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Council workers have removed the bronze statue of British Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton from a square in central Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton City Council via PA Images
Hamilton
New Zealand city removes statue of British naval officer John Hamilton
Captain John Hamilton is accused of killing indigenous Maori people in the 1860s.
THE NEW ZEALAND city of Hamilton has removed a bronze statue of the British naval officer for whom it is named after a request by the country’s indigenous people.
Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton is accused of killing indigenous Maori people in the 1860s, with the removal of the statue by city authorities coming a day after a Maori tribe requested it and one Maori elder threatened to tear it down himself.
Cities around the world are taking steps to remove statues that represent cultural or racial oppression as support grows for the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd by police last month in Minneapolis.
Demonstrations have taken part across the UK and there are concerns over the protection of monuments after a statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down and dumped in Bristol’s harbour.
Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate said in a statement that a growing number of people found the statue personally and culturally offensive.
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She said: “We can’t ignore what is happening all over the world and nor should we. At a time when we are trying to build tolerance and understanding between cultures and in the community, I don’t think the statue helps us to bridge those gaps.”
The city was originally called Kirikiriroa by Maori but it was renamed in the 1860 after Captain Hamilton, a British officer who was killed in the infamous Gate Pa battle in the city of Tauranga.
The statue was gifted to the city in 2013 and the Waikato-Tainui tribe, or iwi, formally requested yesterday for it to be removed.
City authorities said it was clear the statue was going to be vandalised, after Maori elder Taitimu Maipi this week told news organisation Stuff that he planned to tear it down himself.
Maipi said Hamilton was being represented as a hero when he was “murderous” and a “monster”.
City authorities said they have no plans to change the city’s name at this point.
Hamilton is the nation’s fourth-largest city with 160,000 people, about one-quarter of whom are Maori.
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@Johnny 5: because they are benefitting everyday from a society, and infrastructure that was built on colonial racism. Since we are cleansing the future of the past and all.
@NotaWarder: so you’ve been to and lived in NZ and can concur that the indigenous people of nz want them to leave? They’ve had a referendum?
So who exactly are the people you speak of? The original inhabitants are the Moriori peoples of the Chatham Islands of course (I’m sure you knew). So should the Maori people leave as well seeing as they aren’t the original inhabitants?
@Johnny 5: but they are the priviledged white people…they should leave so the natives can have their land back. You can’t be a little WOKE you have to be all in.
There is a possibility of large scale clashes in London this weekend between members of Antifa who will attempt to demolish statues and the working-class Football Lads Alliance who will be converging on London to protect them. The Brits have more faith in a bunch of Millwall and West Ham supporters to defend this country, its people, its buildings and its proud history than I do the police. How has it come to this?
@Pat Coyne: They’re not defending the country, as you put it. Nor their proud history (struggling to keep a straight face at that). They’re defending the statues of slave traders, genocidal maniacs and racists. And you’re upset by this?
I really don’t know what to think. On the one hand it seems like a good decision, on the other it feels like an Orwellian vision is coming to life.
No one would for a second say that slave trading was correct but it is one of the oldest forms of currency and during this period, it was normal and it was accepted by society. Perhaps some of these people did many other great things. It feels like we want to wipe away history and pretend like none of this ever happened.
So should we tear down S21 in Phnom Penh? Auschwitz Concentration Camps? The pyramids where no doubt thousands of slaves died?
Sorry but a lump of bronze, stone etc cannot look down on people. Humans have a dark history and statues like this can serve as a reminder of our this past and guide people to a better future!
@Wreck Tangle: Maybe you are already in the Orwellian vision, history has always been recorded with bias and this is a good opportunity to correct some of that
@Wreck Tangle: “Humans have a dark history and statues like this can serve as a reminder of our this past” – Come back to me when you see a statue of someone like this man that actually spells out underneath it all the atrocities they were responsible for. Because it’s a lie that they “as a reminder of our this past and guide people to a better future”. Statues literally COMMEMORATE individuals from the past.
Not sure why you’re including “S21 in Phnom Penh? Auschwitz Concentration Camps and the Pyramids” they’re all CLEARLY not statues commemorating a racist but when you don’t have a leg to stand on I guess you have to try anything to justify being on the wrong side of history.
How can you say I’m on the wrong side of history? You know nothing about me! But, as is common here, people make sweeping judgements so it’s ok, we will let it go!
Your idea is a great one. Leave the statues there and write about the record of the people that are represented.
@Wreck Tangle: you’ve made a comparison and it’s not the same.
S21 etc we’re murder camps. Historical sites.
You mean statues of Hitler etc.
They were taken down first.
You are right, bad examples in the way I explained them. The point that I didn’t make is that both of these structures stand for atrocities but are used today to educate people of the past. The reason I named them, is that I visited both places and got a deeper understanding of the atrocities that occurred. Someone else said statues were erected to celebrate people. It doesn’t mean they cant be repurposed to educate people on the street about the wrongs of these people.
To return to my original point. I don’t disagree with this, I am just unconvinced that tearing down every statue is the best way forward.
What when all the statues are gone? Do we keep going until we start renaming every city in the world? Dublin: A viking name, the same vikings who raped, pillaged etc etc. Does this eventually become offensive?
Having lived there, it is truly a spectacular country in terms of landscape, safety and integration. The Māori heritage is cherished nationally and makes up a huge part of what being Kiwi is today. Language preservation, pride in sport showcasing Māori culture and most importantly the recognition and regret of atrocities by European colonization for decades before even Australia recognised their mistreatment of the Aboriginals. The Te Papa museum, itself a national treasure, dedicates a significant segment to the mistreatment of natives. Proof that after decades of dialogue and acceptance of wrong doings, near perfect integration can be achieved.
@Tom Cullen: thats not the NZ I lived in, and where our family still live in. Yes there is huge recognition of Maori culture history and past injustice, there is also resentment of how wastefu and devisivel they have been of the resources given to them.
@Tom Cullen: I don’t think NZ is quite the utopia you make it out to be, scratch the surface and there’s plenty of racism around. There is probably more of a culture to accept things and get on with it than here…which can be perceived as nothing’s wrong. Waiti didn’t call it a bloody racist country and the best place in the world to live for nothing
@Tom Cullen: The Aussie PM reckons there was no slavery in Australia. He is the opposite of Ardern. He is Trump-lite. Australia enslaved the indigenous population, so didn’t bother bringing them from Africa.
@Tanks a Minion: There was no slavery in Australia, they just didn’t recognise Aboriginals as humans until the latter half of the 20th century. Oh, and the entire continent was ‘empty’ and they occupied it. He also forgot the ‘Blackbirding’ that brought Melanesians over essentially as slaves…
@Gina Carroll: To say it’s perfect would be disingenuous. What I’m saying is that, although far from perfect and levels of racism definitely do still exist, it is the best example of cultural integration and acceptance of past mistakes that is leagues ahead of any other country. Regarding resources, you do realise in the very way you’ve phrased it is that there is an element of superiority and division. Look what we’ve kindly given them after wiping through their ancestral home, only for them to squander it. You would have the same judgement from the Māori community regarding the rebuilding of Christchurch. The Ngāi Tahu knew that the city was on a flood plane and quake fault line and showed little interest in it. From the Māori community, it is a waste of resources rebuilding Christchurch
@Tom Cullen: Christchurch was not known to be on an active fault line, and when the earthquake struck, that fault was then studied and thought to have been inactive for 16 000 years. As for a flood plain, I’ve never heard of that, and I can’t recall ChCh suffering from widespread flooding apart from the Avon occasionally bursting its banks. Where do you Ngai Tahu not wanting to rebuild Otautahi from?
@Bountyop: The Māori tribes favoured and populated the North Island in greater numbers for the very reason of South Island being more susceptible to natural disasters. This was affirmed by the Treaty of Waitangi, where only Māori land on North Island was considered as it was the land they had most value in. The British then went on to piss on the treaty. There was a major earthquake in mid and late 1800s in the surrounding Christchurch area, warning signs were there. Regarding flooding, https://ccc.govt.nz/environment/water/water-flooding
@Tom Cullen: The South Island is not more prone to natural disasters. The Maori did not settle there in large numbers initially due to the climate, not natural disasters. What earthquake are you referring to in the early 1800s? NZ gets 1000s if earthquakes/ year- go to geonet.com. As for ChCh lying on a flood plain, you are right that it does, but it has not experienced much flooding, as the Avon is not very big, and ChCh is the driest major city in NZ…I think you have lived in NZ for a short time and don’t really know in practical terms what you are talking about
It could become a case that we will reap what we sew. How far will all of this go, and will we live to regret any of this. It has been proven that everything starts off with a great idea with lots of support, but the momentum at which it gathers pace over a period of time, and soon people lose sight of why it started, and start to fear where it’s heading. Beware of fast trends like this, as they don’t always have a good ending!
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”
@David O Neill: Maybe that is how it already stands, and removing theses statues is actually helping to remove the twisted biased history that we have been spoon-fed??
Good move New Zealand, showing once again a maturity seldom seen these days. Cue those who are offended that people are offended and want the bad man’s statue left up because, you know, history.
Where does it all stop? How far do we go? Knock statues, rename a country, rename towns , rename streets,ban flags, ban films, ban music, burn books, etc etc etc ? There biggest problems with common sense is it’s not too common.
@Martin Glynn: Towns and cities have always been renamed even here in good old Ireland: Maryborough – Portlaoise, Kingstown – Dun Laoghaire etc. Nazi flags have been illegal in Germany since 1945, this country used to ban any book or film that was any good until the 1960s at least. None of these things are new.
@Alan: exactly, and this is how we slowly look sight of the original issue and reason for doing something in the first place. I can guarantee that this could escalate into everyone been offended by everything and everyone, and what do we do strip the world of everything that someone takes a dislike to!
The world moves on an people’s attitudes to the past changes. Do people here think that blowing up, toppling statues, changing town names and painting postboxes green was trying to eradicste history or trying to reclaim it?
Cannibalism amoungt the Maori in New Zealand was widespread until about 180 years ago. The purpose was revenge against enemies from other Maori tribes, and it seems to have only been done as humiliation during warfare . Maori cannibalism was widespread throughout New Zealand until the mid 1800s but has largely been ignored in history books. It is said the widespread practice of cannibalism was not a food issue but people were eaten often as part of a post-battle rage. Does this mean these terrible acts of cruelty should see the Haka banned??
@O Curtain Barra: no. Obv not. Seeing as the haka is an invitation to war / sign of respect / for giving thanks / to honour someone and not a dance of cannibalism or racism.
Unless your comment was an attempt at humour then it’s not that funny.
@Mark:
Bit if a hard sell as Jesus didn’t have slaves. However Mohammed was a slave trader. If the same logic is applied then these “protestors” should go after mosques. I have “protestors” like that because if they tried it then suddenly the media would call them vile racists.
@Sinead Ni Coscraigh: If someone someone committed an atrocity in Ireland today should a statue be erected on O’Connell St as a reminder? Or is it just atrocities that happened a long time ago, or to non-white people that we should glorify with statues?
@Wood Jackson: I did used to boast that I could name all the statues from College Green down to Parnell Square…… but that was about the only good they were to be honest.
It is getting silly. You can’t deny or hide history, our children must learn honest real history, and subsequent effects, good and bad, otherwise we are doomed to repeat it.
I was in Ely in Cambridgeshire a year ago and realised that Oliver Cromwell had been born there. I visited the house he was born in and it was interesting to see how differently the English and Irish viewed him. The BLM/Antifa crowd would probably have that house knocked down and there would be no history lesson available for those who wanted it. How would that help understanding?
Right, the crown jewels are next. If ever there was a sign of the murder and mayhem of the empire it’s them. May I suggest they be thrown off Tower Bridge at 20:00 tomorrow.
I’m off to buy a snorkel.
I’m setting up a campaign group and registered charity of which I will be CEO to seek justice for the Tuatha Dé Danann. It is time for the descendants of the Milesians to rectify the deceitful sins of their forefathers and take their turn underground. Send your donations to IBAN: AIBKMAD23934089090
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