Aust researcher in NZ hunt for lost civilisation:-22 April 1996 » The Press, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Original Article
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/adze/news.htm
Tauranga- An Australian researcher is comming to Tauranga in June to hunt for a lost civilisation. Rex Gilroy of Tamworth, Australia, hopes to find a race of highly advanced megalith-building people developed in the Bay of Plenty and other parts of Austrilasia.
If Mr Gilroy, 52, finds what he is looking for, the history of New Zealand would have to be rewritten.
Mr Gilroy, director of the Australia Pacific Archeological Research Centre, and his wife Heather will spend up to a week in the Bay of Plenty investigating claimed sightings of Viking Ship art.
Mr Gilroy said the inscribed rocks were found about 10km to 15km south of Tauranga. They are said to be adorned with scripts depicting Viking ships, Scandinavian serpents, and a human figure with a hammer-shaped weapon.
Mr Gilroy is also excited about a brick shaped stone, adorned with strange symbols, found about 20 years ago in the area.
This will be the Gilroys' fourth expidition to Tauranga since 1980. He said he had not yet found any inscriptions or stones of great significance, but this time around he will come armed with a better idea of where to look.
Mr Gilroy is also hoping to discover serpent and eagle motif alters similar to those found in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and New Britain.