For the proper study of any aspect of Maori life - enthnological, economic, or historical - a preliminary census of Maori population would appear to be essential. Preliminary surveys of population-movements do, in fact, appear in the introduction to a number of recent books on primitive peoples. But only one such survey of any New Zealand area has yet appeared - Miss E. Durward�s paper on the Maori population of Otago. (1) How completely the need for accurate estimates of Maori population has been lost sight of its demonstrated by the appearance in August 1940, and of The Maori of To-day, edited by Professor I. L. G. Sutherland, in which no independant study of Maori population is made, though the editor quotes Dr. Buck�s estimate of from 200,000 to 500,000 for the pre-European population (2) while Harold Miller quotes Colenso�s estimate of 60,000 killed in inter-tribal wars between 1820 and 1837, and Roger Duff places the pre-European South Island native population at from eight to ten thousand. (3). These figures will be discussed later, but it can be said here that all three are guess work. Further, it is of interest to note that Miss Durward�s paper is not mentioned by any contributor. This paper aims at defining the numbers and location of the Maori communities which inhabited the South Island of New Zealand from the era which saw the arrival of the Waitaha (1) up to the year 1940. It attempts to re-construct population history through this period and to describe the situation at the present time--Introduction.

Summary: Waikouaiti is a small village and seaside resort thirty-two miles north of Dunedin. One mile from the township is the beautiful beach stretching for three miles from the headland of Matanaka in the north to the Merton River at the southern extremity. No one who walks the beach at the present time would realise that this was the scene of a seige during the Maori Wars in the South Island, or that the beach and the banks of the Merton River was the site of a whaling station from 1835 to 1845. What is now called Waikouaiti is not the Waikouaiti of early days, which was the name given to the whaling station at the mouth of the Waikouaiti River. The name of the river has also been changed to the Merton River. The word Waikouaiti has been spelt in various ways. Some maintain it should be Wai-kau-iti (water become little) or Wai-ko-wai-iti (water, the end of the little stream). Tamati Parata, an old chief at Puketeraki, near Waikouaiti considers that Waikouaiti (properly Waikowai-iti) means the end (Ko) of the water or stream (wai iti running into water or sea (wai). The name Merton is now given to this locality at the mouth of the little stream, now the Merton River. The present spelling Waikouaiti was fixed in 1843, but before that date it was spelt Whikowhiti, Whykowite, Waikoaite, Whykowat, Waikooti, Waikowaiti, and Whycauity.

The measurements from eighteen GPS (Global Positioning System) surveys and four terrestrial surveys were used to calculate the velocities of 406 survey stations throughout the South Island, Stewart Island and the southernmost North Island. Repeated GPS measurements are available at 350 stations. The calculation of the velocities for the remaining stations is made possible through the use of terrestrial measurements. The velocity was modelled under the assumption that the displacements of the stations are either linear with time or linear punctuated by discontinuities. The discontinuous model was used to estimate the coseismic displacements of stations in the vicinity of the 1994 Arthur�s Pass earthquake (M 6.7). The maximum station displacement was estimated to be ca. 40 cm, and significant displacements are seen to a range of ca. 70 km from the earthquake epicentre. Station displacements were also calculated for two later earthquakes in the vicinity of the Arthur�s Pass earthquake, but it was not possible to separate these from the postseismic displacements due to the earlier earthquake. A continuous velocity field was estimated from the discrete station velocity measurements through a stochastic model based on the concept of minimum curvature. The selection of the basic stochastic model was effectively arbitrary; however, the model was refined to better suit the velocity field in the South Island. This was achieved through estimating the correlation between the velocity components (east and north) and the anisotropy of the velocity field. The stochastic model has the advantage over other models (e.g. polynomials or splines) in that only the probable shape of the velocity field is assumed. Therefore, the shape of the velocity field is not restricted by a priori model assumptions. The measurement of the differential velocity across the South Island plate boundary between Christchurch and Cape Farewell is less than 85% of the interplate velocity calculated from NUVEL-1A. One possibility is that the NUVEL-1A model may not be an accurate representation of the motion at this plate boundary. Alternatively, deformation (occurring during the period of survey measurements) may extend a total distance of 150 km or more (assuming that the spatial velocity differential is less than 5x10⁻⁷/year) offshore from Christchurch and Cape Farewell. In the southern South Island there is evidence for as much as 22 mm/year of east directed motion being accommodated between Fiordland�s west coast and the stable interior of the Australian Plate. An accretionary wedge has been imaged west of Fiordland (Davey and Smith, 1983; Delteil et al., 1996); therefore, some of this deformation may be related to slip on the subduction interface. The shear strain rates are clearly influenced by the dominant fault elements in the South Island, i.e. the southern and central Alpine Fault, and the eastern Hope Fault. The maximum measured shear strain rate in the South Island, 6(±1) x10⁻⁷/year, occurs adjacent to the Alpine Fault at (1 70.5°E, 43.3°S), ca. 40 km northeast of Mt Cook, and is coincident with a local dilatational strain rate minimum, -7 (±4.5) x 10⁻⁸/year. This is the only location where the measured strain rate is compatible with strike-slip and dip-slip motion on the Alpine Fault. Shear strain rates decrease eastwards along the Hope Fault: from 5(±0.7) x10⁻⁷/year at the Alpine Fault, to 3(±0.8) x10⁻⁷/year close to the Jordan Thrust. The zone of deformation broadens with a concomitant decrease in shear strain rate, such that within the northeast South Island there is no distinct maximum over any particular fault. A band of contraction and shear has been imaged at a distance of 100 km southeast of, and parallel to, the Alpine Fault. The deformation at this location may be related to a frontal thrust zone similar to that described in the two-sided wedge models. The band of deformation continues north of Christchurch, intersecting the Porters Pass Fault Zone. Significant contraction rates are seen in the measurements from four other zones. The first of these is situated towards the northeast (on land) ends of the Clarence, Awatere and Hope Faults. Some of this signal is presumably related to the uplift of the Seaward and Inland Kaikoura Ranges. The three remaining zones of significant negative dilatational strain rate are located north of the Wairau Fault, close to Jackson Bay and within central Otago. A zone of significant shear strain rate is measured along the eastern side of, and within southern Fiordland. The deformation measurements probably partially reflect the existence of an important fault running through Lake Te Anau, which accommodates the motion of the Fiordland block relative to the Pacific Plate. The remainder may be due to internal deformation of the Fiordland block. A new velocity differential measurement has been introduced, the rotational excess. This function of the shear strain rate, vorticity and dilatational strain rate should be sensitive to tectonic rotation (as measured by paleomagnetic data). Point estimates of the rotational excess are insignificant throughout the South Island. Also, there are no easily defined regions in which spatially averaged measurements are significant. If the rotational excess is assumed to be a direct measurement of tectonic rotation then the measurements place a bound on the size of the region and the rate at which it rotates. For example, the rate of tectonic rotation within a square region with side lengths of 50 km located adjacent to Cape Campbell is unlikely to be greater than 4°/Ma. However, greater tectonic rotation rates are possible within smaller regions.

Summary: Since 1949, when K.B. Cumberland wrote the first geographical treatise on pre-20th century Maori settlement and livelihood in New Zealand, twenty-five major geographical studies on various aspects of the topic have been published. Of these, nine have been concerned with the nature of settlement, population distribution, and economy, as they varied from one area to another within New Zealand at given points in time. A further five studies, concerned with the historical geography of New Zealand in general, contain very brief accounts concerning the distribution of Maori population and the nature of the Maori economy in the 19th century. Four studies, relying on early European observations, have focused on the character of Maori settlement in particular regions: North West Nelson, Westland, Taupo County, and Tauranga County. Another study has analysed the nature of Maori land sales and the effect these had on the 19th century Maori population of one area in the North Island. One study has considered in detail the affect the so called �moa hunter� settlement had on the forests of the east coast of the South Island. And finally, five studies have focused on the nature and changes in Maori agriculture in the North Island from the late 18th to the 19th century-- Chapter 1.

For the proper study of any aspect of Maori life - enthnological, economic, or historical - a preliminary census of Maori population would appear to be essential. Preliminary surveys of population-movements do, in fact, appear in the introduction to a number of recent books on primitive peoples. But only one such survey of any New Zealand area has yet appeared - Miss E. Durward�s paper on the Maori population of Otago. (1) How completely the need for accurate estimates of Maori population has been lost sight of its demonstrated by the appearance in August 1940, and of The Maori of To-day, edited by Professor I. L. G. Sutherland, in which no independant study of Maori population is made, though the editor quotes Dr. Buck�s estimate of from 200,000 to 500,000 for the pre-European population (2) while Harold Miller quotes Colenso�s estimate of 60,000 killed in inter-tribal wars between 1820 and 1837, and Roger Duff places the pre-European South Island native population at from eight to ten thousand. (3). These figures will be discussed later, but it can be said here that all three are guess work. Further, it is of interest to note that Miss Durward�s paper is not mentioned by any contributor. This paper aims at defining the numbers and location of the Maori communities which inhabited the South Island of New Zealand from the era which saw the arrival of the Waitaha (1) up to the year 1940. It attempts to re-construct population history through this period and to describe the situation at the present time--Introduction.

During recent years the high country of the South Island has attracted a good deal of attention from farm economists, soil conservationists, geographers and also politicians. With the present need for increased national production the problem of keeping the high country in productive occupation is the subject of justifiable concern. The purpose of this regional study is to describe one of the most distinctive areas in the high country, and to discuss the problems which have caused the recent Royal Commission on the Sheep-farming Industry in New Zealand to investigate the general economic position of the runholders. Besides being a well-defined physiographic unit, the Mackenzie Basin or, as it is better known to the local people, the Mackenzie Country has a distinctive character of its own. On entering Burkes Pass even the most casual observer cannot fail to notice how different the landscape within the basin appears compared with that outside. This large, gravel-filled intermontane depression with its vast expanse of dun coloured tussock and its clear, dry climate seems to have a special flavour which distinguishes it from any other part of either Canterbury or Otago. Probably the most striking feature of the basin is its monotonous uniformity of both physical conditions and human activities. The extensive sheep-farming economy has imposed a distinctive pattern of land use over the whole area. Not only does the landscape have a similar appearance everywhere but, because of their common int erests, the people all tend to live alike and think alike. Before 1939 the basin was solely a sheep-grazing area but, with the recent developments connected with the storage of water in the lakes for the generation of hydro-electricity, the Mackenzie Country has assumed a new importance. With the dam-building schemes at Tekapo and Pukaki an entirely new element has been introduced into the landscape - the large Public Works Camp. These camps, however, are, for the most part, temporary features and the sheep-station remains the typical unit of settlement. For this reason the major part of this study is devoted to a description of the landscape as it has developed under the extensive sheep-farming economy and a discussion of the problems resulting from the exploitation of the natural vegetation. When the early settlers first took up their runs they had the opportunity of making the Mackenzie basin one of the best merino grazing areas in New Zealand. In most cases that opportunity was lost, due partly to ignorance of proper grazing methods under sub-humid conditions and partly to short-sighted practices caused by temporary economic difficulties. Over-burning and over-stocking extracted an early toll from the vegetation cover which, in spite of numerous attempts can never be fully repaid. By deliberately introducing rabbits into the area the early runholders made their third and possibly their greatest mistake. These rabbits were allowed to multiply unchecked for nearly twenty years before it was realised what a menace they were likely to become. By that time it was too late. Today, the rabbit is generally considered to be the chief cause of the disturbing decline in the sheep carrying capacity of the Mackenzie Country. Altogether, unwise burning, overstocking and rabbits have caused such a deterioration in the tussock cover that Cumberland's description of some parts of the basin as "deserts in the making" is quite appropriate. Admittedly conditions are not as bad as in the "man-made deserts" of Central Otago but a serious problem at present confronts the Mackenzie runholders.

This thesis sets out to examine issues of selectivity and availability in fishing and shellfish gathering by pre-European Maori at Triangle Flat in western Golden Bay. Faunal remains from four archaeological sites have revealed new and valuable information about economic subsistence practices in this region. It is proposed that exploitation of these important coastal resources was based on factors other than the availability of, proximity to resource patches. Evidence from the Triangle Flat sites is compared to that from Tasman Bay and the southern North Island to gain a regional perspective on fishing and shellfish gathering strategies. The most definitive evidence for selective targeting is provided by tuatua, an open beach species that has been found to dominate in sites based adjacent to tidal mud and sand flats. Also of interest is the dominance of mud snail in a site that is adjacent to large cockle and pipi beds. When regional sites were examined it was found that this pattern was also recorded for the site of Appleby in Tasman Bay. Selectivity in fishing strategies is also apparent with red cod and barracouta dominating the Triangle Flat assemblages. This pattern conforms to evidence from both eastern Golden Bay and Tasman Bay but does not reflect evidence from the southern North Island. Of particular interest is the apparent dearth of snapper in the sites at Triangle Flat, since snapper abounds in the area today. An explanation based on climatic change is considered to be the most feasible. This indicates that enviromentalal availability was at least in part responsible for the archaeological evidence of fishing. The consistency of the catch of red cod and barracouta in Golden Bay, and the pattern of shellfishing preferentially for tuatua suggests that cultural choice was also a significant selective factor.

Assessing the timing of seasonal movements by the prehistoric peoples of Otago has long been a problem in the archaeology of this region. The oxygen isotope ratio (18 o/16o) of mollusc shell carbonate is temperature dependent. By sampling successive increments of shell growth, palaeotemperature curves can be constructed to provide �season of death� estimates for individual shells. In this work carbonate samples from the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) were used to estimate the seasonality of four prehistoric fishing sites. A total of 275 samples of shell material were analysed for carbon and oxygen isotope ratios at the Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Lower Hutt. Where fishing and shellfishing were important activities they were consistently associated with the winter season. A model of seasonal activity is presented for the Early part of the prehistoric period.

Summary: Although a good deal of information is available about the Maoris of New Zealand, concerning their origin, customs, and culture, yet statistical data regarding their actual numbers at any time before 1857 are comparatively rare. It is a fact that the Maori population in any given locality was a fluctuating one and that their distribution in general was very variable and this constitutes a formidable difficulty in making any estimate of their numbers before the first cenus. A second obstacle is the difficulty of travel which faced the early European explorers. For example, when Cook visited New Zealand, he made an estimate of the population but it was largely conjectural as Cook saw the natives at only those places he touched around the coast, and had in fact no means of estimating what proportion of the total population those communities formed. Actually the Maoris were not confined to the coastline, and therefore Cook�s estimate cannot be regarded as based on adequate data. An evaluation of his estimate will be made later--Chapter 1.

Summary: This thesis is a regional study of the interactions between Polynesian man and his environment in the Catlins district, southern New Zealand. The prehistory of the Catlins differs from that of the rest of southern New Zealand (Murihiku) in its pattern of early and continuing settlement followed by abandonment at the end of the seventeenth century. The examination of such a marked change in settlement pattern is likely to yield useful insights into the interplay of cultural and environmental factors. Three different approaches have been stressed: culture history, environmental characteristics and temporal changes in the environment. The relevant environmental factors were studied after consideration of the archaeological and ethnographic data. Methods of sampling and recording these factors were examined and the need to distinguish between man-induced and natural changes in the vegetation emphasised. This thesis incorporates newly gathered data on local climates, forest associations, forest clearings, estuarine populations and site location in the Catlins region, as well as on stratigraphical associations at Papatowai Point. Detailed analyses of the above disclosed that the initial economic pattern of Polynesian people in the Catlins was one of multi-resource zone exploitation of sea, estuary, soft and rocky shorelines, forests and inland plains. Early use of the Mataura and Waimea Plains may have been largely for exploiting silcrete and porcellanite sources, rather than for food supplies. It is postulates that when the climate deteriorated, sites adjacent to fewer resource zones were occupied. The earlier sites may have been abondoned, or occupied at the same time. Two settlement models, incorporating these alternatives, are presented. Seasonal markers indicate a maximum occupation from spring to autumn, and there is no positive evidence of winter occupation. About 1700-1750 A.D., the Catlins coast was abandoned, despite the continued availability of most traditional food supplies. Moas has become extinct and, judging by the data from Papatowai, seals were less abundant than in the 11th to 14th centuries. Ethnographic material indicates that the inland resources of eels, lampreys, forest birds and, presumably, bracken rhizomes were important in the 19th century to Maoris living immediately north and south-west of the Catlins. It is postulated that the local peoples ceased using the Catlins coast in the early 18th century because the dense forests made access to the inland regions difficult. With the moas extinct and seal colonies locally depleted, the Catlins coast lost much of its advantages. A new strategy was adopted of spending the summer months at the mouth of the Clutha River or west of Waikawa where the same resources could be exploited as on the Catlins coast but where inland access was easier. The Catlins coast may never have been occupied during winter, since the damp climate would militate against the storage of dried foods. Hence there is no need to assume a total shift of population in the 18th century to the north or west but rather a change in the pattern of seasonal movements.