Artwork Information

Te Ana o Hineraki/Moa Bone Cave is one of the most important early sites of Māori life in Aotearoa. It provided shelter for Māori as early as the early 1400s and was part of a larger settlement based around the sand dunes near Sumner. Te Ana o Hineraki originally consisted of three chambers, the largest of which was more than 30 metres long, but the cave has been reduced because of roadworks and extensive European excavation during the 19th century. Moa bones and egg shells, along with bones of seals, birds and fish, shellfish as well as many Māori taonga were discovered there. Following the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 the cave systems of Te Ana o Hineraki have been permanently closed as a safety precaution.

Te Ana o Hineraki would not only have provided shelter in poor weather but also once served as a safe storage place for many valuable treasures. Large groups of Māori settled near this location during the 14th century. A kāika was located at Te Rae Kura which was occupied by the early Waitaha people and then, later, by the Ngāti Māmoe tribe. Ngāi Tahu displaced Ngāti Māmoe in the 17th century and were still living in the area when the first Europeans began to arrive.