NORTHLAND

SS Ventnor: Two cultures join in remembrance

A moving dawn ceremony was held recently in the Hokianga to bless the new memorial of the SS Ventnor.

When the SS Ventnor sank off the Hokianga coast in 1902, it was bearing the remains of 499 Chinese goldminers being repatriated to China. Thirteen crew died and the remains of the goldminers went to the bottom of the Tasman Sea or drifted to shore where they were gathered and cared for by the home peoples of the Hokianga. The new SS Ventnor memorial stands in memory of the lost and of all those who have cared for them in the many years since the sinking.

On Saturday 10 April 2021, the new memorial brought many people together from around New Zealand to pay respect to the ancestors and celebrate the relationship between Chinese New Zealanders and iwi and hapū from around the Hokianga who cared for the remains by reburying them in their urupā.

The ceremony was held at Manea Footprints of Kupe Centre in Opononi and started with a pōwhiri, followed by a series of addresses that spoke about the importance of the relationship between cultures. The designers of the memorial spoke about the story of the memorial, the materials used and the symbolism of the design elements.

Designed by Auckland and New York-based TT Architects whose founders, Richard Tam and Robert Tse, are both descendants of early Chinese New Zealand settlers, the memorial consists of a series of concrete steps and steel panels following the curve of the land. Visitors can walk the steps leading up to the memorial panels following wording that outlines the process of moving from grief to memory to honouring. Politicians spoke about how New Zealand had many different cultures and stories and observed that the memorial was an important marker reflecting our country’s cultural diversity.

The names of those lost were read, and many families were visibly moved by the names of their ancestors being spoken aloud. It was a poignant moment in the ceremony. Outside the Centre, the Dance of the White Lion troupe performed, wreaths were laid, and incense sticks were lit representing heaven, earth and humanity. The ritual food that had been prepared as an offering was then shared at the hākari.

The memorial is in the right place – its location reinforces its links to the moana, but more importantly it is bound with a living, breathing embodiment of Te Ao Māori adjacent to Manea Footprints of Kupe.

TOP: Chinese Dance of the White Lion.

ABOVE: SS Ventnor Memorial Chair, Meng Foon, addressing the gathering.

He tohu aroha ki o matou tupuna In honour of our ancestors. n Writer: Bill Edwards Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga undertook the gazettal of the wreck of the SS Ventnor as an archaeological site, thus providing it with legal protection under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014.