Above: Zheng He's flagship (400ft) towers over the outline of Columbus's ship


Zheng He page 3

Art
• Carved and painted pictures of canoes far removed from the traditional Maori design – pre-Maori. An example is on display in the Dargaville Maritime Museum
• Totem poles: Undeniable similarity between Chinese, Japanese Ainu, British Columbian and New Zealand totem poles
• Totem poles of Haida Nation and NZ Maori – both built on the base of a turtle – (Graeme H. Hill)


Evidence of Chinese Building Agricultural Canals
• Marlborough canals – 12+ miles long mainly 10 or 12ft long and 2 or 3ft deep.
• Canal connecting Upper Lagoon with the Raupo swamp – 4+miles long, 10-12ft wide, c.8ft deep
• Agricultural Canals – extensive canal systems found by the first Europeans on North Island; SW coast of South Island; NE coast near Marlborough (+12 miles) on the SE coast between Dunedin and Catlins. Total of more than 200 miles of canal
• Near the Kaitaia canals ancient wooden panels found with square morticed holes and tenons – advanced woodwork not used by Maori
• Near the Awanui River on the North Island – 200+ kms of interconnected canals or waterways (2m wide, 1.5m deep). Estimated that in excess of 25 million baskets of spoil weighing c.40 kilos each would have been moved – scale comparable with Maya in Yucatan who have ‘Chinese' DNA.


Evidence of Chinese in New Zealand from History of Maoris, Songs and Legends
• Maori legend – Waitaha were descendents of Chinese porters and stone cutters
• Maori tradition is vague about the predecessors of the Ngaitahu
• The Waitaha consisted of 3 united races: the Urukehu, a light skinned people; the stone people or Kiritea, of Asian ancestry and the Maoriori – gardeners said to be of giant stature
• Waitaha – peaceful people, Maori – warrior race
• When Maori arrived there were ‘people like ants' (i.e. a multitude of people)
• Maori claims that they settled amongst foreigners who begat children
• Giant meteorite – “The Song of the Waitaha” – description of Meteorite destroying forests ‘Sad are the ancient songs that tell of fires from the heavens….we were all saved by sheltering deep within a cave'
• Maori tradition of the Patupaiarehe or ‘fairy folk'. Described as wearing white garments, having soft flowing hair and not being tattooed like Maori.
• Waitaha – driven out of N. Island and conquered in S. Island by Ngaitahu - final tally of skeletons amounts to 60,000 - many appear to have been summarily executed. 
• Maori wedding customs identical to Chinese
• Maori fighting techniques similar to Shaolin weapons techniques (Perry Debell) - more research needed
Maori legend about "a feathered waka which came from Tibet" - wake being the Maori word for canoe/ ocean going vessel.  Perhaps the shape and size of Chinese Junks sails gave rise to the impression of feathers? - (Hugh P. Kemp)


Evidence of Chinese presence in New Zealand from first European contact
Evidence of Chinese fleet's presence on South Island
• Dusky Sound ‘Chinese' wreck coupled with local history (Robyn Gossett)
• Seagardens, Punakaiki – ‘ware wanaga' meaning place of learning
• Seagardens – advanced system of seagardening using rock pools for storage to ensure a continuous supply of fresh fish/ shellfish.
• The black mussel of the Northern Pacific waters carried from Easter Island beneath the platform joining the hulls of the ocean going vessels to the west coast of South Island (Gary Cook)
• The toheroa shellfish – cultivated for food, firmly established in Southern sands
• “identical freshwater species occur in New Zealand, Tasmania, South America and the Falkland Islands” – When the Earth nearly died- DS Allan and JB Delair, 1995
• Shell mounds – mounds of clam shells with the same shape and composition as those found left by the Chinese in Bimini, the Aleutians and Kuriles
• Rev. J.W. Stack regarded the Waitaha (Chinese) as the ‘first fleet' arrivals reaching South Island, he believed c1377
• Small harbour on top of the Cliffs at Moeraki – one set of boulders in a very straight line – ballasts
• Monck's Cave, Christchurch - unknown to Maoris, when opened up found to contain a wooden carving of a dog, a coil of plaited human hair and also some old sea shells – cave now a few hundreds metres above sea level
• Smelters – some oval 8ft x 5ft others more circular c.8ft in diameter and all c.18in deep in the centre cover an area of 20 acres more of less covered with them (Gary Cook and Thomas Brown - The Secret Land 1 – The People Before – considered to be Moa Ovens – why would they want to feast on c.5000 Moa?)
•A number of mining sites reveal how mining operations were active in New Zealand from 226 BC/19AD to c.1700-1725
• Skeletons found in caves – jaws removed – not Maori custom
• Moriori artifacts, as well as metal items of unknown origin in vaults of Otago Museum, New Zealand, that were 'by law' not allowed to be exhibited. The museum has never explained why.  http://www.celticnz.co.nz/hot_mail3.htm   (Dave Bell)
• Moeraki Boulders - possible use as counter weights to hoist sails of junks.  They are assumed to be natural concretions yet they are much larger, material texture much coarser
• Moeraki hull cement analysed - thought to be man made - found to contain rice as a bonding agent
• Pre Maori human bones found - DNA analysis has been denied by the authorities (date of Maori invading S. Island debatable yet recent article cited present day Maori believed the date was 1725)
• Willem de Vlamingh's log (mission of Dec. 1696 – Jan 1967) mentions coming across what looked like the “lining of a ship – very old” 8-10 miles up the Swan River.  Could this be part of a Chinese shipwreck of the 15th Century?  (Jamie Bentley)
•Artifacts some 650 years old have been found at Westport in the South Island of New Zealand. (Peter Robinson)


Evidence of Chinese fleet's presence on North Island
The Ruakpuke wreck associated with:
(i) The ‘Colenso' bell with its Tamil inscription naming the ship's owner
(ii) The rivet
(iii) Inscribed writing on two stones nearby
(iv) Tamil plaque on ship (VS Cullen)
(v) Willow pattern ceramics in ship (E Allen Aubin)
(vi) Teak wood from wreck (T B Hill)
(vii) Copper and iron bolts (Phillips & Liddell)
(viii) Triple hull.
• The Korotangi, or stearite stone bird, found under the roots of a tree on the shores of the Kawhia Harbour – Chinese (F Hochstetter and V S Cullen)
• The Mauku stearite figure
• Jade Axes
• Maori DNA shows a ‘Chinese' connection (mitochondrial DNA is Taiwanese -Dr. Geoffrey Chambers).
• Pyramids : Maungarai (Mt Wellington), Auckland, and Remuwera (Mt Hobson), Auckland.  Did the Chinese build these pyramids?  More research needed


Evidence of Shipwrecks
• Ruapuke Beach
•  Dusky Sound

Cedric Bell's Survey of South Island :
Lyttleton; Governor's Bay; Banks Peninsular; Flea Bay; Stony Bay; Otanerito Bay; Le Bon's Beach; Otanerito Bay; Le Bon's Beach; Okain's Bay; Akaroa; The Catlins; Kaka Point; Cannibal Bay; Surat Bay; Papatowai Tahakopa Bay; Moeraki Beach; Katiki Beach (See Independent reports for more details)

TOTAL OF (a) = 38 junks over 40m
(b) = 6 junks over 20m
(c) = 8 junks less than 20m, some possibly horse transports or mobile rafts
GRAND TOTAL = 44 junks over 20m

• Burnt timber of junk caused the Moeraki cliff colour to change from brown to blacky grey.  The compressed layers of carbonised timber above one section of the concrete can be seen – Cedric Bell
• From the wrecks of several junks – the largest were found to have been lined by pouring in man made cement – made from volcanic ash and baked lime.  This achieved the treble purpose of strengthening the hull along its whole length to reduce hogging and sagging, lowering the centre of gravity and making waterproof storage tanks for both freshwater and fish  - Cedric Bell

• Large pieces of wreckage have been uncovered by a severe storm on the West Coast of New Zealand.  News items include “three pieces of shipwreck have now been found on West Coast beaches.  Experts are no closer to establishing what sailing ship they are from” samples of pegged timber and bronze sheathing have been sent for analysis but comment is that ship “may be a lot, lot older than our recorded shipwrecks” - Hamish Brown

DATING RESULTS FOR NEW ZEALAND - OBTAINED BY 1421 TEAM

  1 Sigma 2 Sigma Material and Method Location  Laboratory Test and Date

1 195 B.C. to 46 B.C. 226 B.C. to 19 A.D. (86%) Smelted Iron Lyttleton Fortified Site Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, 31 July, 2003
2 782-900 AD 769-983 AD Mortar Atmospheric della 14c Lyttleton Fortified situ Allendale Reserve Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory 19 June 2003.
3 1162-1225 AD 1043-1100 AD and 1115-1270 Smelter slag Accelerator mass spectrometry Iron works Le Bons Bay Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory 20 May 2003
4 1141-1608 AD Not known (Evening Post 1976) Carbon dating Whatarangi Station at Black Rock Not known (Evening Post 1976)
5 1676   Rimu wood Lyttleton Allandale Reserve Fortified Area Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory
6 1676-1764 earliest date 1165-1945 Mortar Lyttelton same site as 1. above but higher up – Allendale Research Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory
7 1691 earliest date   Catlins wood miro (from Pitcairn?) Catlins Tahakopa Bay Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory
8 1770 Captain Cook Discovers New Zealand   Cape Jackson 

ADDITIONAL CARBON DATING RESULTS FOR NEW ZEALAND – OBTAINED FROM WAIKATO UNIVERSITY WEBSITE
DATE LOCATION TYPE
485 A.D. Catlins Moa bones, shells, seal bones
885 A.D. Clarence River, Marlborough “Oven Moa hunter site”
1022 A.D. Mount Donald, N Canterbury Oven site
1026 A.D. Rakaia River Oven sites
1032 A.D. Lagoon site, Glenorchy, Otago “Rimmed oven”
1032 A.D. Oturehua, Otago Quarry
1321 A.D. Wakanui, Ashburton (Rakia) Oven
1376 A.D.   Human bone
1425 A.D. Glenorchy, Otago “Rimmed oven”
1570 A.D. Panau, Canterbury

 

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