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Story: Shipwrecks

Moeraki Boulders

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Moeraki Boulders

A famous Māori wreck is the Ārai-te-uru canoe, which ran ashore at Matakaea (Shag Point), Otago. The cargo of kūmara (sweet potatoes), gourds and eel pots are said to have become the Moeraki Boulders.

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Reference: CN34629

by Lloyd Homer

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How to cite this page

Gerard Hutching, Shipwrecks – Māori shipwreck stories, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/7280/moeraki-boulders (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 2 March 2009.