Wellington Philosophical Society. 52S 



the case to the attention of the Society. Some years ago, having noticed 

 in the Wellington Museum the cast of a stone bird called the Korotangi 

 which was labelled as purporting to have been brought by the Maoris 

 from Hawaiki, he liad induced the owner of the original bird to write a, 

 paper on the subject. The owner, Major Wilson, J. P., of Waikato, had 

 intrusted the reading of the paper to him (Mr. Tregear), and ho had read 

 it at a meeting of the Society two j'ears ago.* In this paper Major Wil- 

 son had repeated the description given by Dr. von Haast iireviously ; had 

 written out tlie Maori song supposed to refer to the Korotangi (with the 

 translatio)is, by the Yen. Archdeacon IMaunscll and IMr. C. O. Davis) ; and 

 had stated that very distinguished natives, including Tawhiao, Eewi 

 Maniapoto, and Te Ngakau, had recognized the bird as a genuine and 

 long-loht Maori treasure. After the reading of the paper a letter was re- 

 ceived from Major Gudgeon, enclosing another letter from Lieut. -Colonel 

 McDonnell, in which it was stated that the bird was a fraud perpe- 

 trated by Mr. Albert Walker upon IMajor Drummond Hay, who considered 

 himself an expert in Maori curiosities, and by Major Hay had been sold to 

 Major Wilson for £5. In the face of this doubt, at Sir James Hector's 

 suggestion Mr. Tregear had withdrawn the paper until he could communi- 

 cate with l\Iajor Wilson as to the truth of the statement. Major Wilson 

 had, upon this, forwarded the documents which he (Ylx. Tregear) now laid 

 upon the table, being telegrams, receipts, &c., proving that the negotia- 

 tion had been conducted solely between Major Wilson and Walker (as 

 owner of the bird, for the natives. Walker's wife being a Maori woman of 

 rank) ; that Hay had no part whatever in the transaction ; and that £50 

 (not £-5) had been paid for the bird, thus proving the entire bona fides of 

 IMajor Wilson in the matter, he stating that had the price asked been 

 £•500 instead of £50 he would have paid it for so unique a relic, attested, 

 as he believed, by the best native evidence procurable. Mr. Tregear 

 added that he had no partisanship in the matter further than that he de- 

 sired to affirm in the fullest manner the good faith of IMajor Wilson, who 

 had, in response to Mr. Tregear's oft-repeated request, told the Society the 

 whole truth he could discover as to the identity of this carving with the 

 Korotangi mentioned in IMaori song. His earnest desire was to ascertain 

 the truth, and to ask the Society as to their opinion respecting the conflict 

 of evidence, and the weight to be assigned to the statements made on the 

 different sides. 



Major Gudgeon said he quite accepted that IMajor Wilson believed 

 the Korotangi bird to be a genuine Maori relic of the past, and that tlie 

 Maoris had recognized it as such. ]Moreover, the documentary evidence 

 produced by that gentleman showed that Mr. Walker had not spoken 

 quite truthfully when, in conversation with Colonel ]McDonnell, he de- 

 scribed the finding of tlie bird and the manner in which he had sold it. 

 At the same time, he did not consider the evidence in favour of the anti- 

 quity of this carved bird satisfactory. As for the waiatas, who could say 

 that they really did apply to this particular bird '? They might apply to 

 a Korotangi; but was this bird the Korotangi ? If this bird was genuine, 

 and really was brought from Hawaiki, then it would have been regarded 

 almost as a deity by the tribe to whom it belonged. It would have been 

 placed in charge of a great toliunga in trust for the tribe, and would have 

 been carefully hidden by the custodian ; and if this man happened to 

 have died suddenly from any cause no doubt the said atua would have 

 been lost to the tribe ; but in such case all the circumstances of the loss,, 

 even to the name of the man who lost it, would have been carefully 

 preserved by tradition, in order that, if at any time the treasured relic 

 should be found, the rightful owners might thereby be enabled to reclaim 

 their own. (Here instances were given as to how valuable meres, &c., had 



* " Transactions," vol. xx. p. 450. 



