18 Annex 18 – Evidence of Chinese Fleets visit to New Zealand

Annex 18 – Evidence of Chinese Fleets visit to New Zealand

Maps
• Jean Rotz, published two centuries Captain Cook “discovered” the islands; the bays of Auckland Island and Campbell Island are drawn with correct latitudes.

Chinese Records and Claims
Further research needed

Accounts of European Historians and Explorers
• Captain Cook accepts he was not the first to Australasia. Maori legends – ‘people from north arrive in large ships’. Captain Cook may have had Chinese map (William Li).
• From Pre-Tasman Explorers by Ross Wiseman:-

“Don Luis Arias sent a memo to his king describing a south American legend of a Pacific crossing from Chile before the European voyages of discovery carried out by light cloured or white skinned people … who wore white woven garments…”

• Dr Arias wrote to the king at the request of Franciscan Friar John de Silva who envisaged the Southern Land (discovered by Fernandez in 1576) should be colonized before the Dutch or English discovered it.
• Juan Fernandez’ records seeing Chinese people.  His account says: … he came across a long straight coastline which was at about 40eg latitude South. The inhabitants had white skin and they were in good shape and welcomed the navigators.
• Fernandez met people in the Marborough Sounds whom he described as white people and who wore white woven garments – Marborough Sounds was the home of Waitaha people. – “Pre-Tasman Explorers” by Ross Wiseman. (David Cosgrove)
• In 1773, Capt. Cook met a Ngaitahu who he describes as dark complexioned, with black curly hair, well proportioned upper body with ‘remarkably slender and bandy legs’. Cook, although familiar with the Maori tongue was unable to understand their language – Maori/ Chinese amalgamated dialect and bodily features
• Tasman noted that the natives they saw in canoes have “black hair tied together right on top of their heads, in the way and fashion the Japanese have it at the back of the head…”
• Norfolk Island pines and flightless teal found at Campbell Island (pines planted over graves – Teal to keep bugs off rice – (Mendoza)
• Zhai Mo from Tai’nan – Shandong aims to show cultures of the original inhabitants along the Pacific arose from Chinese culture.  From his voyage around the islands of the Southern Pacific, he collected many items from local people including totem poles and music.
“ We trace our roots to China far, far away” Zhai Mo said as he repeated the words of Maori chief.  “I’ve long dreamed of showing that the cultures of the original inhabitants along the Pacific Ocean arose from the Chinese culture”

• As reported by Dan Eaton, the New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters left several of his Asian counterparts “gobsmacked” after telling them the first New Zealanders were descendants of the Chinese. In a bid to dispel scepticism that New Zealand was part of the Asian region, Mr Peters told his Association of Southeast Asian Nations counterparts at a meeting in the Malaysian capital that DNA evidence suggested Maori  originated from China. “I addressed that issue at our Asean meeting this morning,” Mr Peters said yesterday. “My point is very simple, that the indigenous people of New Zealand came from China. The first New Zealanders came from China. I don’t think you can take it further than that…”

Chinese Porcelain and Ceramics
• Thousands of pieces of pottery are found washed up on the beaches in Akaroa harbour which would have probably been used by a ship as ballast.  Is this pottery from a Chinese Junk? – more research needed (Doug Singer)
• A reader in New Zealand has found ten clay skulls together in monument form, along with other clay forms (cats, birds, dragons, and buffaloes.) The find was uncovered 3 metres deep in a road slip. The reader believes the finds to be pre-Maori, and there is no history or sign of Maori occupation in the area. Photographs of these objects will be posted on our “Gallery” soon.

Stone: Buildings/ structures – the Maori did not build in stone.
• ‘Palliser Bay Gardens’- stone walls, platforms and alignments extend over miles of coastland from Whatarangi station to Black Rocks, near the lighthouse – radiocarbon dated between 1141 to 1608.
• Waipoua Forest: 2000 stone piles and structures over an area of 600 acres both sides of the lower Waipoua River (Gary Cook)
• A massive stone with a petroglyph plan of gardens which are marked out by a line of low stone cairns
• Beautifully paved cobbled road near Brynderwyn, North Island
• Le Bon Beach, Banks Peninsula – smelter with stonework
• Stone wall at Lake Taupo (Kaimanawa) – a Chinese observation platform
• Drains made for cultivation– 50-80ft gully below lagoon on the Kaipara, West coast – pre Maori. Drains also found near Kaitaia traversing the swamp lands, also found in North Auckland
• Stone settlement in Kaiangaroa Forest. Comprises measured stone walls, possible living quarters. Closed to the public since 1973.
• Rock face at Whangape New Zealand – appears to have been modified by man 500 years ago (Robert Buchanan) – More research needed

Plants found indigenous to another continent
• Maize (Zea Mays) from Peru (Dave Bell)
• Scented grass – also found in Colombia (Dave Bell)
• Marsh cress from America (Navajo Indian cosmetic) discovered by French, 1828 (Dave Bell)
• New Zealand Spinach also found in Asia
• Taro from China
• Kumara from South America – no Polynesian DNA has been found in peoples of S. America (Prof. Bryan Sykes) therefore some non-Polynesian people must have charted the islands and carried them over.  Acres of pits can be found– gravel dug for hilling potatoes 4-5 feet deep
By the time Europeans arrived in NZ the kumara was as thin as a finger, and of little value as a food. The Maori were facing starvation as it was a staple food. This is interesting because it shows no real knowledge of true cultivation and management of plant stock, so the likelihood of them bringing it in canoes and carefully tending it seems more of a myth than ever – Dave Bell
• Karaka tree brought over by the Chinese from Easter Island (Journeys into the Mystery – Gary Cook)
• Conifers appear in Fiji, New Hebrides, Tasmania, Australia and New Zealand:
• “There are 77 plant species unique to New Zealand, Tasmania and Central America”
• Chenopodium Album – discovered by Cook on South Island, 1769, indigenous to China and North America (Dave Bell)
• Paper mulberry (Brouseonetia Papyrifera) from Hawaii – used for tapa cloth
• Hue (lagenia vulgaris) from Hawaii – gourd plant used for food.
•  Cheilanthes tenufolia from Asia
• Wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea)
• Broadleaf (Grislinia littoracis) from Chile
• Wild turnip from India
• Black nightshade from Hawaii
• Watercress from California
• Miro trees from Pitcairn

Animals found indigenous to another continent
New Zealand has no indigenous animals – Dr Richard Holdaway, fossil researcher
• Chinese pigs – kune kune
• Kaimanawa wild horses (? from Tajikistan); see also Assateague ponies; Brumby horses (Fraser Island); Peruvian Pasos; N. American Bashkir Curlies – more research needed into their origins
• Flightless Campbell Island Teal?
• Pacific Rat (Kiore) – Dr R.N. Holdaway of Palaecol Research, NZ dates rat bones on NZ to 2000yrs BP during the Han Dynasty – could only have arrived with humans on seafaring craft
• Moa – extinct for c.600 years.  Primarily believed to be the result of over hunting by the Maori.  The work of Dallas Abbott and Ted Byrant (see Part III and Part VIII Appendices) about a comet passing SE Australia and hitting the ocean floor at 48.3º S, 166.4º E creating a tsunami which threw Zhou Man’s fleet to South Island. This also resulted in the mass killing many Moa.  In order to view a website re the discussion of the distinction of the Moa click here.
• Otters – there have been many sightings of the NZ otter.  There are no written accounts of Europeans introducing them to NZ.  The Chinese carried otters in their Junks to help with fishing.
• New Zealand has bats (DNA linked to Peruvian Sea Bats) which are alleged to have “migrated” from South America by being caught in a sea storm off Peru and thus swept to NZ – a bit fanciful some might say! Perhaps the Chinese fleets had unwanted passengers? – Louis Hissink M.Sc. M.A.I.G.
• Spanish moorhen found on arrival of Europeans.  How did this get there?  We know that the Chinese had been to Spain – Mulanpi – is this the explanation?

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

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)

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

Date of Tsunami/Relevant Impact
(Professor Edward Bryant Tsunami – the Underrated Hazard, p. 234)
Diagram 8.3
Chinese and Japanese meteor sightings. Peaked 1410-1430.