Ground-penetrating radar scanning of a marked site at the Patea golf course yesterday produced "interesting" results, but it will be a few days before interpretation of the data determines they are old military graves dating back 140 years.
Radar specialist Martin King, of GPR Geophysical Services, said 57 separate cross-sectional scans revealed signs of disturbed ground down to two metres.
"I wouldn't like to speculate that they are graves, but it's certainly the kind of anomaly I have seen in other search locations," he said.
"It looks promising."
War veteran Denis McKenna, who organised the search money through the Patea RSA, said he was hopeful, but his main concern was raising enough money to continue scanning.
It is normally charged out at $1500 a day but Mr King has given a substantial discount.
Last night the team had moved behind the Patea Beach motor camp to scan another likely area which in 1940 was marked by a cross that has since disappeared.
Mr McKenna says donations are coming in from RSA branches and well-wishers all over the country. He hopes there will be enough to pay for scanning of Imperial soldiers' graves south of the river, near Dawson's Redoubt (what is now Waioturi Marae), and also an area within the Patea Cemetery believed to contain military graves.
He hopes to have enough interpreted data to show some conclusive evidence to Margaret Marks, the senior adviser on war graves for the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. She is paying an official inspection visit to Taranaki tomorrow which will include the Patea investigations.
If there is evidence of unmarked graves, Mr McKenna says he will advise the police "because they will have the authority to excavate to see what's there".
Both Ms Marks and the South Taranaki District Council have said they support the erection of a memorial to the fallen in the Patea area.
Mr McKenna says this should be on the 16th fairway of the golf course, where the scanning has been done.
A predecessor of Miss Marks was Miss Edith Statham, Government Inspector of Soldiers' and Historic Graves. She reported seeing 11 burial mounds there in 1915. They were obliterated between 1952 and 1969 when the fairways were bulldozed and covered.
RICHARD WOODDrichard.woodd@tnl.co.nz - Taranaki Wednesday, 9 May 2007
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