Strange Wood Found on Beach by Fisherman Turns Out to Be Polynesian Canoe of Great Significance
By Andy Corbley -Mar 17, 2025
Piece of carved waka found in creek – Credit: Vincent Dix
On New Zealand’s Chatham Islands, the complete remains of a wooden boat used by the islands’ indigenous Polynesians—perhaps even to arrive there, have been found.
This monumental and unprecedented discovery will yield fascinating insights about the settlement of the island, the dates it would have occurred, and maybe even about other islands in the Pacific.
Starting 3,000 years ago, but particularly in the 13th century CE, Polynesians struck out across the Pacific and settled a huge number of the islands in the vast ocean. They sailed by the stars and other open ocean indicators like birds on large boats called ‘wakas.’
The Chatham Islands’ original inhabitants are the Moriori, and it was a father and son who first found the splinters of wood on the main island of Rekohu that led to the discovery, which one archaeologist said will go down as one of the most important finds in Polynesian history.
More:
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/strange-wood-found-on-beach-by-fisherman-turns-out-to-be-polynesian-canoe-of-great-significance/
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Wikipedia article concerning "wakas" :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waka_%28canoe%29
Drawing shown in the Wikipedia article:
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The boat, known as a waka, was unearthed in the Chatham Islands. Researchers say it could be one of the most significant discoveries of its kind
Sonja Anderson - Daily Correspondent
March 6, 2025
Beginning some 3,000 years ago, Southeast Asian peoples began voyaging out into the Pacific and settling the islands of Polynesia. These ancient sailors navigated by the stars, traversing the ocean in large canoes carved from trees.
Now, one of those boats, known as a waka, has been found in hundreds of pieces in New Zealand’s Chatham Islands. Experts say the artifact could be one of the most significant discoveries of its kind.
“No matter how old it is, we can’t overstate how incredible it is,” Justin Maxwell, the archaeologist leading the investigation, tells the Guardian’s Veronika Meduna. “It will go down as one of the most important finds of all time in Polynesia.”
The boat’s remains were first discovered last year by a young man and his father, Nikau and Vincent Dix, in a creek near their home on the main island, known in the Indigenous Moriori language as Rekohu.
“My son and I were just loading the boat up and taking the dogs for a run up the beach, … just after a big rain,” Vincent, a local fisherman, tells Radio New Zealand. Then, Nikau saw pieces of timber in the river. The wood sported strange holes, and it appeared to be well preserved.
“We were like, ‘Sweet, some new timber for us to use,’” Nikau tells Myjanne Jensen and Hikurangi Jackson of the TV series “Te Ao With Moana.” “We took it all home [and] started putting it together, just trying to find out what it was about. … And we were like, ‘Hey, this is starting to form the shape of a boat.’”
More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-fisherman-and-his-son-noticed-strange-pieces-of-wood-on-a-beach-they-turned-out-to-be-fragments-of-a-polynesian-canoe-180986166/