A newspaper imprint dating back more than 100 years has been discovered preserved in concrete during road works on Napier’s Bluff Hill.
Napier City Council shared a social media post yesterday about the discovery on Cameron Rd.
“While replacing an old concrete slab on Bluff Hill, our roading team discovered a newspaper print preserved on the underside of the concrete for more than 100 years,” the post read.
“In the early 1900s, builders would sometimes place newspaper beneath wet concrete to stop it sticking to timber forms or to keep the surface clean.
“Over time, the oil-based ink transferred onto the concrete surface, leaving behind a remarkable snapshot of the past.”
It is unclear which newspaper it is, as there were multiple titles in circulation in Hawke’s Bay around 1910, including the Daily Telegraph, Hawke’s Bay Herald and the Hawke’s Bay Tribune (which began in 1910).
The discovery lines up with the age of the nearby Cameron Rd box culvert, estimated to be about 114 years old.
An advertisement imprinted into the concrete says “Lane’s Emulsion”, a tonic first produced in Oamaru in 1898.
“Not a bad find for a day on the tools,” the council post read.