New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

Your so right in every way Robert. The urge to do the right thing and try and work in with these guys is overwhelming but the risk factor of stirring things up is too much. There would have to be someone in the system who is on our side for the better good.
And yes we would all gain a great deal working together if that were the case.
Like many others, i would be unsure of the final outcome which i'm not convinced would be in our favour.

HH

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Thats it, an unrealistic protection of the past.
Why is it that that NZ doesn't want its past dug up. And why is it that when it is it's reburied in the dark confines of a room somewhere never to be seen again.
No wonder the historic society is nicknamed the hysterical society, even thats an understatement.

OMG!, look over there, there's someone digging up coins with a hand trowel, quick.. call the police.

HH

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The site obviously had humans on it before 1900. The local paper had an article on Tuesday about the 150th anniversary they will be having in a couple of weeks. I still do not see how this makes it a site of archaeological interest. Nobody lived there, nobody built anything there, it was simply a picnic ground. What you will find (and I have found) is coins, forks, spoons, pocket watches, and bits of horse gear. Because that is what people lose at a picnic ground. The only information that gives is that someone was camped out there eating, and we already know that. In my opinion there is very little of historical interest as far as Europeans are concerned anywhere in New Zealand; they simply haven't been here that long and where they were and what they did is pretty well documented. What they are excavating in Britton is stuff from the Romans and earlier; those people don't still have family on the farm, and the record of what they did and how they did it is not as clear. You find a viking picnic ground and I can see taking a professional look at it. But to say any place that had humans before 1900 is the domain of archeologists and you can't touch it is absurd. Why would anyone buy land? So you can pay the rates on it and maintain it, but if you so much as break the surface and potentially disturb possible artefacts (that are to be left in the ground) you get a $300,000 fine?

Exactly right and to the point #8 however them there professionals have known about groups like ours for years yet their ego has failed their vision to put something like this into place thus far - I cannot help bet think that WE will have to do that for ourselves and rightfully so - at least we can identify a GOLDen opportunity when its under our nose, if you catch my drift -

I cannot help but think that it may be just about the right time we become a association or something similar (sorry Golddigger7 I didn't read your last post before I posted but YES you hit the nail on the head) -

Edited by user Saturday, 31 January 2015 10:12:23 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Disagree regarding guidelines Creamer.
I think most of us on here, and a majority out there, operate under the basic agreed "code of conduct".

However there is always the guy who either a) buys a "treasure detector" after watching some TV show and will indiscriminately shovel anywhere in order to get their finds, or b) doesn't give the proverbial flying #### and nighthawk in areas they know are off limits.

Problem is, it's a very broad brush and we will always get properly tarred and feathered because of the few...

It was a very, very long road before the UK came up with the PAS as it is today, and whilst not perfect, it has come a long way to recognising that detectorists ARE out there, making finds.
True, there is still an extensive nighthawking community in the UK, but so much more is being recorded and reported today than was previously, and detectorists are becoming a lot more accommodating in reporting their finds.

...The cutoff for PAS reporting, incidentally, is pretty much 100 years before Europeans arrived in NZ. In NZ, at pre-1900, it's effectively anything European (with the Maori being a non-metal society). Different in the UK with a couple of thousand years of people dropping artifacts. Or throwing them around en mass as it seems the Romans did!

To the letter of the law:
I can't legally detect the property where my grandparents built their house and lived...Despite having personally talked to them in living history!
I cannot search for, and retrieve $1 dropped in a DOC reserve a week ago, as that would be removal of material... and a permit would need to be submitted! (I have argued this logic at length at a DOC office before giving up and going outside to bang head on wall!)

However, I CAN (theoretically) search a shipwreck of a vessel built in the 1700's but didn't sink until Jan 2nd 1900... Yes, very unlikely, but makes a point.

Commonsense doesn't exist in Law.


MW

Edited by user Saturday, 31 January 2015 8:03:37 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Found this in my wanderings after recent events:
http://doc.govt.nz/global/train...rses/historic/index.html

And Guardian: Mate, my wife is probably waaaay scarier than yours! Should've seen her tear a strip off a couple of pighunters taking a shortcut across our block... I was the perfect husband for a couple of weeks afterwards!

Maybe post a link to some of our UK youtube brethren and get some of their point of views on this matter

.For the record and no disrespect to everything you have/had done Rob I took it upon myself to contact the Regional Archaeologist of Otago/Southland for Heritage New Zealand and phoned them on Friday -

I got as far as their wonderful receptionist from memory (if position wrong I apologize) who was adamant that they DID indeed want to work with our group and she kept on stating that to me on the phone - Unfortunately the person she wanted to put me through to was not there and promised they would return the call first thing today (Monday) -

Edited by user Monday, 2 February 2015 5:10:46 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Just a thought here, but in the 1930s a fair few farmers grew potatoes to help with the depression, and when it came to harvest time the unemployed ( fair few of them) and army were called in to help dig and pack into sacks, make shift camps were set up on various fields through out the south island, if we could find out the locations and ask Mr farmer for permission then maybe that could be an option for the champs ? I'm sure the Historic value is not enough to bother Mr S ???

interesting award for Herr Schmidt...an award for bring our colourful POST 1900 history to light, when does an archaelogist simply turn to historian, at least an historian can work within current records and not need to go out in the field that much. Sice this post started I have been looking at an achaelogical dig currently underway in down town Queenstown, my first impressions are

<they could do with an expert metal detectorist on site, cos they would get results a lot faster for metal objects, and they may find more than the limited ones they are finding.
<it looks like a complete waste of time, as there looks like no continuity on the site, a few old brick foundations here, some old stone cobbles there, should I tell them about the big old tree that used to grow in the middle of the site, or should I let them tediously work it out.
<this is obviously a site that is being used as an archaeologist student training site, and the work methodology being undertaken looks quite abstract.

I will get a photo of the site on here later, but my initial thoughts after looking at this one is that perhaps the only reason for keeping archaelogical sites locked down is to give work experience to archaeological students, so everyone has to pay the price for providing work experience to our arty inclined students who cant face the reality of getting qualified for proper jobs :-D or is this all a bit harsh of me, after all I dont see the value of old miners tailings sitting around in piles except as being reused for more useful projects such as rock gardens and fill for gabion walls.