BANKS PENINSULA: Flea Bay
(43d, 52`, 05S – 173d, 00`, 25E)
Forewarned by the evidence of Chinese activity at Onuka and reasoning that the walk over the volcanic rim could well indicate the reason for the presence of the Chinese, it was therefore no surprise to locate a considerable area of magnetic activity generated by magnetite iron ore on the volcanic rim adjacent to the path to Flea Bay. (Whilst modern mineral maps do not indicate the presence of iron ore on Bank’s Peninsula, a search on the internet indicated the recorded presence of arfedsonite. Magnetite is the only iron ore which is magnetic, hence the ability of the ancients to locate it with either a pendulum or dowsing rods. This is the method I have used widely in the UK whilst following the Roman trail of iron ore exploitation. (Agricola’s German manual of mining c 1540, notes the use of dowsing for ore location.). Nowadays one can also use a compass or a magnetometer.
The Banks Bay track descends steeply to Flea Bay alongside a creek. At one time this creek had been converted to a navigable waterway, by the use of dams, the presence of the waterfalls being no deterrent. At the point where the Banks Peninsula (BP) track crossed the creek, it was noted that one rock had been drilled to locate a fixing device. One of the party travelling later also commented on the drilled holes. (Also a standard Roman practice).
At the point where the BP track reached the flat area of Flea Bay, the ramparts of a small fort could be seen to the right. The large reeded area below it had been a harbour and was now heavily sedimented. The walls and quays were located by MAS. (Roman inland harbours are invariably excavated leaving the quays free standing in earth, then the complete harbour walls and quays are covered in puddled clay (as is the practice used to seal most of Britain’s canals.))
The lower parts of the hillside above the harbour had been overlaid with stone and channeled at right angles to the contours, to ensure that surface water was directed into the harbour. (I have recently discovered that the Romans used such a system along Hadrian’s Wall (Housesteads) to direct water into the upper and lower harbours). The flat area on the landward side of the BP Homestead, contained a 60m x 25m walled structure, with three barrack blocks inside (accommodation for c192 people.)
Some 30m to the seaward side of the BP Homestead is an old wooden structure. From this, southwards, is a 53m x 20m wide stone-walled harbour; some stonework is still visible. From this harbour ran a 11.5m wide canal, 180m along to a point on the beach well below the high-level water line. This stonework is now covered in sand and stones. MAS located the outlines of a 45m x 11m junk in the harbour, with both anchors laid out past the temporary stonework which sealed off the harbour. These held the junk against the onshore winds. Near the shoreline is a two-storey wool shed, and immediately to the west is a low, flat ridge, with very poor grass growth. From the magnetic emissions it can be assumed that this was the furnace spoil dump. Above the ridge is a row of smelter ramps. The lines of rich vegetation down the barren hillside denote the lines of the aqueducts which fed the water wheels, which in turn drove the bellows and thus provided the combustion air for the smelters, one per smelter. There is no record of local European smelting and the Maoris were a stone-age people, with no knowledge of iron working. Also, the aqueducts are of Chinese design (and Roman), not European.
The landward side of Flea Bay is divided by a low spur. The BP homestead is in the western section. Mr Helps’, the owner’s homestead is situated in the eastern section.
Opposite this homestead is a garage and car port, 50m to the landward side, MAS located the outline of another harbour and within it a 47m x 11m junk. No anchors could be detected. The adjacent creek originally had fed water into this harbour via an aqueduct. The harbour had been connected to the bay by a 150m long x 11.5m channel.
Adjacent to the shore-line, the residual stonework of a 40m x 30m walled barracks could be clearly seen. MAS indicated the presence of three 8 + 1 roomed blocks. The first settler’s homestead was on the hillside above the creek. The owners had established a vegetable garden within the barrack blocks walls. Blue and white pieces of pottery found on this site had been attributed to the first settler and a clay pipe to European trade with the Maori. (A Christchurch archaeologist, Mr. Barry Brailsford, has been concerned with this area which contains many protected Maori sites.
On the headland to the east of Flea Bay, (43d, 52`, 40S – 173d, 01`, 10E) is a group of large volcanic stones which were blown out of the Akoroa volcano. It was noticed that several of the stones had small (100mm x 75mm) recesses cut into them and also some 150mm x 150mm sections cut out. From previous experience with Roman wooden signal towers, I would expect the larger cut-outs located the beams of a platform and the smaller cut-outs the hooks of guy ropes. A MAS indicated that most of the stones had been located inside a 30m x 20m walled enclosure and some rooms had been built inside. Presumably the site had been either a lighthouse and/or an observatory.
T. C. Bell UK Feb 2003
