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Rock art is an important resource to the people of Ngai Tahu as it provides a key to the history and development of Maori heritage in the South Island.
However, during the development of the Waitaki power scheme, some rivers were dewatered, as water was diverted into canals, and other parts of river valleys were drowned to form lakes. As a result of the submergence of the mid Waitaki River a number of Maori rock art sites were lost.
Meridian Energy supports the Ngai Tahu Maori Rock Art Trust through funding of a curator. The curator is cataloguing all the rock art sites throughout the South Island involving locating and photographing all sites, is developing measures to manage and protect rock art, and also works with local iwi to ensure local participation of Ngai Tahu runanga in rock art.
Find out more about rock art here at the Ngai Tahu website
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