The Churchyard
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 27 Dec 2013 23:57
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Christ Church Graveyard
 We never set out to have such a draw to bimbling around graveyards, but they do give
such a window and often an historic look of the people of an area, none more so
than here in Christ Church graveyard. We spent a
while reading all the monuments and gravestones but...........
 ...........Bear was none too pleased
when the first gravestone he read belonged to a lady called Beryl, who died on his birthday, the year before he was
born, though. It was still a bit of a shock to read such
a familiar date.......... Yes dear....
 The HMS Hazard came to New
Zealand from Hong Kong where the commander Charles Bell, was believed to have contracted malaria. He
came to Kororāreka on sick leave aboard the Government brig Victoria. One
night he had a seizure and fell overboard. He was picked out of the water alive,
but died soon afterwards. The Navy cares for this grave and the one
below.
  This is the grave
to the two Royal Marines and four seamen of HMS Hazard, who fell
in the defence of Kororāreka on the first day of Heke’s War in 1845. The original marker (on the right) was made of English oak
was found to have rotted through when it was about fifty years old and was hung
inside the church on the wall.
  One of the noblest graves to grace
the cemetery is that of Tamati Waka Nene. It is
situated near his old friend Dr Ford, “for if I am sick,” said the old chief, “I
shall knock and you will come as you do now, and make me better”. One of the
truly great chiefs of his day, Nene helped to weigh the balance in favour of the
Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
 The Māori and
Pakeha who died in here in Kororāreka.
           Much misinformation has been
published about Hannah King Letheridge. She was the
second, not the first, white girl to be born in New Zealand. When she died, her
family tried to verify the dates of the births of these first New Zealand born
European children, but in those days research was not easy. Sometimes, as in
this case, the necessary records were held in Australia. At other times there
were none at all, so the above mistake is perfectly excusable. Mrs Letheridge
was born Hannah King Hansen, daughter of Thomas Hansen and his wife Elizabeth.
Granddaughter of Thomas Hansen Senior, captain of the brig Active when
she brought the Rev Samuel Marsden on his first visit to New Zealand in 1814;
and niece of John and Hannah King, the missionaries, who accompanied him.
It is acknowledged that the first
white girl to be born in New Zealand was Dinah Hall, daughter of William Hall
and his wife, who had also been passengers on Active. Dinah left for Australia
at the age of seven and never returned, but, Hannah was born, raised, married
and died in the Bay of Islands, so she should hold a special place in local
history.
 The plan of the
cemetery.
ALL IN ALL SUCH AN
INTERESTING WALK IN THE PAST
FASCINATING |