Artefacts removed from Ruapekapeka pa in January that saw a Northland man fined $1600. What has been deemed an 'honest mistake' has led to a Northland man receiving a $1600 fine for the removal of historic war artefacts from Ruapekapeka Pa. Te Ruapekapeka Trust and DoC were alerted through comments on Facebook that the man was seen using a metal detector and removing artefacts at Ruapekapeka pa in late January. The holes cut in ground to remove artefacts from the historic Ruapekapeka pa site. He said sites damaged this year range from middens that are over 700 years old, pa sites, early European mining sites and a host of places in between.

Source: New Zealand Herald May 14, 2021 01:30 UTC