51 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



Art. II. 



Moa 



Point Cave, Sumner Road, in the Year 1872. By Julius Haast 



F.R.S., President. 



Plates I. and II. 



[Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, loth September, 1874.] 



In the spring of the year 1872, Mr. Edward Jollie suggested to me that the 

 Moa-bone Point Cave, near Sumner, if properly examined, would doubtless 

 yield important and interesting results. My friend thought that by making 

 there extensive and careful excavations, the question as to the period of the 

 extinction of the Moa would be, if not entirely solved, at least considerably 

 advanced, and that even the ground near the entrance of the cave, many acres 

 in extent, if properly investigated, would offer additional evidence for the 

 elucidation of the subject. On my remark that no funds for such an under- 

 taking were at my disposal, Mr. Jollie headed at once a subscription list for 

 the purpose, followed by a number of gentlemen who took an interest in the 

 matter, and which, assisted by a grant from the Philosophical Institute of 

 Canterbury, soon placed the greater portion of the necessary funds in my 

 hands. 



After having obtained the permission from Mr. Alfred Claypon Watson, 



Sumner Road, on whose property the Sumner cave is situated, I began the 



work of excavation on Monday, 23rd September, and ended on Saturday, 



9th November, 1872, the same having thus been accomplished in seven weeks, 



during which time I occupied always two labourers working under my direc- 

 tions. 



I may be allowed to present here my warmest thanks on behalf of the 

 Canterbury Museum to the subscribers of the funds, of which the details of 

 expenditure will be found in Appendix A, and to Mr. Watson, the owner of 

 the soil, for his permission to undertake the work. 



I wish also to apologise to them that I have not been able before to-day 

 to lay the results of these excavations and researches before them. However, 

 I must plead, in extenuation, that the bulk of this paper was written more 

 than a year ago, but that I was then compelled, from want of room in the 

 Museum, to repack the extensive collections made during these excavations, 

 before I found the time to examine them thoroughly, and describe them in 

 detail ; and only in the last few months I have managed to make the necessary 

 space in one of the work rooms for doing so. 



Before entering into a description of the results achieved, I think it will be 

 expedient to offer a few general observations on the geological features of the 



