25 May, 2020

Memorial Honours Historic Links Between Chinese and Māori

At dawn on Monday 25 May 2020, Richard Leung, Meng Foon, Linus Chin, and Kirsten Wong met with representatives from Te Hua o Te Kawariki Trust, the Far North District Council, and Far North Holdings for a blessing ceremony at the Manea Footprints of Kupe Cultural Centre.

 

        

 

Ground was broken for the SS Ventnor Memorial, marking historic links between Chinese and Māori formed in the aftermath of the 1902 SS Ventnor shipwreck.

 “The most important thing is the enduring connection that the Chinese New Zealand community and the people of Te Roroa, Te Rarawa, and all those represented by Te Hua o te Kawariki Trust, will have into the future,” NZCA national president Richard Leung said.

We expect to unveil the memorial at around the same time as the Manea Cultural Centre opening later this year. The new site, across the road from Opononi beach and looking out towards the Hokianga Heads and beyond, where the SS Ventnor sank in 1902 makes the site an apt home for the memorial.

 

 

Te Hua o te Kawariki Trustees and New Zealand Chinese Association representatives at the Ventnor memorial site, 25 May 2020 (photo: Kirsten Wong)