Thousands to attend Boyd remembrance

Terry Smith

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A three-day remembrance event to mark the 200th anniversary of the so-called Boyd Massacre is expected to draw thousands of people and New Zealand’s top brass to Whangaroa in December.

Kaeo residents plan to remember those who died in the 1809 sacking of the merchant ship in Whangaroa Harbour at a memorial service on December 4, 5 and 6.

A second remembrance event will be held in March 2010 to acknowledge Te Pahi and his people who were supposedly killed for their alleged involvement in the sacking.

Boyd Remembrance Committee chairman and Te Pahi descendant Terry Smith says the two events are part of a reconciliation process for the descendants of those involved in the incident.

"The circumstances leading up to the sacking of the Boyd, the killing of nearly all its crew and the ‘reprisal killing’ of innocent people the following year are still the subject of much debate and discussion today," says Mr Smith.

Committee secretary Leighton Collins says up to 3000 people, including Australian, Canadian and Irish descendants of those who survived, are expected at the December event.

The Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand, Prime Minister John Key, Far North mayor Wayne Brown and the Royal New Zealand Navy are also
expected to attend.

"We want to bring a navy ship into the harbour to fire a salute," says Mr Collins.

The event will be conducted with the solemnity reserved for occasions such as ANZAC Day services.

"It’s a remembrance of the fallen on both sides and to acknowledge that it was a clash of cultures."

Local marae have told Mr Smith they would like to be kept well-informed about preparations for the remembrance, says Mr Collins.

"They have their stories which we’re asking them to come forward with, because their histories are oral. We’ve only got the Pakeha side written down which – in some cases it appears – is not correct."

The Eastern Community Board has granted the committee $4000 towards the costs of publicising and hiring marquees for the event.

- © Fairfax NZ News