Early Māori Settlement in Auckland CBD

The Queen Street Gaol Site (R11/1559) excavation in 1987 was one of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s earliest large-scale archaeological investigations of a 19th-century colonial site. However, one of its significant findings related to much earlier Māori occupation along the Waihorotiu Stream. Despite over 40 years of work in Auckland, the site remains the only securely dated Māori site in the Auckland Central Business District. Redating samples from the site confirmed the likelihood of human presence in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland as early as AD1280. This discovery aligns with evidence from other early settlement sites around the Waitematā Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf. The Gaol site also provided evidence of Māori occupation in the AD1500s–1600s, including kō (digging stick), ketu (weeding stick), ochre, woven flax, and shell midden deposits which suggest an established community engaged in gardening and marine resource exploitation. These results offer insights into the landscape history of the Horotiu Valley, a topic that has received little attention despite the increasing number of excavations in the region. The redating of material from the Queen Street Gaol underscores its significance in debates over the timing and environmental impact of early Polynesian settlement in Aotearoa New Zealand.