By Roselyn Fauth
Inside the historic Landing Service Building owned by the Timaru Civic Trust on George Street is Te Ana Māori Rock Art Centre. A stunning and special centre for indigenous rock art. This is the perfect place to begin exploring the region’s earliest artists, their stories and histories. Te Ana brings to life the rock drawings created by Māori ancestors from as early as the 1300s. Found in limestone shelters across South Canterbury, these artworks are among the oldest in Aotearoa. At Te Ana, you can see them up close, hear the stories behind them, and learn how Ngāi Tahu with the community are protecting this heritage today. You can take a look around the space by yourself and study their exhibits, or join a personalised tour with a guide around the centre for an hour. Visiting a rock art site remains a quiet and moving experience. Sitting in the shelter, surrounded by silence, many visitors reflect on the journeys of the original Māori artists and the meanings behind their marks. The sense of presence and connection is strong. teana.co.nz/our-tours
Ngāi Tahu are the indigenous people of Te Waipounamu (the South Island of New Zealand), descended from Waitaha, Ngāti Mamoe, and Ngāi Tahu ancestors. Te Ana is a non-profit organization that protects and preserves Māori rock art on behalf of Ngāi Tahu. Rock art in New Zealand, mainly found in limestone areas of North Otago and South Canterbury, is made with long-lasting natural pigments but is still vulnerable to environmental damage and human interference. Te Ana raises awareness and funds through tours to safeguard this cultural legacy for future generations. "Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei. For us, and our children after us" - Te Ana
The musuem was designed by mana whenua, Te Ana features recreated shelters, digital displays, and interactive storytelling. It connects ancient art with living culture and helps visitors understand the meaning and context of what they’ll find in the landscape. Te Ana gives you the background to appreciate the drawings in their original settings. It’s also ideal for families, schools, and visitors keen to explore our local history with meaning.
Location: Te Ana Māori Rock Art Centre is inside, Civic Trust's Landing Service Building. 2 George Street, Timaru. www.teana.co.nz Get Directions - Google Map
Head out to discover the drawings tucked away limestone overhangs and experience the area where people have been over the centuries
These sites are located in the South Canterbury region and offer easy access to authentic Māori rock art in their original settings. Only a handful of the rock art sites are accesable to the public, and have been protected with fencing and to made safe for public viewing. We love to visit the spaces to explore the rock art, slow down and take time and imagine the people who were here all those years ago creating the rock art, what the landscape would have been like, and their way of life. The interpretation of the art has been lost over time, and so take time to study the images and find your own connection to the art and ideas on what they could say.
After a visit to the rock art centre, you could experience a taniwha artwork that was gifted to the Caroline Bay Playground and inspired by rock art
Artist Francine Spencer with the taniwha that she designed and gifted to the Caroline Bay Playground.
At the Caroline Bay Playground in Timaru, you can experience a special cultural and artistic feature lurkng in the sea beneath the flying fox! A striking 12 metre long taniwha artwork designed by local Māori artist Francine Spencer was inspired by her ancestral connection to the Ngāi Tahu rock art found throughout South Canterbury. This mythical sea guardian is set into the playground’s rubber safety surfacing as part of a sea rescue-themed play area. The taniwha, a supernatural being in Māori tradition, can act as both protector and playful challenge, encouraging children to imagine daring rescues or thrilling escapes. Will the taniwha care for you and grant you a safe passage, or will it bite you with its beak, sting with its tail, or reach out with its claws as you soar over it from a sinking ship to the shore? This installation brings storytelling and cultural heritage into play, helping to deepen connections with local Māori traditions and ideas of environmental guardianship, or kaitiakitanga. Māori artist, Francine Spencer, whose ancestry includes Waitaha, Ngāti Mamoe and Ngāi Tahu, gifted her artwork to the community to celebrate identity, connection and place. The taniwha symbolises the bond between people and the natural world, echoing the ancient stories and rock art created by Māori ancestors in this region. Come to play, explore and connect with the stories of the land – and the taniwha that watches over it.
Caroline Bay Playground. 1 Virtue Ave Get Directions - Google Map
CPlay Playground opened 6 Dec 2023. The two-meter-high black frames weere installed to feature art and artifacts on information and stories that helped inspire the playground design - photo Geoff Cloake
Rock art was photographed by Geoff Cloake. Image used with the permission from Te Ana Ngāi Tahu Māori Rock Art Centre and Te Rūnanga o Moeraki. - Caroline Bay Playground 2024, photo by Roselyn Fauth
Piece of rock art on display at the Te Ana Māori Rock Art Centre in Timaru. Photograph by Geoff Cloake. Image used with the permission from Te Ana Ngāi Tahu Māori Rock Art Centre and Te Rūnanga o Moeraki.
Some say this image could depict a creation story of an ancestral waka, the Ārai-te-uru which sailed past what is now known as Te Tihi-o-Maru (Timaru), down the coast and capsized near Matakaea (Shag Point). Many of the passengers went ashore to explore the land and did not make it back to the waka before daylight. Instead they turned into many of the landmarks of Te Waipounamu (South Island). Aoraki (Mount Cook) is at the centre of the Ngāi Tahu creation traditions of Te Waipounamu (South Island). Aoraki (Cloud in the Sky) is on his grandfather Kirikirikatata shoulders. Pātītī (Patiti Point) and Tarahaoa and Hua-te-kerekere (Big Mount Peel and Little Mount Peel) were also passengers. This is why Aotearoa (New Zealand) maunga (mountains) are sacred. This piece of rock art was removed from Takiroa (Waitaki Valley) and is on display at Te Ana Māori Rock Art Centre. The rock art was photographed by Geoff Cloake and reproduced with the permission of Te Rūnanga o Moeraki, Arowhenua and Waihao. Please do not reproduce this rock art image without permission.
The rock art piece featured at the Caroline Bay Playground that is on display at Te Ana Māori Rock Art Centre in Timaru, was removed by J.L. Elmore from Takiroa. The removal was part of early efforts to preserve the artworks around 1913 for display in museum collections. Though such actions are now viewed with greater cultural sensitivity. The historic area is among the most recognised Māori rock art sites in New Zealand. It features painted rock art on a limestone outcrop, some of which is thought to pre-date European arrival. The site also includes evidence of both pre- and post-contact Māori occupation. The Takiroa site is professionally interpreted and is accessed by a paved footpath. The Takiroa site is managed by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, who oversee its preservation and cultural significance. The site features a limestone rock shelter containing several pieces of Māori rock art, dating between 1400 and 1900 AD. The shelter is open to public viewing, with fences constructed to protect the artwork from damage. The Māori drawings made from ochre, bird fat, and charcoal.
Takiroa Rock Art Shelter (c. 1400-1900). Kurow-Duntroon Road (State Highway 83), DUNTROON. Get Directions - Google Map
Te Manunui - The Great Bird Rock Art Site (Frenchmans Gully)
A 25-minute drive southwest of Timaru, this site features what is thought to be depictions of birds and human figures. A brief walk from the roadside leads you to a limestone overhang. Give your eyes time to rest and then look for ancient artworks on the walls and ceiling. Please respect the private farmland by staying on the designated path. The Te Manunui Rock Art Site is one of the few sites that are accessible to the public. For tangata whenua, the site is a tangible link to their ancestors’ activities, migration routes, and traditions. The presence of extinct animals and stylistic similarities to Eastern Polynesian art suggest it dates to the earliest phase of Māori settlement in Te Wai Pounamu. Some believe the bird figure ‘Te Manunui’ (the Great Bird) represents New Zealand’s now extinct Pouakai or the Haast eagle (Aquila moorei, previously Harpagornis moorei) that was associated with the Canterbury area. It is easy to get to, and the drawings are reasonably clear. A wonderful place to take your family and visitors, and to raise public awareness and appreciation of Māori rock art, and to educate the public about the earliest stages of human habitation in New Zealand. Historic Place Category 1 in the Canterbury Region
25 minute drive from Timaru via Taiko Vaklley and across Pareora River. 2 min walk from the road side. Note the path can be muddy when wet.
215 Frenchmans Gully Road, Maungati Get Directions - Google Map
Valley of the Moa (Maungati) (near Pareora Gorge)
Access is by a short walk from roadside parking. Features: Viewable drawings under shelter, with interpretation panels. Maungati means “mountain of cabbage tree” in te reo Māori, derived from maunga (mountain) and tī (cabbage tree). Once known as Timaunga, the name changed to Maungati, and the local school followed suit in 1979. This rural area in the Waimate District features notable Māori rock art in its limestone formations. Park at the gate, and over a 1 km in-and-back trail. This quiet walk leads you through farmland to a limestone overhang with ancient rock artwork, including drawings of what is thought to be the now-extinct moa. The walk takes around 19 minutes and is suitable for hiking or gentle walking. It is open to the public outside of lambing and calving season (August and September). Please also be respectful of surroundings and do not venture off the marked path. .
92 Moa Road, Maungati Google Map
Raincliff Historic Reserve (Middle Valley Road)
The setting of this site is absolutely stunning. It is important to go with the expectation that the art at this site has detorated and is now challenging to see. But, we think it is still worth the trip out to experience the area. The first section of steps is quite steep and sturdy footwear is required. As well as this rock art site, there are lots of things in the area, including a rock art brass rubbing - you can print off our brass rubbing trail and take it with you as some free family fun. The signed site on Raincliff/Middle Valley Rd is just north of the Scout Camp/river bridge crossing. Located between Pleasant Point and Geraldine, this site is a 35 minute drive from Timaru, or a 30 minute drive from Geraldine.
1580 Middle Valley Road, Middle Valley, New Zealand - Google Maps
Three Mile Bush Road
Located on the road side 30 mins from Timaru and Geraldine. You can park right at the entrance of the cave and step over the grass verge to the caged area. There are multiple drawings within the single overhang, mostly in red pigment. The site is located approximately 1km along the road on the right hand side (next to the gravel road sign).
Three Mile Bush Road - Get Directions - Google Maps
Visit the Timaru Information Center for a physical map to take with you... and dont forget to help you understand the meanings behind these drawings, Te Ana Māori Rock Art Centre in Timaru is a must see, for an interactive experience on the history of Māori Rock Art drawings. Te Ana also offer a guided experience with local Ngai Tahu decedents of another rock art site that is not able to be accessed by the general public and offers an even more indepth learning of the history of early Māori settlers and the specific drawings in the caves on that site. Find out more about Te Ana Māori Rock Art Experiences here
For maps and driving directions, visit:
www.wuhootimaru.co.nz/rock-art-sites