These Boulders created by a volcanic eruption some ten million years ago, were shifted from their resting spot during the Canterbury earthquakes. They came to a halt ina. grassy park at the base of the hulls and then selected to become the Te Pae Christchurch kōhatu (touchstones).
Basalt is an important stone to Ngāi Tahu, it is used extensively, and held as a taonga tuku iho (treasure of significance, handed down by ancestors). There is a long tradition of placing kōhatu at important entranceways, and the ritual of touching the stone connects visitors back to the land and all those whom have been here before them.
