There's a battered old silver service teaspoon circa 1840-1860. There's an 1836 silver shilling and a military uniform button from the 68th Durham Light Infantry Regiment.
It's a button probably worn during all the mischief at Pukehinahina in 1864. Worn by a trooper whose regiment gave its name to Durham St and whose commanding officer, Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron, gave his name to Cameron St.
Slivers of a city's history uncovered during a quiet fossick in the mud of the Tauranga estuary at low tide and the beach at Mount Maunganui.
'It's fascinating,” says Papamoa bounty hunter Joseph McGregor. 'Uncovering stuff that hasn't seen daylight for 150 years been.”
Fascinating and exciting. Because when the gizmo, the detector, starts beeping, then beeping excitedly before oscillating off the scale, treasure hunting takes on whole new meaning, a whole new intensity.
And all this because of a dicky hip. 'My doctor, my surgeon, told me I shouldn't run or kite surf.” Joseph needs a hip replacement but he also needed something to do.
He took up walking but there wasn't a thrill factor. 'I hated it so I bought a couple of metal detectors to make walking vaguely interesting. And because I am a nosey bugger.”
So not a very interesting back story. But his loathing of man's natural gait fired a fascination for local history. 'An 1864 sixpence, a little two-ringer bullet probably from the New Zealand wars, a brass key holder from the early-1900. Suddenly I wanted to know where things came from and who the hell had dropped them there. It's absorbing.”
Almost as absorbing as the story of metal detectors themselves.
As the named suggests, metal detectors were developed towards the end of the 19th Century to pinpoint ore-bearing rocks. The device would give a mineral prospector a massive advantage. He wouldn't need to go laboriously poking around.
During World War 2 metal detectors became mine detectors, lifesavers. Alexander Graham Bell found another humanitarian application by using an earlier device to locate an assassin's bullet in the chest of President James Garfield in 1881. It worked just fine but was confused by the metal coil springs in Garfield's bed.
They're also used widely in archaeology. One was used in 1958 to locate the firing lines for the Battle of Little Big Horn, or Custer's last stand. But archaeologists generally don't like their use by trophy seekers or looters who mess with archaeological sites.
Not Joseph though. He's generally just sifting round on the beach or the harbour mud below the high water line around the rail bridge. 'This region has a lot of history, a lot has happened, so there could be many relics hiding here.”
It's a hobby with unwritten rules. 'If the owner of any item can be identified – wedding and engagement rings, keys, toys and other effects – then they are returned without cost to the owner.”
And any pre-1900 items are declared to relevant authorities. Joseph's waiting to hear back from Heritage NZ about his finds. 'If I find something of historical significance it'll go to the museum or local iwi. And I won't poke around on land without permission.”
Joseph says he keeps thinking about the pieces he's recovered – where they came from and the people associated with them.
'And I have learned a ****load about Tauranga history in just two months of wallowing around in the estuary mud.”
And despite perceptions, metal detectors aren't just the preserve of handkerchief hat-and-sandal-wearing opportunists on the beach after a busy sunny summer weekend.
'Enthusiasts around the country, including myself, have uncovered and removed lots of rubbish and dangerous items from public parks, beaches and playgrounds.”
Joseph, who personally removed 1.5kg of rubbish from the beach last week, says enthusiasts get a lot of undeserved stick. 'You could say we are modern day treasure hunters who also provide a valuable public service at our own expense and without thanks by removing rubbish that others carelessly or intentionally discard – broken glass, sharp metal, tin cans, knives and needles.”
But for Joseph, it's the thrill of the hunt and the connection with the past. 'I just love finding things and then have them displayed for everyone to share.”