The Spanish Helmet Read Online Free PDF Page B

Island. Scientists say they were formed, over millions of years, under the ocean. Then they were slowly exposed by erosion. They’re popular with tourists.’
‘How does that relate to the Chinese then?’
‘Menzies reckons the Chinese were beached at Moeraki and needed to lighten their load. So they threw their ballast, large round stones, overboard on the beach. Chinese ballast equals Moeraki Boulders.’
‘Sound s a bit of a stretch. It would be fun to see them and make an opinion for myself. Not that I’m one to argue with science.’
Matt was amazed at how many theories there were about the discovery of New Zealand, and even more impressed with having met Aimee and getting the chance to learn of them.
‘Then there’s questions about the origin of some of our plants and animals,’ Aimee said. ‘Like Kumara, you know, sweet potato. It seems to have come from South America sometime. And the rat bones, there are rat bones from European rats that have been carbon-dated to long before Tasman and Cook visited.’
‘I can’t believe there are so many questions. Why isn’t more work being done to investigate these theories?’
Aimee didn’t answer him, but Matt didn’t care. She was so animated and carried away with the conversation and her enthusiasm was infectious.
‘There’s also a tradition among some of the Maori tribes of the fair-haired, tall people. And then, of course, there’s the Spanish Helmet.’ She finished.
‘The Spanish Helmet?’
‘A Spanish Helmet was dredged out of Wellington Harbour, sometime around 1880. It’s quite controversial, coz it’s been dated to the early fifteen hundreds. Some folk argue it’s a sign of Spanish visits. The officials say it was probably a gift to Maori from a later European explorer, or a part of someone’s private collection.’
Matt smiled at Aimee. ‘New Zealand seems to be suffering from an identity crisis, it’s going to be interesting looking around. But I don’t understand. If there are so many questions about your history, why don’t more people bring forward information that might help sort things out?’
‘Probably ninety-nine percent of them don’t even know there’s a question in the first place. It just doesn’t interest them,’ Aimee said. ‘Even I hadn’t thought about this stuff for a while. But now you’ve got me interested again. I’ll probably spend the next few days immersed in pseudo-history websites.’
‘Really?’ Matt thought she was joking, but he couldn’t be sure.
‘Yeah, and it’s all your fault,’ she said, laughing and thumping him gently on the thigh.
‘Sorry.’
Matt grinned and watched Aimee place her knife and fork together, take a last sip of the juice, and sit back in her chair looking thoughtful. He sat thinking, perplexed by what he had learned. It amazed him there could be so many questions about the history of a country, yet so little information about these theories was publicised. He thought about his own England and was convinced if there were serious questions regarding her history, these would be addressed as thoroughly and as quickly as possible. What was standing in the way of the New Zealand government? Or the people for that matter?
After breakfast, Matt and Aimee talked about various tourist sites he might like to visit while in New Zealand and also about a few beaches where he might relax. They also compared their boarding passes for the second flight and saw they would be in different parts of the aircraft. During the descent and transit time in Singapore they made polite small-talk and got to know each other a little better. She even surprised Matt by giving him her contact number, in case he wanted to get in touch for more info. As they boarded the second flight they said goodbye and wished each other a good flight.
The second take-off and landing both went off without a hitch, or a wink of sleep.
It was only as he walked the through the gangway between the aircraft and the Auckland