The Ngāio tree is a plentiful species found in many coastal areas. The southern variation of this tree is called Te Kāio. Te Kāio takes its name from a gully of kaio trees found there.
Te Kāio is also known more commonly as Tumbledown Bay. This name derived from an incident involving too much alcohol and bottles being smashed after tumbling down a steep slope.
Archaeology
There is archaeological evidence showing this bay was occupied over many years, starting from the Moa hunter period. The quantity of artefacts, middens and human remains found there in excavations dating from 1870s onwards indicate it it was once a populous settlement.
In recent times, more artefacts have been found including a greenstone adze in 1965 and another in 1971.
Images of Te Kāio Bay (Tumbledown Bay)
Sources
- H. C. Jacobson Tales of Banks Peninsula, The Akaroa Mail, 1914
- Te Maire Tau and Atholl Anderson editors. Ngāi Tahu A Migration History, Bridget William Books, 2008
- Louis J. Vangioni; with supplementary notes by D. J. C. Pringle, Old Maori place names around Akaroa Harbour, Akaroa Mail, Akaroa, 1967
