Three tunnels in the bank beside Shore St were expected to be of special interest to a group of Māori from Taranaki who arrived in Dunedin on Saturday, November 9, 1985.
The tunnel entrances were cleared ahead of time by Dunedin City Council workers. It is believed the visitors' ancestors used the tunnels as shelter when working around the harbour as prisoners in Dunedin.
The trip south is a sacred pilgrimage to pay tribute to the Ngāi Tahu tribe at the Ōtākou Marae on the Otago Peninsula.
The 1985 journey was made to honour the fact that members of Ngāi Tahu cared for Māori prisoners sent to Dunedin from Taranaki last century.
There were two groups of Māori prisoners in Dunedin. One group of 74 men was from the land wars. They came in 1869 and were released just over two years later.
The second group of 46 prisoners was from Parihaka, the settlement based on a philosophy of peaceful resistance. These disciples of Te Whiti o Rongomai arrived in 1879.
