Smith.— Oh Maori Belies. 433 



greenstone meres have ever been found associated with their 

 implements. The lai'ge finely formed and polished meres of 

 nephrite and various qualities of jade were undoubtedly 

 manufactured and first used by Ngaitahu, who greatly im- 

 proved the form and quality of their implements, especially 

 the mere and the kapu, since their advent to the South Island. 



I have lately examined three large somewhat thin and 

 blunted chisels of ironstone, found near Hinds by Mr. R. 

 Moore of Longbeach. They are semi-polished and of great 

 age, and evidently had been discarded by their owner. The 

 four implements (E, D, G, H) were discovered together on the 

 site of the buried forest at Doyleston, and procured for me by 

 Mr. J. McLachlan, M.H.R. D is- of an inferior greenstone, 

 much worn and semi-polished. G and H are of two varieties 

 of dark fine-grained basalt, also semi-polished and much worn. 

 E is of a rough-grained bluish basalt in fine condition, and 

 evidently had been very little used. 



Large blocks of greenstone were found three years ago at 

 the mouth of the Rangitata, showing several adzes in situ 

 in process of cutting. Unfortunately, the ploughmen broke 

 them in pieces to obtain each a piece of the beautiful jade. 



But the most valuable relic of Ngaitahu ever found on the 

 plains is a large mere of almost transparent nephrite, which 

 was ploughed up, on poor land near Waterton, by a farmer 

 in whose possession it now remains. 



"When time permits I hope, in the future, to add to the 

 foregoing somewhat cursory record of discoveries of pre- 

 historic relics of the extinct Maori tribes of the South Island. 



It is regrettable that so little exploration is done among 

 the old encampments and rock-shelters formerly tenanted by 

 the extinct Maori tribes. Such work could not fail in adding 

 greatly to our knowledge of the ethnology of the ancient 

 Maori. There are also many extremely interesting features 

 in the traditions of the South Island natives. Further re- 

 search on the lines I have suggested would probably decide 

 the question as to whether or not the ancient forests of the 

 Canterbury Plains were destroyed by the traditional " great 

 fire of Tamatea," or at what period they were destroyed. 

 Apart from all traditions, ethnologists admit that the Maoris 

 were the noblest and most enlightened race that ever lived 

 during the Stone Age in any country in the world. 



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