Towards the development of colonial archaeology in New Zealand: Part 1

In this, the first of two papers, Peter Coutts, Director of the Victoria Archaeological Survey, writes about part of his work in New Zealand some years ago. In New Zealand, as also in Australia, historical archaeologists are faced with the problem of constructing a usable data base, comprising both documentary and archaeological material, on which future research workers can draw. In the following paper this task is attempted for the New Zealand building industry in the 19th century. Other aspects of New Zealand historical archaeology will be examined in a subsequent paper. The author discusses building materials and their sources and examines the way that the availability of these materials influenced building, particularly house-building, in New Zealand during the 19th century. He shows also how fluctuations in the building industry correlated with economic booms and depressions.