Moa Bone Point Cave

historic site — Redcliffs · Christchurch

About Moa Bone Point Cave

Moa Bone Point Cave, also known as Te Ana o Hineraki, is an archaeological site in Redcliffs, Christchurch. The council's heritage pages say Māori used the cave from the early 14th century for about 700 years, as a shelter, a place to prepare food, and a place to make tools. The cave sits within Raekura, a wider area of Redcliffs that was an important place for shelter and food gathering, with waterways in the Te Ihutai estuary providing shellfish, fish, plants and birds. The site is recorded as an early example of archaeological excavation in New Zealand, with the first excavation in 1872. Along with nearby Moncks Cave, it informs knowledge of the Archaic, or Moa Hunter, period of Māori culture in Canterbury.