Bay News: 3D printed models aid archaeological research in Northland

NZ Herald

3 days ago

Since releasing his first popular album 'Your Average Australian Yobbo' in 1984 and with hit songs like 'Hey Santa Claus', Kevin Bloody Wilson has become a global comedy institution with an extensive multi-generational fan base.
'I love being on stage when every bugger in the audience knows every word to my songs,' he said.
The subject matter of his stage delivery means the shows are R18 and while they may not be to everyone's taste he has enjoyed entertaining a lot of Kiwis since he started touring here in the mid-80s. He has toured consistently ever since.
'I didn't realise so many Kiwis had my recordings, I had no idea it had taken off in New Zealand without ever having any radio airplay, exactly the way it started for me in Australia.,' he said.
He thinks audiences are as funny here as they are around the world, and that we have a similar sense of humour.
'It seems we are what you would call belly laugh brothers.'
3D technology unlocks archaeological features
Technology is increasing an understanding of the way landscapes shape archaeological features.
Plastic models made using a 3D printer and publicly available data are proving to be a valuable tool for archaeologists to interpret landscapes and test theories about how people may have lived hundreds of years ago.
It also provides information on where they lived.
The technique has been used by Jofe Graham-Jenkins, senior surveyor for Simpson Shaw. He used topographical information incorporating Lidar held by Northland Regional Council to generate a small 3D model of Moturua Island.
The model is about 30cm square and cost about $20 in materials.
Jofe Graham-Jenkins with the 3D model of the land near Oromahoe owned by his family.
More recently he used the technology to produce a 3D model of land near Oromahoe which his family has owned for more than a century.
'Using this available data I have been able to produce a model of our family's land and cross-check the physical features of the model with known archaeological sites,' he said.
'The model's an invaluable tool for identifying places where archaeological features are likely to exist, enabling very targeted ground investigations that are likely to assist in identifying and recording these sites.'
The innovation has the potential to shed new light on an understanding of the archaeology of places according to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Northland manager, Bill Edwards.
'These models take topographical information and transform it into three dimensional renderings that enable people to see clearly what may not be immediately apparent in a two-dimensional topographical map,' Edwards said.
'The model of Moturua Island for example clearly shows features like water courses. Once you know where water flows, you can then make some fairly strong deductions about places that were used for gardening or for habitation.'
New kerbside waste collection
Following the withdrawal by Waste Management of recycling tags and bags in the mid-North and Kerikeri areas, Northland Waste has stepped in and introduced a new kerbside recycling scheme.
The scheme will give households the opportunity to continue to recycle. It is not council-funded or part of any contracted service but a voluntary initiative which chief operating officer, Andrew Sclater, said is not a council requirement.
'When we heard the previous service was coming to an end we felt it was the right thing to do to step in.
'We simply wanted to ensure that people still had a way to recycle,' he said.
The company will collect from 60-litre crates left at the kerbside. The recycling material will at first be separated at the kerbside on the truck with the operator separating into four categories.
Northland Waste is starting a new kerbside recycling service in the Mid North, Kerikeri and Waipapa areas. Photo / Northland Waste
Then a secondary separation process occurs in Kerikeri where plastics and glass colours are graded and tin, aluminium, paper and cardboard separated. Sclater said the process is very manual for the staff.
Each separate material stream is then baled. The baled material is then transported to recycling processing facilities to convert the material into a secondary use.
'Staff are checking different containers and products which takes time and effort,' Sclater said.
This is similar to what council Resource Recovery Facilities and Community Recycling Centres require and the same principles apply to kerbside recycling.
He said affordability was a focus for the company and they have worked to keep the cost down with weekly crate collections starting from just $1.75 per week.
Towns included in the kerbside recycling scheme are just about every town in the Mid-North and the arterial routes to and from those towns.
Russell and Rawhiti, though, are not included at this stage. Sclater says that's because of the high uptake of recycling done by residents at the Russell Resource Recovery Facility, which is located close to the township. He is encouraging people to look at their website northlandwaste.co.nz.
Then go to the Mid North Recycling page and enter an address to check kerbside collection availability. From there you can choose the payment option that suits, either monthly direct debit, six-monthly or an annual payment.