By Rosemary Baird

Two new episodes of the popular Aotearoa Unearthed podcast, produced by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, highlight the increasing interest in maritime archaeology in New Zealand.

Both episodes feature Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Mid Northern Regional Archaeologist, Dr Kurt Bennett, who is now based in New Zealand. Kurt moved to Australia to complete an MA and PhD. in Maritime Archaeology from Flinders University in Adelaide and is passionate about promoting maritime archaeology.   

According to podcast host Rosemary Baird, popular culture often conflates underwater archaeology with treasure hunting. But maritime archaeologists focus on understanding the construction and materials of a wreck as much as any accompanying artefacts. 

“Underwater archaeology was always a topic I wanted to explore in the podcast, ever since I heard about Kurt’s work in Fiordland in 2020-2021 with the two Toitu Settler’s Museum expeditions,” says Rosemary.  

“I have been tank diving once, and found it difficult and a bit scary, so I’m amazed how archaeologists combine their diving skills with meticulous measurement and observation.” 

In New Zealand, we have hundreds of shipwreck sites – and all have a story to tell.  

In the first episode, Kurt shares about his journey to becoming a maritime archaeologist, as well as some of the sites he has surveyed in New Zealand: the first New Zealand European shipwreck, Endeavour in Fiordland in Dusky Sound; Cook’s landing at Pickersgill Harbour; and researching the ship’s graveyard on Rangitoto Island. He also outlines the state of maritime archaeology in New Zealand and the techniques and skills needed by maritime archaeologists. 

Kurt believes maritime archaeology is vital to understanding New Zealand’s history:  

“We are an island nation. Before the arrival of commercial air travel, all our economy, migration and interaction with the world was based on shipping and voyaging. There is so much to learn from maritime archaeological sites,” he says.

The second episode highlights the public archaeology project on the wreck of HMS Buffalo in Whitianga. Kurt, together with Rebecca Cox (Whitianga Museum/Mercury Bay Museum curator) and Matthew Gainsford (maritime archaeologist), led a project in 2021 which worked with recreational divers to conduct fieldwork on the shipwreck in Mercury Bay.

Educational programmes for local schools, where kids pretended to be underwater archaeologists by completing tasks in a school hall, (moving about stomach-down on skateboards) were a hit. Public talks, museum exhibits and collaboration with Ngāti Hei have all led to a much wider community knowledge about the importance of the HMS Buffalo shipwreck. The team’s contribution was recognised when they won the New Zealand Archaeology Association’s Public Archaeology Award in 2022.  

Pam Bain, Regional Services Director for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, and herself an archaeologist, says the new podcast episodes will be a popular addition to the Aotearoa Unearthed podcast, “This podcast is a great resource for New Zealanders interested in our nation’s history and archaeology. We are also amazed to see the international reach. There are listeners from America, Asia, Australia, UK, the Middle East and Europe.”  

The push to engage with New Zealanders about maritime archaeology continued in February 2023 with a Gathering Information via Recreational and Technical (GIRT) Scientific Diving event at Rakiura Stewart Island (Oban and Whaling base 25-26 Feb).