212 
The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. 
[JULl^ 
SHELL-MIDDENS OF THE PORIRUA DISTRICT. 
By Elsdon Best, Dominion Museum. 
The most-favoured places of residence around Porirua in the days of native 
occupation seem to have been Titahi, Onehunga, Paremata, and Hongoeka, 
to judge from the signs of such occupation in the form of shell-middens and 
other tokens of former residence. In addition to these, other but probably 
smaller hamlets were situated at many different places around the harbour 
and on^the outer coast-line. In many cases these Porirua middens have 
suffered much from the trampling of stock, drifting sand, andjother agencies 
since the settlement of the district by Europeans, and in some cases have 
become entirely covered with a sward of our cultivated grasses. In these 
latter cases the existence of such buried shell-heaps has in a number of cases 
been made known to the writer by the burrowing rabbit, a true friend in 
some respects to the peripatetic archaeologist. 
Titahi Bay. 
The first visit made by the writer to Titahi occurred in the year 1863, 
but at that time he was not so much interested in the middens of neolithic 
