The Takiroa Maori rock art site at Duntroon has re-opened, more than 18 months after a significant rock fall during heavy rain closed it in May 2010.
Ngai Tahu Maori Rock Art Trust curator Amanda Symon unlocked the gates on Thursday and was pleased visitors would once again be able to enjoy the site.
Even while it was closed for safety reasons tourists, in particular, still visited it.
Ms Symon was philosophical about the time it had taken to reopen the site.
"While we understand the Takiroa site is of great interest to people travelling in the district, our first priority has to be safety. It's taken a while to investigate the factors that caused the rock fall, to respond to those and to repair the damage on site," she said.
The severe rainfall before the rock fall was believed to have been a contributory factor.
Remedial work on site included geotechnical analysis and risk-assessment work carried out by consultant URS NZ Ltd, removal of loose rock on the cliff face above the viewing area and realignment of the path below the rock fall.
Ms Symon was grateful to the many groups that had contributed resources or funding to assist with the reinstatement of the site, which had cost about $40,000 so far.
As administrator of the site, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu provided most of the funding required. Grants from the J.W. Christie Trust and the Timaru District Heritage Fund allowed the work to be completed.
Local contractors were involved in the rock scaling and on-site repairs.
Vested back to Ngai Tahu in 1987 as part of the iwi's Treaty of Waitangi settlement, Takiroa is one of only two Maori rock art sites administered directly by Ngai Tahu. The local Moeraki runanga has taken a central role in the care and management of the site.
More than 500 sites have been recorded to date in the South Island, the majority of them on private land in North Otago and South Canterbury.
