The tenth annual New Zealand Archaeological Association (NZAA) New Zealand Archaeology Week took place from 2nd-10th May 2026 and included a range of great events across the motu. This year Heritage Taranaki coordinated events in the Taranaki and Whanganui regions, in collaboration with other organisations and individuals.
This is the first year that Archaeology Week events have been held in historic Whanganui and these were well supported by the local community. We want to extend a special thank you to heritage planner Scott Flutey for his involvement in these events.
Throughout Archaeology Week 2026 Puke Ariki Library in Ngāmotu New Plymouth had on display a range of archaeology and history books for those wanting to learn more about archaeology and the history of the Taranaki region. Thank you to the team for putting together this display!
On Saturday 2nd May 100+ budding archaeologists attended The Archaeology of Central Whanganui – A Walking Tour with Hamish Crimp and Scott Flutey. We were blown away by the fantastic turnout, and impressed by the depth of historical knowledge held by participants and by the many thoughtful questions.
Participants explored the rich and complex history of Pukenamu Queens Park, including of the Rutland Stockade; learnt the history of the old Whanganui Museum buildings and the original site of Christ Church; explored the history and significance of Pākaitore; and wandered the riverfront reclamations and Whanganui’s early commercial centre in lower Victoria Avenue. A walk anticipated to take 1.5 hours turned into almost 2.5 hours – but we enjoyed every minute of it and look forward to running further walks in the future!
On the evening of Wednesday 5th May the team at Heritage Preservation gave a series of engaging presentations at Caring for Archaeological Collections, held at their cultural materials conservation studio in Ngāmotu New Plymouth.
Thank you to Dr Susanne Rawson for explaining the various conservation work undertaken by the team at Heritage Preservation, from wet organic materials excavated on archaeological sites, to artworks held in public and private collections.
Also a special thank you to Heritage Preservation intern Anne-Marie (all the way from France!), who gave a presentation on her current project researching Milton Pottery, produced at Milton, Otago, during the late-19th and early-20th centuries. The aim of the research is to explore methods to help archaeologists identify New Zealand produced Milton Pottery wares on historic archaeological sites – this is important research!
The evening of Thursday 7th May saw Scott Flutey present Hidden in Plain Sight: Conserving an 1850s tōtara slab whare in Okains Bay, held at the Whanganui Regional Museum.
Scott first explored the fascinating history of the Fluerty/Flutey whānau in the Canterbury and Banks Peninsula area from the early decades of the 19th century. He then explained how restoration works, led by Scott and assisted by his father and others, were progressing on the 1850s single-roomed slab whare constructed at Okains Bay to house whaler-sawyer John Joseph Fluerty/Flutey, his wife Merehana Puaha (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe, Waitaha), and their large whānau. These restoration works have saved this significant whare from almost certain collapse.
On Saturday 9th May, Hamish Crimp led The Archaeology of Pukekura Park & Brooklands – A Walking Tour. This tour explored the archaeology of Pukekura Park (celebrating 150 years this May!) and adjoining Brooklands in Ngāmotu New Plymouth. As with our Whanganui walk, the anticipated time of 1.5 hours blew out significantly – this time to 3 hours! A special thank you to Alan Metcalfe and Ivan Bruce for their contributions.
Sites visited included those associated with the 1860s Taranaki Wars such as the site of Fort Herbert occupied by kūpapa, the site of the Carrington Road Blockhouse occupied by members of the 65th Regiment, and remnants of a rifle range that occupied the Pukekura valley between 1863 and 1868. Participants also saw a particularly well preserved ditch and bank fence, possibly constructed in 1876 and forming part of the original ‘Recreation Ground’ boundary.
At historic Brooklands, those in attendance visited the andesite stone chimney breast of Henry King’s first residence completed in 1842-43 and burnt down in 1861, an adjoining water well, and nearby sawpit, where timber for the original house, as well as other early colonial New Plymouth buildings, was milled.
We want to offer another massive thank you to organisers and attendees for their involvement in Archaeology Week 2026 and can’t wait to bring more events to Taranaki and Whanganui in the near future. Keep an eye on our website and socials (Facebook and Instagram) for future events!
Photo credits: Dr Anna Gilderdale, Scott Flutey, Rob Green, Hamish Crimp, Erana Lulu Kete