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Position title:
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Curator of Archaeology
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Section:
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Human History
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Email:
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Contact Louise
About Louise
I am responsible for Māori archaeological collections, assemblages from excavated Auckland historic sites, Pacific archaeological collections, and the rest of the world archaeological material from Egypt, Europe, Asia, North and South America.
My research interests are around Māori material culture. I'm also interested in traditional Māori gardening, and the sites and material culture of the first 200 years after Polynesians arrived in Aotearoa.
Research interests and projects
I have two current research projects. One, on early Māori ornaments held in museums and private collections in New Zealand, focuses on the distribution of materials, styles and types nationally and how the distribution relates to resource access, communication and the development of regionally-based Māori culture.
The second, Ahuahu Great Mercury Island Archaeological Project, is a partnership between Auckland War Memorial Museum and The University of Auckland, in collaboration with Sir Michael Fay and Ngati Hei. Ahuahu is 7 km off the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula and has a rich and diverse archaeological landscape. The project is a 10-year programme of archaeological investigations into the history of the island, targeting data relevant to initial settlement and how the environment changed over time, the mobility of Ahuahu's inhabitants through examining imported stone material, changing resource exploitation and socio-political strategies over time.
Selected research publications
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Furey, L. (2015). Clay – a lesser known medium for Māori artefacts. Records of the Auckland Museum. Volume 50.
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Furey, L. (2014). Adzes with Notches. Records of the Auckland Museum, 49: 5-13.
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Furey, L. (2006). Māori gardening: An archaeological perspective. Department of Conservation.
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Furey, L., Sutton, D. & Marshall, Y. (2003). The Archaeology of Pouerua. Auckland University Press.
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Furey, L. (2002). Houhora. A Fourteenth Century Māori Village in Northland. Bulletin of the Auckland Museum, 19.
Explore the collection
Read articles by Louise.
Auckland Museum has in the collection a unique tangible link between Māori and the East Polynesian homeland. A fishing lure made from tropical black-lipped pearl shell was made in East Polynesia and brought here, on a waka, with the Polynesian settlers of Aotearoa.
Objects from Oruarangi, a pa south of Thames, tell us about the activities of Māori who intermittently lived there over a period of hundreds of years. They form a large part of the Museum's Māori collection.