Spectrum 033. The moa

Rights Information
Year
1972
Reference
26619
Media type
Audio
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Rights Information
Year
1972
Reference
26619
Media type
Audio
Categories
Documentary radio programs
Nonfiction radio programs
Radio programs
Sound recordings
Duration
00:29:03
Credits
RNZ Collection
New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (estab. 1962, closed 1975), Broadcaster
Perkins, Jack (b.1940), Producer
Owen, Alwyn (b.1926), Producer
Falla, R. A. (Robert Alexander), Speaker/Kaikōrero
Orbell, Geoffrey Buckland, 1908-2007, Speaker/Kaikōrero
Mackenzie, Alice, 1873-1963, Speaker/Kaikōrero

A look at the history and the hoaxes surrounding New Zealand's most famous extinct bird - the moa.

Jack Perkins recounts the history of the discovery of the existence of the moa by Professor Richard Owen in 1839, and the very tall reconstruction of their skeletons in early exhibitions.

Dr Robert Falla discusses the different species of moa and theories on how they evolved. He also talks about early discoveries of moa bones and theories on why they became extinct.

American humorist Mark Twain also had a theory on why they became extinct - read.

It is thought the very last moa did not become extinct until after European settlement. Sealers described seeing a bird in Fiordland which they called 'the fireman on account of the rattling noise it made, which is thought to have been one of the smaller bush moa - an imagined recreation of the sound it made is heard.

Alice McKenzie's account of seeing such a moa in Martin's Bay around 1880 is generally believed to be accurate - and an excerpt of an interview she recorded in Dunedin in 1959 is heard.

Dr Geoffrey Orbell, who rediscovered the notornis, says he found Alice McKenzie's account convincing - and says Sir George Grey also gave an account of moa being hunted by Māori in Preservation Inlet in 1863. Dr Robert Falla also agrees, saying the smaller bush moa called megalapteryx, appears to have been very common in Fiordland and South Westland, as relatively fresh skeletons, feathers and mummified birds have been found in caves.

Jules Berg who also lived at Preservation Inlet, claimed to have seen the bird in a group near Lake Widgeon. A written account is read.

Hoaxes and practical jokes about moa sightings have appeared in newspapers regularly - an example from 1919 is read.

A Kumara man Mick Neville talks about his part in the Great Moa Hoax of the early 1950s. He recreated some moa foot-prints in river sand and casts of them were sent to Dr Falla.

Dr Falla ends by saying he now feels fairly sure there are no remaining moa, as the remote areas of Fiordland have been opened up by helicopters etc.