British naval captain's statue in Hamilton removed after Waikato kaumātua vowed to tear it down

June 12, 2020

The British naval captain was involved in the Battle of Gate Pā, with its removal requested by Waikato-Tainui.

A statue representing a British naval captain involved in the Battle of Gate Pā in Hamilton has today been loaded onto the back of a truck and removed by the council after a Huntly kaumātua threatened to take it down - with or without permission.

Taitimu Maipi told Stuff this week that he planned to tear down the statue on Saturday during a planned protest march.

That statue was made by Margriet Windhausen and gifted to the city in 2013 by the Gallagher Group, and Mr Maipi said it represents a "murderous a**hole".

"I went up to my tribe today and told them I'm taking the statue out, I left my name at Hamilton City Council and said I'm taking it out," Mr Maipi said.

The bronze figure depicts British Navy commander Captain John Hamilton, the city’s namesake.

Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton was a British naval commander who led a regiment at the Battle of Gate Pā during the New Zealand Wars.

In a statement this morning ahead of the removal, Hamilton City Council said the statue was to be removed from Civic Square by professionals, following a formal request from Waikato-Tainui.

"The request comes after a growing international drive to remove statues which are seen to represent cultural disharmony and oppression," the council said.

Council Chief Executive Richard Briggs said "we know this statue is contentious for a number of our community members.

"It is the right thing for the Council to take the opportunity to look at the long-term plan for this artwork and determine where and how it might fit in to the city's future.

"We also have public safety concerns - the statue is firmly embedded into Civic Square and sits on top of the Garden Place underground carpark.

"If the statue were to be forcefully removed from its current position, as has been indicated, it could severely undermine the integrity of the building below it.

"We can't allow for that to happen so the removal of the statue will be coordinated in a professional and responsible manner.

"We have been working collaboratively with Waikato-Tainui for more than 12 months on a project to review culturally sensitive place names and sites - we understand this work is vitally important in raising awareness to cultural harm which has taken place."

Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate also supported the removal of the statue.

Ms Southgate said that she had raised concerns about the statue with the Gallagher family in November last year, and said John Gallagher had been receptive to having a discussion about the future of the statue.

The Māori Party yesterday called for an inquiry into all of the colonial monuments and statues around New Zealand.

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