the locality without finding more moa-bones. 



About the year 1853 the Waitotara natives told me that 

 their river formerly flowed out to the sea two or three miles 

 south of its present mouth. At the time I felt very doubtful 

 as to the correctness of the statement, as bare sand filled up 

 what they pointed out as the old course to a height of con- 

 siderably more than 100ft. Even the name " Tomotomo 

 Ariki " (Lordly Entrance) by which they called the place 

 failed to convince me. I have since, however, found that 

 they unquestionably spoke the truth, as the drifting-away of 

 the sand has left the whole course of the river perfectly well 

 defined, though at a height of at least 80ft. above the present 

 channel. This is only one of many instances in which I 

 have found the Maori tradition of ancient geological changes 

 perfectly reliable, though the changes must have occurred 

 ages and ages before they came to New Zealand ; and thus 

 they must have received the traditions originally from their 

 negretto ancestresses. 



Nearer this way, the route from Wanganui to "Waitotara 

 used to run ordinarily for about five miles along the sea- 

 beach. At high tide, however, the sea came right up to the 

 base of the cliffs ; and it was then necessary to follow a track 

 which led among sandhills upon the cliff-tops. At one point, 

 just to the northward of the Okehu Stream, on the land now 

 belonging to the Hon. E. Pharazyn, the track passed just to 

 seaward of a very high bare sandhill, which was known by 

 the name of "Popoia," and is so marked on the original 

 Waitotara map. I often wondered at this particular drifting 

 sandhill having a special name, as such a thing is not usual. 

 In 1871 I had to lay off a road just inland of it, and it then 

 struck me that the hill was far lower and flatter than before, 

 and that it was encroaching on the good soil farther from the 

 sea. A few years later I found that it had not only buried 

 all Mr. Pharazyn's land immediately inland of it, but that it 

 had crossed his boundary-fence, and was covering up Mr. J. 

 Handley's land as well. The latter gentleman has checked 

 its further progress in his direction by planting a sand-grass, 

 but the hill has travelled onwards towards the Okehu Stream, 

 and has left a flat where it formerly stood. This flat has a 



