A dog's tale

In the first of a series on artefacts that tell the story of Aotearoa’s past, historian Jock Phillips explains the relevance of a small carved canine, known as the Monck’s Cave kurī.

- Jock Phillips

Thank heavens for curious schoolboys. This intriguing wooden carving of a dog, no more than 8cm high, was discovered by a boy poking around in a cave system in Redcliffs, near Christchurch, the entrance to which had been blocked by a rock fall many centuries ago. Then, in the course of building the Sumner Road, workers had dug into the loose gravel. The property was owned by JS Monck and one day in September 1889, Monck’s son was out exploring when he noticed a small gap in the shingle. He managed to squeeze through and was encouraged by the sight of two eyes beaming at him. It was a stray cat that had got in first.

But it was a dog, not a cat, that was the real find. The landslip had obviously occurred when the cave’s inhabitants were away: only their possessions remained. There were adzes and fish hooks, and several wooden objects – a comb, a carved bailer, an outrigger, a painted paddle. There was also this carved wooden dog. Nothing like it had been seen before. It was not like traditional Māori wooden carving found on canoes or meeting houses. There were no spirals or ornamentation, just a charming, highly realistic dog with a hole through its curled tail.

The bailer and painted paddle did show spiral carving, but they had been found on a higher ledge, and were thought to be of a later date. The dog was associated with the bones of an extinct swan and of moa, and more significantly, much moa eggshell, which suggested the inhabitants had been around when moa still roamed the country and their eggs could be had for breakfast.