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Noel Hilliam was a notable, although often controversial, historian and shipwreck specialist from Northland, New Zealand.

Hilliam researched and documented a large number of shipwrecks in the Northland Region, including the numerous wrecks at the Kaipara Harbour.

In 1982, Hilliam reported seeing the wreck of a Spanish ship at Baylys Beach, but it was never located.

In 1998, elders from Te Uri o Hau restricted access to sacred Māori sites in Kaipara after Hilliam visited without permission and claimed to have discovered a prehistoric village, allegedly occupied by a people displaced by Māori around 600 years ago. Although he did not disclose the location, it is locally suggested to be the man-made, stone structures in the Waipoua Forest. Hilliam has since argued that these structures were evidence of pre-Maori settlement. Hilliam was worked in the forest near this location and suggested that the 75 year embargo on the site and government redacted information was a conspiracy to hide evidence of pre-Maori settlers. In reality, the embargo was lifted in 1996 (67 years early).

In 2004, after pursuing it for 30 years, Hilliam participated in excavating a shipwreck west of Dargaville. This shipwreck had previously surfaced in both 1973 and 1909. Items recovered including an anchor chain and a 1.5-meter cannon.

In 2008 The Underwater Heritage Group (of which Hilliam was vice-president) announced that they had discovered a German U-boat off the Kiapara Coast. Hilliam claimed the boat had been 'observed seven times' and three divers had been to it - however, no photographs exist and it has not since been seen.

In 2009, it was suggested that Spanish sailors might have reached New Zealand over a century before Abel Tasman. A researcher examined these claims, based on Hilliam's belief that a Spanish ship visited in the 16th century and sank. Hilliam noted that 22 of the 53 crew members were from Aranga, Spain—a name also found in a Northland area where the wreck was seen. He also claimed that the main street in that Spanish town was ‘Rua Tui’, which also resembles a Māori name.There are at least four streets in Spain called 'Rúa Tui' and while the name does sound Maori, 'Rúa' is a Spanish word meaning 'street'. The town of Aranga does not have a street called Rúa Tui, although the nearby (about 40 mins away) towns of Lugo and A Coruña, Spain both do.

In 2012, Hilliam co-authored To the End of the Earth, which controversially argued that the Māori demigod Maui was not Polynesian but an ancient Egyptian navigator.

In 2016, Hilliam claimed to find remains of a P51 Mustang in the Northern Wiroa River. Although attempts were made, they were not able to successfully find and raise the plane before Hilliams death.

In 2017 Hilliam announced he found human remains that pre-dated Māori.

Roles

• First president of the New Zealand Underwater Heritage Group (NZUHG)
• Northland board of the Historic Places Trust
• Curator of the Dargaville Maritime Museum

Awards

2017 - The Kelly Tarlton Award for Services to Underwater Heritage

References

1. "Embargo Saga". Celtic NZ.
2. ""Ruins may show Incas beat Maoris to New Zealand?"". Morien Institute.
3. Taylor, Michael. "Waipoua Archaeological Project". Whangarei District Library. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
4. Lawlor, Ian (20/02/1990). "Waipoua Archaeological Sites and Te Roroa History" (PDF). Justice Govt NZ. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. "Mede in New Zealand". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
6. "Waipoua Forest, Northland - Stone Ruins". NZ Short Walks.
7. "NZ forest structure mystery is based on myth". AAP Factcheck.
8. "Ancient facts unfold". Stuff.nz.
9. "German U-boat found in Northland waters, group claims". RNZ.
10. "U-196 found off New Zealand ?". Uboat.net.
11. "From a non-Māori Maui to Spanish shipwrecks: Who is Noel Hilliam?". Newshub.
12. "Spanish twists provoke research". NZ Herald (The Northern Advocate).
13. "Spanish twists provoke research". http://www.oceantreasures.org/. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
14. "Maxwell C. Hill, To the Ends of the Earth: did the Greeks circumnavigate the world and settle New Zealand before the birth of Christ?". The Free Library.
15. "David Bellamy defends controversial book". NZ Herald (Waikato Herald).
16. "Dargavlle Aero Club" (PDF). Dargaville EAC.
17. "The white tangata whenua, and other bullshit from the 'One New Zealand' crew". The Spinoff. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
18. McMartin, Anna. "Ake ake ake". The End is Naenae.

• Pending AfC submissions
• Pending AfC submissions in article space
• AfC submissions by date/13 November 2024