Heritage preservation in Allanton Forest

Careful planning and skillful logging and roading operations have enabled us to preserve important historical sites in Allanton Forest.
Before we started work, we invited Southern Pacific Archaeological Research (SPAR) to identify heritage sites associated with pre-1900 European and Māori activity within the areas to be harvested. The sites they found include significant lengths of sod wall, umu (earth ovens) and the remains of a sod house from pre-1900 farming activities in the area.
Wenita obtained an archaeological authority from Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and developed a management plan to work around the sites.
As the harvesting has progressed, the logging contractor, Roxburgh Contracting, has discovered several additional and previously unrecorded sections of sod wall and appplied our Accidental Discovery Protocols. Wenita has documented the new discoveries, reported them to Heritage New Zealand and replanned the harvesting and earthworks operations to preserve the sites. Once harvesting has been completed, SPAR will conduct an assessment on both the previously known sites and the new discoveries to assess their post-harvest condition.