Mission Cemetery, Tauranga (Part 1)

Tauranga's Mission Cemetery is at the end of another bit of a climb. 

At the top, you can have a bit of a breather thanks to"Cath's Seat".  This is what the plaque says:

CATH'S SEAT

Catherine E Smith 

27.04.1928-20.08.2006

LOYAL CITIZEN OF TAURANGA SINCE 1970

After visiting many countries where she and Bob received 

much kindness,

she believed in making visitors welcome to our city.

Rest here a while, in view of the Kaimai Range,

Her favourite tramping place.

I took up the invitation, sat down, and took a shot of the view. Not a lot of the Kaimais, but not too bad, I suppose. Great for catching the breath, though. Thanks, Cath.

An old-fashioned wooden latch gate is your access to the Mission Cemetery, also recorded as a military cemetery due to the number of war graves here from the Land Wars of the 19th century, and its veterans who passed away afterwards.

What does get me, though, is that this is the site of a major massacre of local Maori at the pa in the 1820s, so human remains are probably strewn all over this ground, and were so when the missionaries started the cemetery, and when the soldiers were buried here as well. It's a peaceful place -- but if you want the feeling that you are walking amidst layer on layer of generations of strife, violent death and great suffering, this is definitely the place. They do need to change the sign -- there are Land War casualties here beyond just 1864-1865.

James Thomas Morrison lies buried here, with his three children who never made it beyond infancy.

DEATH OF MR JAMES THOMAS MORRISON, OF OHINEMUTU.

We regret to have to record the death of Mr James Thomas Morrison, which took place yesterday morning at his residence) at Ohinemutu, after a lingering illness. His name is familiar to the people of this district, by many of whom ho was well known during his residence here and at Ohinemutu, extending over fifteen years. As a member of the first Tauranga County Council and Distributor to the Rotorua Riding (which latter office he filled till the time of his death), he proved himself an efficient public servant, discharging his duties with zeal and ability. He arrived here with the Waikato Regiment in 1864, and subsequently started as hotelkeeper, doing a considerable business in this line. About five years ago, he removed to Ohinemutu, where he conducted the business of the Rotorua Hotel, of which he was proprietor, and his courteous and affable manner made him a universal favourite with the tourists visiting the Lakes. Though he had been ailing for the last three months, his death was unexpected by a large number of his friends, who believed that, with his vigorous constitution, he would soon rally from the attack. Mr. Morrison was held in the highest esteem by the people of this district, and the announcement of his death has evoked a feeling of the deepest regret. The lamented gentleman has passed away from his labours at the early age of forty-three. He leaves a wife and three.children. The remains will arrive in Tauranga this evening, and will be removed from Mr Wrigley's, Harington-street, at 2 p.m. tomorrow for interment in the cemetery .We understand that the Masons in town have made arrangements for doing honor to their deceased brother by giving him a Masonic funeral.

Bay of Plenty Times, 16 October 1879

Dun Eistein is the ancient stronghold of Clan Morrison.

Poor Percy Stainforth Brabant -- unlisted amongst the known children of his father, Resident Magistrate and Native Land Court judge Herbert William Brabant (1838-1919).

Herbert William Brabant was born on 19 March 1838 at Curzon Street, Mayfair, London, England. He was the son of William Hughes Brabant and Emillia Stainforth. He married Rosetta Johnston, daughter of William Johnston and Mereaina Te Rapopo, in 1868 at New Zealand. He died on 25 May 1919 at age 81 at Lincoln Road, Napier, New Zealand. He was buried at Old Cemetery, Napier, New Zealand. Herbert William Brabant was educated at Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. He emigrated to New Zealand arriving on 1859 on board the Joseph Fletcher. He held the office of Judge of the Native Land Court of New Zealand. He lived in 1891 at St. John's, Wanganui, New Zealand.

At the age of 17, Frederick Gill's end was brutal and violent.

Some of the Tauranga troop here on leave state that when the Hauhaus first made their appearance at Opepe, the half-caste of the cavalry at once pronounced them to be Hauhaus, but Mr. Frederick Gill asserted that they were Arawas, and he knew some of them, He advanced and shook hands with some (of) them, and the rest of he troops came out in their blankets to speak to them. One of the natives, watching his opportunity, fired his revolver at young Gill but the ball missed. Mr. Gill grappled with the would-be murderer, when a general battle ensued, and the other poor fellows already named were slaughtered. Sergeant Slattery fought like a lion, cutting right and left with his sword until at last he fell a victim. When his body was found his eyes were starting out of his head, and his teeth clenched.

Southern Cross, 23 June 1869

Young Mr. Gill nearly escaped into the bush, but was discovered, dragged out, tomahawked, and more frightfully disfigured than any of the others. Bugler McGillop, of the Opotiki troop, suspecting from the first the designs of the visitors, and believing that they were Hauhaus, and not loyal natives, ran into the bush, but afterwards returned and induced his friend Lockwood to escape with him, which friendly act cost the poor fellow his life, for Look wood escaped and poor McGillop was shot down in the bush. … The face of poor young Gill was cut nearly off.

Southern Cross 5 July 1869

I'd say the bit at the top was, at one point, a map showing the location of the battle of Opepe where Gill fell. Or some other document relevant to the young man and his death. Time, of course, along with water damage, has put paid to any chance to see what it was.

At 11.10 last evening there passed away the last of the band of early Maori missionaries sent out from England by the Church Missionary Society in the person of the Rev Canon Goodyear. The reverend gentleman had been in failing health for some time and had latterly been confined to his bed, passing away peacefully last evening. He was born in Luton, Hertfordshire, England, in 1850. In 1875 he entered college for training for missionary work in New Zealand. He arrived in the Colony in 1878 and was first stationed at Wairoa. Hawke's Bay. In 1883 Mr Goodyear was moved to Maketu and remained there till 1896, when he was moved to Tauranga as Superintending Maori Missioner for the whole of the Bay of Plenty District, including Rotorua. Since being sent out by the Church Missionary Society thirty-live years ago Mr Goodyear has been maintained by that organisation and is the last of the band of Church workers sent out by them to New Zealand. A few months ago at Napier Mr Goodyear was created a Canon of the Church. By his death the Church has lost an earnest worker and our Maori brethren a firm friend and loving pastor, and the sympathy of all those members of both races who knew the late Canon will go out to the relatives in their great bereavement. Deceased leaves a widow and two sons and seven daughters. The funeral will leave the residence of the late Canon at 9.45 am tomorrow for the Military Cemetery.

Bay of Plenty Times 19 January 1914

Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton fell at the battle of Gate Pa.

John Fane Charles Hamilton is son, we believe (says Byrne's "Naval Biography "), of Colonel Hamilton and Charlotte, daughter of John Fane, Esq., of Wormsloy, LL.D., an eminent agriculturist, and many years M.P. for Oxford. His uncle, Rear-Admiral Francis William Fane, died 28th March, 1811. This officer entered the navy 28th August, 1835; and in 1841-42, while attached to the ' Blonde,' 42, Captain Thomas Bourchier was present, either in the boats or on shore, at the taking of Amoy, the storming of Chinghae, the attack on the Chinese entrenched camp on the heights of Segoan, the capture of Chapoo, and the engagement with the enemy's batteries at Woosung. He also, on the 10th March, 1842, served in the boats, under Captain George Goldsmith, at the destruction of ten fire vessels with which the Chinese had attempted to annihilate the British shipping and transports at their anchorage off Chinghae.

Having passed his examination 10th November 1841, and been further employed as mate in the ' Warspite,' 50, Captain Provo William Parry Wallis, and ‘St. Vincent,' 120, flag ship of Sir Charles Rowley, on the Lisbon and Portsmouth stations, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, 8th March 1844, and subsequently appointed 24th May and 1st August 1841 to the 'America,' 50, and ' Racer,' 16, Captains Ilon. John Gordon and Archibald Reed, both on the South American station. He left the latter vessel in the summer of 1846. He afterwards became senior lieutenant of the ' Leander,' and was further promoted for his services while on the Naval Brigade at the siege of Sebastopol. On the 26th February 1858 he received his post rank.

Captain Hamilton wore several momentoes of his gallantry, and the last and fatal act which distinguishes him as a gallant officer cannot be better described than in the words of our special correspondent — "The General, who was in the advanced trench of his position, ordered up the supports almost immediately after the storming party rushed the breach; and the second division of blue-jackets and the gallant 43rd, led by Captain Hamilton, of the ' Esk,' advanced with a ringing cheer to the support of the forlorn hope. They arrived at a critical moment; the storming party exposed to a murderous fire on all sides, and from hidden assailants beneath, and without an officer left to lead them, were wavering; part were outside the pa. Captain Hamilton sprung upon the parapet, and shouting 'follow me, men!' dashed into the fight. That moment was his last. He fell dead, pierced through the brain by a bullet, and many of his officers shared the same fate."

Southern Cross 3 May 1864

Commander Edward Hay, served as midshipman in the Havannah when on the New Zealand station in 1849, in command of Captain, now Rear Admiral (Red), John Elphinstone Erskine. In 1855, as mate of the Agamemnon, he received; a medal and foreign decoration; was made Commander on the 22nd March, 1858, and appointed to the Harrier (ordered home) on the 12th November, 1863. 

Hawke's Bay Herald 7 May 1864

He was wounded in the abdomen and later died.

Lt. Charles Hill had been the senior surviving officer of the ill-fated HMS Orpheus. You could say that he was, perhaps, fated to die here, one way or another. More here on the naval officers and men who died during the Land Wars. Below, Lt. Hill's grave. Note the anchor at the end.

An interesting gravestone for Lt. Patrick Falcon Leonard of the 18th Irish Regiment. I haven't found out how he died at the moment.

Private William McAuley drowned at Tauranga in August 1865.

Another drowning at Judea, a month earlier.

More in part 2.

The anchorage of Tauranga Moana

Once rail reached Tauranga (and it took until 1925),  it was a great route until passenger services finally ceased in 2001. Thankfully, freight still uses the lines.

Once the roads were fully formed and sealed, this took the place of rail as the main means to get people in and out of Tauranga. The Tauranga Harbour Bridge was opened in 1988, while the newer Tauranga Harbour Link was opened in 2009.

At the time of the road redesign for the new harbour link two years ago, a monument to even earlier means of transport to Tauranga was erected on land at the crossroads.

As traffic flowed around the completed Harbour Link project for the first time this morning, a ceremony was held acknowledging the history of the area. In the space where the roundabout at the bottom of the old bridge used to be, now lies a courtyard symbolising the history of Tauranga ... An anchor stone representing the anchorage of Tauranga Moana sits in the middle of the circular courtyard, surrounded by pouwhenua representing the waka of Takitimu, Tokomaru, Tainui, Mataatua, Te Arawa, Aotea and Kurahaupo ... The site is the original landing of the Takitimu canoe.

 Bay of Plenty Times, 18 December 2009

The anchor stone.

Takitimu. "Kaihautu Tamatea Arikinui stands atop the pou, and is accompanied by Ruawharo, the tohunga (spritual guide)." The carver was Damien Kohu. Local iwi Ngati Ranginui trace ancestry back to the Takitimu waka.

Mataatua. "Toroa, the kaihautu, guided Mataatua to a landing place in the eastern Bay of Plenty. The story is told of Wairaka, a young girl "acting like a man" -- Whakatane -- to stop the waka from being carried out to sea." Ngaiterangi trace descent from this waka. Carver: James Tapiata.

Above: Te Arawa. "With Tamatekapua as kaihautu, Te Arawa landed at Maketu. The tohunga, Ngatoroirangi, is associated with bringing volcanic fire to the central North Island." Te Arawa are centred around Rotorua. The carver was Robert Turner.

Above: Tainui. "The arrival of Hoturoa on the Tainui waka at the entrance to Te Awanui a Tamatea Arikinui (Tauranga harbour) is depicted on this pouwhenua. Hoturoa is shown sacrificing Wahinerua to gain access to the inner harbour ... Ballast from Tainui was thrown overboard at the shallowest part of the harbour to reduce the draught and allow the waka to proceed to the northern entrance. The pile of ballast stones can be seen today at Ratihi Rock, Mataka Island." Tainui descendants are today most readily identified with the Waikato district, although they also have had impact in neighbouring Auckland. The carver was James Tapiata.

Above: Aotea. "Turi, the kaihautu, is portrayed holding the toki (ceremonial adze) named 'Te Awhiorangi' (the encircler of heaven)." Descendants settled in South Taranaki, Whanganui and Ohakune. The carver was Guy Kakau. 

Above: Kurahaupo. "This pou tells the story of two waka named Kurahaupo. The first, which arrived about 1150 AD, had Whatonga as kaihautu and Mahutonga as tohunga. This group eventually settled in Whanganui a Tara (Wellington), Porirua, Kapiti Island and Mana Island ... The second Kurahaupo came at the time of the great migration. The people settled in Waitara and North Taranaki." The carver was Simon Madgwick.

Finally, Tokomaru. "The pou represents Manaia, kaihautu of Tokomaru waka. Te Ati Awa of Northland and Taranaki trace their descent from those who came on this waka." Carver: Maurice Wharekawa.

A very disapproving will

I was in Archives New Zealand yesterday, looking at deeds indexes and the like, when from the other end of the readers table came an exclamation from another researcher, viewing a will she had asked for. When she read out aloud the following, another researcher and I were just as intrigued.

Helen Hannah Harker (c.1843-1926), wife of James Harker (c.1820-1904) of Hamilton was quite disapproving of her son and daughter, and said so in no uncertain terms in her last will and testament (BCDG 4420/111/2190):

... AND  I DECLARE that my reason for not making any further provision for my said daughter Hannah Elizabeth Hayter is that during my lifetime I have contributed large sums to the support of my said daughter and her family and that by reason of my said daughter's addiction to liquor any provision made for her or any legacy left to her under this my will will be dissipated AND I FURTHER DECLARE that my reason for not making any further provision than is herein made for my said son Simon John William Harker is that during my lifetime I have contributed considerable sums to his support and to the commencement and upkeep of Certain jewellery and watchmaking businesses in Hamilton and Cambridge undertaken and embarked upon by my said son and that by reason of my said son Simon John William Harker's addiction to liquor the said businesses were not attended to and ultimately had to be closed and the principal part of the money invested therein was lost and I am of the opinion that if I made any further provision for my said son or left him any legacy by this my Will then by reason of the said addiction any money or any portion of my said estate so left will be dissipated.

James Harker appears in the Waikato Times in 1880 as a member of a coronial jury. He was apparently a cattle farmer. Hannah Harker made a bit of a splash in the same paper later that year after an argument with another woman.

Assault. Anne Quinn was charged with having, on the 17th inst. at Frankton, assaulted one Hannah Harker, by beating, kicking, and otherwise maltreating her. Mr O'Neil appeared for the prosecution, and Mr W. M. Hay for the defence. From the evidence, which was of a very voluminous nature, it appealed that the complainant was stopped on her road home and ill-used by defendant. It was proved that the former used some very bad language, though she must have been suffering under great provocation. There was a cross summons, in which Mrs Quinn charged Mrs Harker with using abusive language. The evidence in this case was somewhat similar to that in the preceding. His Worship, after commenting on the principal features of the case, find Mrs Quinn £2 and costs, and bound her over to keep the peace for six months, in three sureties amounting to £40. The case against Mrs Harker was dismissed, the Bench administering a caution to the defendant.

29 July 1880

Mrs Harker used some choice language against a Mr Jolly in 1882, but the court then dismissed the case through lack of evidence.

As for Simon John William Harker, the son who his mother said had let business slip through too much of a liking for the demon booze -- it seems, according to the BDM records, that he died, aged 93, in 1960.

Update 11 December 2011: Recently found in land titles of Helen Hannah Harker's land, it appears that despite their mother's will, Simon and his sister Hannah did obtain a third share each in Mrs Harker's central Hamilton property. Perhaps the courts felt that Mrs Harker went a bit too much over the top with her disapproval.

Monmouth Redoubt, Tauranga

At the top of the climb from The Strand and the old Bond Store up to Cliff Road is the Monmouth Redoubt (.pdf info here) dating from 1864. Actually, everything from this point takes you through the site of the most densely populated part of Tauranga in the days before the Treaty of Waitangi, sites of long vanished Maori pa. But also, sites of massacre and death.

MAORI REMAINS.
A recent slip, on the face of the cliff fronting the Government paddock close to the Monmouth redoubt, revealed the presence of some human skulls which projected beyond the broken earth. The police, on being acquainted with the matter, removed the surrounding soil but with the exception of traces of a fire in the immediate vicinity, nothing else was found. The skulls were reinterred close to their old burial place, it being evident that they were the remains of Maoris who had probably perished in some internecine struggle, prior to the days of European settlement in Tauranga.

In reference to the above Mr E G B Moss writes to us as follows : —
For over fifty years after Cook's voyage the Bay of Plenty was but seldom visited by Europeans; and one of the first vessels after Cook's to coast along it was the Mission schooner “Herald "in 1828. In the beginning of April 1828 she arrived at Tauranga having on board several missionaries and laymen. These gentlemen reported Tauranga and its vicinity as very densely populated, and that the inhabitants lived for protection in three very large pas, viz Otumoetai, Maungatapu. and Te Papa, which was on the northern portion of the modern town of Tauranga lying between the Sulphur Works and the Monmouth Redoubt, also that the Tauranga natives could then muster 12,500 fighting men, and that they had counted 1000 canoes on the beach between Te Papa and Otumoetai. I do not wish to impeach their veracity but half a canoe per fighting man is a very good average.

Te Papa pa belonged to the Ngatitapu, one of the sub tribes of the Ngaiterangi or Tauranga natives, of which sub tribe Koraurau was chief. Te Waharoa chief of Ngatihaua tribe whose head quarters were at Matamata had pressed his friendship on the Tauranga natives so as to obtain a passage to the sea, and by so doing brought down on their devoted heads the enmity of Ngatimaru the great Thames tribe whose head chief was Te Rohu. It does not matter whether it was for revenge, or for more civilized reason of preserving the balance of power, but a day or two after the Herald left, Te Rohu and his bloodthirsty horde came over from the Thames, made a night attack on Te Papa, stormed the pa, killed Koraurau, and annihilated the Ngatitapu tribe which comprised nearly one third of the Tauranga natives. Only 25 of he wretched inhabitants of Te Papa escaped. The killed were made into roasts or stews according to the caprice of the victors, and the usual cannibal feed took place on the site of the old pa. Although the Tauranga natives were then constantly being harassed by the Bay of Islands, Thames, and Rotorua natives, and would naturally keep together as much as possible, it seems almost incredible that 2000 natives were killed at the storming of Te Papa.

The Rev. H. Williams writes thus in the Missionary Register for 1829 page 462 under date 14 April 1828. "Mr Mair and I went up to the pa, which within the last fortnight had been subdued by the Ngatimaru, we witnessed every mark of desolation. When last here we anchored abreast of the place, and there were then hundreds or men, women, and children living here ; now all was silent, their houses and fences burnt, dead dogs and pigs on all sides, and human bones in many places, a dreadful evidence of the real temporal situation of this people.

I was present when the skulls were dug out and noticed that they lay as close as possible together, two in a row, and the third between but behind the other two. Although the crowns of the heads all faced the East two were face up, and one face down. They were covered with about a foot of soil, and lay in a depression that looked as if it had once been a half filled up ditch. As the teeth of two of them were to a great extent worn down they must have been middle aged. The lower jaw and teeth of the third skull were missing. No other bones were found in the vicinity but while prospecting for them some ashes were found at the same depth as the heads, and looking almost as fresh as if the fire had only been put out a few days ago. It seems very evident that the fire had been made in a ditch and the heads left alongside it by the victors, and that some of the friends of the vanquished had quietly buried the lot by filling in the ditch with part of the adjoining bank. I think they can be safely considered as relics of the cannibal feast on the taking of Te Papa nearly 60 years ago which was the last orgie [sic] of the kind held in the town of Tauranga but not by scores the last in its vicinity.

Bay of Plenty Times, 15 July 1887

EAGER SEARCH FOR BURIED TREASURE.
"Whilst on the subject of these remains of cannibal times, a recollection comes over my mind that is worth recording. At the time the troops were encamped round the Monmouth Redoubt a rumour gained currency, and was widely believed, that a box of treasure containing some six thousand pounds had been planted in the first part of the scare, somewhere in the neighbourhood of the redoubt. How the report first originated I do not recollect, but it was implicitly believed on all hands, and many a hunt was made for the missing treasure.

After the Gate Pa and Te Ranga fights, the Monmouth Redoubt was being enlarged and the trenches deepened and widened, and a drawbridge erected in case of an attack by the natives. It was rumoured that an immense gathering of natives was taking place to make a final and decisive attack on the Tauranga camp. The natives were assembling at Akeake, and so confident were they of success that they were already dividing the spoils. One of the principal chiefs was to get a store, another the hotel, and so on. However that all came to nothing; but it led to the strengthening of the redoubt, and at the time I was engaged deepening the trenches.

It was just at the time we all had the treasure fever on us, and when we had got the trench deepened I determined, as it was in the neighbourhood of the supposed plant of treasure, to have a hunt for it on own account. Waiting till past ten o'clock, when it was as dark as pitch, and a wild, windy, and rainy night, I crept stealthily into the trench, and commenced spearing about with my ramrod. I kept at it for some two hours, having to dodge the sentries all the time, and was in quite a fever of excitement, when all at once, at nearly the full length of the ramrod, I came down on something hard that gave a hollow sort of sound. Quivering with excitement, but with the utmost care that I should not be discovered, I sounded all round the find, and with a feeling of exultation not to be described, I came to the conclusion I had found the long-lost treasure. Stealthily and quietly I crept back to the camp, and imparted the great news to my mate, and with the utmost secrecy we crept back to fie trench armed with shovels apiece. After sounding again, my mate came to the conclusion that we had really struck it, and with every nerve on fire with excitement, we set to work to get it out. For two and a-half long hours we worked away, having pretty often to dodge out of sight and stay proceedings on account of the sentries. At last, however, the shovels struck the great find, and both made a rush to be the first to have it out. A few minutes more of desperate hard shovelling, and the great treasure stood disclosed as a mass of ghastly remains of human bones, evidently the relics of a cannibal feast in the long past ages. There they were, arms, legs, and ribs, all jumbled together, and a pair of fools looking disconsolately at one another across them. Our feelings can well be imagined, but to this day I, for one, never disclosed the result of our great treasure hunt. A singular fact was that amongst all these remains not a single skull was discovered, and what become of them was quite a mystery. — "An old Trooper " in the N.Z. Herald.

Hawkes Bay Herald, 6 April 1889

One thing I noticed was that the Tauranga authorities have made Cliff Road fit around the reboubt's embankments of today, and not just plowed through without care.

From military command post to barracks to police gaol -- over time the redoubt became a clutter of buildings, but also a reserve eyed longingly by the city's fathers.

(Tauranga Borough Council report). From Lands and Survey Department acknowledging receipt of copy of resolution re handing over Monmouth Redoubt reserve with the gaol thereon, said gaol being now closed. In reply stating that the Commissioner of Police objected to handing over the reserve as though the gaol is now closed he does not know how long it may be before he may require to re-open it ; steps will therefore be taken to remove the land referred to out of the list of the Borough reserves.

Bay of Plenty Times 3 November 1897

From the Lands Department re the reserve in which the Monmouth redoubt stands that the land was vested in the Council in ignorance of the fact that it was used by the Police Department. It was now proposed to restore the land to its former occupation and when the matter came up in the House the Member for the district would be able to express his opinions thereon. From W. H. Herries, M.H.R., on the same subject asking for further information and reasons for objecting to transference of redoubt back to Police Department. The Mayor explained what steps had been taken in the matter and said that all information had been sent.

Bay of Plenty Times 8 December 1897

His Worship the Mayor has received a letter from Mr Herries M.H.R., with reference to the vexed question of the ownership of the Monmouth Redoubt, the gaol question, etc; There appear now to be good hopes that the Redoubt may at length be able to be thrown open to the public and a gaol re-established in another spot.

Bay of Plenty Times 11 November 1898

Yesterday His Worship the Mayor, C. A. Clarke, Esq., proceeded to the Monmouth Redoubt and received possession of the same on behalf of the Borough from Sergeant Murray. The Redoubt contains a tumble-down old barracks building, almost valueless, the gaol and its offices and the powder magazine. We understand that it is contemplated to utilise one of the buildings as a morgue, if so, we hope it will be removed to a portion of the allotment outside the precincts of the Redoubt itself.

Bay of Plenty Times 7 December 1898

TENDERS will be received at the Council Chambers, TaurangaJNO. H. McCAW, Town Clerk

Bay of Plenty Times 27 February 1899

BOROUGH OF TAURANGA. TENDERS will be received at the Council Chambers, Tauranga, until 7 p.m., on Monday, May 1st., 1899, for the purchase for removal of all the buildings in the Monmouth Redoubt, except the zine magazine, also, separately, for the purchase for removal of the stables outside the Redoubt. Conditions may be seen on application to the undersigned. . JOHN. H. McCAW, Town Clerk

Bay of Plenty Times 26 April 1899

TENDER instructions, as above, the Buildings situate in the Monmouth Redoubt, known as the gaol and the office separately (for removal). W. T. RAYMOND, Auctioneer.

Bay of Plenty Times 10 May 1899

Mr Lundon had claimed for himself the credit of having secured the Monmouth Redoubt for the people of Tauranga. This was, not due to Mr Lundon but to his (the speaker's) predecessor in Parliament, the Hon. W. Kelly and he would be sorry to think his friend Mr Kelly's good deed had been so soon forgotten. He (Mr Herries), had, however, been the means of rescuing it from the Police Department and getting it removed from the Bill wherein it was proposed to take it away from the Borough again. If he had not been in Opposition he would not have been able to block the Bill until this was done, and the town would thus have lost the Redoubt.

Bay of Plenty Times 13 November 1899

It's a lovely sylvan glade -- but I suspect that this has been greatly altered. Apparently part has collapsed over time, to topple down the cliff to the shore below. But still -- grand views up there, if you can make it out through the 20th century's trees.

Memorial Cairn at Tauranga. A memorial cairn on the Monmouth Redoubt at Tauranga will shortly be erected by the Tauranga Borough Council. The memorial, which, it is estimated, will cost £150, is to commemorate the erection of the redoubt in 1864 by British troops, including the 43rd Monmouth Light Infantry. The redoubt was used as a shelter for the European women and children during the Maori Wars of 1864. It is probable that the memorial will take the form of a rock wall with a tablet in the centre and seats at either end. A subscription list has already been opened to defray the cost of building the memorial.

Evening Post 3 June 1937

Monmouth Redoubt.

This redoubt was erected in 1864 by British troops including the 43rd Monmouth Light Infantry after whom it was named.

During these troubled times all european women and children in the settlement were accommodated at the Mission Station with a view to their protection by the military, and had to sleep every night fully dressed and with emergency rations or biscuits and a bottle of water within reach.

This state of affairs continued for six weeks. Then one night the colonel in chargeof the troops told Archdeacon Brown that it was impossible to restrain the natives any longer and that the women and children must take immediate shelter in the redoubt. They were transferred there under heavy military guard and spent the remainder of the night on the floor of the soldiers' blockhouse which stood where this memorial is erected. They remained in these cramped quarters until the arrival of Sellars' cutter, on the deck of which they had, owing to unfavourable weather, to spend another week before reaching safety and shelter in Auckland.

To the memory of these gallant pioneers and the men who protected them, this memorial is dedicated by their grateful successors.

Captain David Sellars apparently operated the schooner Tauranga between Auckland and Tauranga at the time, amongst other craft. The above is an interesting story, but as yet I haven't found a contemporary report backing it up.

Then, there's the cannon. The heritage studies on the redoubt say this is one of the Tapsell (Tapihana) cannons from Maketu. Yet, the Bay of Plenty Times reported on 8 November 1899:

The Mayor moved : —  That this Council tenders its hearty thanks to Mr P F M Burrows, as executor for his brother, the late Mr A W Burrows, for the presentation of a cannon for the Monmouth Redoubt, which this Council accepts with pleasure as a memorial of the deceased and an embellishment to its property. - Seconded by Cr Munro and carried unanimously.

And the 1982 centennial history of Tauranga says much the same.

It's lost its original gun carriage, now just set in concrete.

But this gun is near two hundred years old, dating from 1815. It had some Armstrong guns as companions, but they've gone to Waiouru and other places.

Australasian Zoo & Circus Animals Historical Journal

I'm still wading through various backlogs, demanding inboxes ("empty me! empty me now!"), piles of received snail mail and other stuff accumulated during the time I was briefly away at Tauranga last weekend. So, that's my excuse for not linking before now to my friend Liz's new venture, the Australasian Zoo & Circus Animals Historical Journal, number 1, a topic that now and then comes inrto my sphere of interest (but Liz ardently researches the fate of the animals in finer detail).

Featured are stories of the escaped cleopards from Auckland Zoo, one in September 1925 and another in 1950; and the life and death of Dumbo, Australia's first bush elephant. Worth a read.

Heading around to the Strand in Tauranga

A bit of a  mix of sites along the Tauranga heritage trail as you head down McLean Street to The Strand.  You see Te Urunga here, the shelter for the waka Te Awanui, carved from a totara log by master carver Tuti Tukaokao in 1973. The shelter was opened in 1975, on the site of the Tauranga Harbour Board office.

Something not in the heritage trail brochure: a memorial plaque to Rod Donald of the Green Party, along with memorial tree.

This is the Bond Store, built in 1883 by James Alexander Mann of Mann & Co, merchants. They moved from their temporary premises from July that year to their new building "under the Fort, north end of the Strand". It was sold in 1908, according to NZHPT, and has been used for various purposes since. Now, it's a local newspaper office.

But, just over the railway tracks ...

... is a stunning piece of street art, what appears to be a memorial to Sir Howard Morrison. Also not on any heritage trail.

From this point, it's a steep climb up to Cliff Road. Back in a bit.

Sad days for Tauranga's old tree

This was probably the paragraph, in the Heritage Trail brochure, that helped me decide what to do with a glorious Saturday last weekend in Tauranga -- go off and find history. Of course, eagle-eyed readers will spot the proofing error, eh?

So -- a tree on an urban heritage trail. Great, I thought. Let's take a look.

Actually -- it ended up having more of a story than I thought.

There have been some sad articles of late in the local papers about this tree.

A bid to save Tauranga's giant 146-year-old aspen tree in Willow St is under way today after a massive branch crashed to the ground yesterday, narrowly missing parked cars.

(Bay of Plenty Times, 18 January 2011)

Tauranga's giant and historic aspen tree is to be reduced to a mere shadow of its former self, once arborists finish chopping 16m from its 34m height ... The 146-year-old American cottonwood dates back to the era of the Battle of Gate Pa and is reputed to be Tauranga's oldest living thing. 

 (Bay of Plenty Times, 19 January 2011)

The death knell has sounded on the stunted remains of Tauranga's once mighty aspen tree. A close 6-5 vote by the Tauranga City Council decided the fate of the 146-year-old landmark tree that dates back to the Battle of Gate Pa.

The future of the formerly magnificent tree, on its own reserve in Willow St, looked in doubt when a massive branch crashed to the ground on January 17, exposing just how far rot had spread. With a mere 10cm wide circumference of live wood supporting the tree, it was going to have to be cut back to a stump in order to survive in safety - a process called pollarding.

Some councillors wanted to give the aspen this last chance and then allow it to regenerate from there. However, parks team manager Steve Webb said that even if the stump grew back into a reasonable canopy, it would still have to be cut back to a pollard every couple of years. Although it was hard to know how long the aspen would survive by pollarding, he was confident it would live for another five years.

 (Bay of Plenty Times, 22 March 2011)

So ... here it is.

It isn't an aspen, apparently: more likely, a Canadian cottonwood. The idea of it stemming from a trooper's piece of tethering post is called into question by the marble plaque at the base of what's left of the tree.

The Tauranga "Aspen" Tree.

Although referred to as the aspen, this tree is in fact populus canadensis (Canadian cottonwood), a name covering many hybrid varieties between P. balsamifera and P. nigra. Therefore in the strict botanical sense it is only a cousin to the true aspen, P. tremula.

Legend places the tree's origins in the hands of a soldier who dismounted from his horse and pushed his switch into the fertile soil. History however tells that the tree originated as part of a shelter belt planted in the 1860s to shelter the gardens of the Church Missionary Society's Maori Boys School that was part of the Mission Station.

You can't stop a good story with facts, though. Apart from the relatively recent heritage brochure's paragraph, there's even a rest home diagonally opposite the tree's site -- named Aspen.

This bit got me, though. The interior of part of the tree is filled with cement -- apparently in a bid to support the internally-rotted tree, and in the aftermath of fireworks damage. How much is tree and how much is cement, I have no idea.

So, there you have it. They're trying to preserve the old landmark for a few years yet, but -- right now, it is definitely a sad, patched-up sight. Feeling sorry for the tree, I moved on.

Update 3 July 2011: I've received the following email today from historian John Webster.

Lisa,

 

I've been home just over a week now and should have mentioned to you that the elm/pine tree you admired in Tauranga - the one to which settlers hitched their homes - is sprouting new leaves and branches, very high near the crown and a little down one side (I have photos to prove this) - I was stopping at the Strand Motel just in front,which is only one  house section away from the small reserve in which your tree stands...so every day on my way to the Textile Confrence I saw your iconic survivor! Even the bark seemed in good condition for one so old.

 

John W.

Hopefully, this means hope is not completely lost for the old tree.