Pukearuhe

Whiteley plaque removed 30 September 2006
By LEIGHTON KEITHA plaque that became a sore point between iwi and other Pukearuhe locals was suddenly removed yesterday, disappointing people wanting to preserve history.
The plaque on Pukearuhe's 83-year-old Whiteley Memorial was taken down by a firm of monumentalists at the request of New Plymouth's Methodist Church.
No one from the church would comment to the Taranaki Daily News about the plaque's removal.
The memorial was erected to honour Methodist missionary the Reverend John Whiteley, who along with seven other people was killed by Maori in 1869.
The land was returned to the Ngati Tama iwi in a Treaty settlement in 2003. The iwi says the memorial was insensitive to Maori.
A year later, news that the church had agreed to remove the cairn raised an uproar.
David Musker, a spokesman for Save Our Sites (SOS), a local group which aims to protect historical monuments in the region, said it was a shame the memorial was being torn down.
"We weren't in favour of it, but it is history now – history that has gone," Mr Musker said.
Contributions from all over New Zealand were received for the memorial.
"We thought that it could have been preserved as part of history," Mr Musker said.
"I think it is part of history and it is a shame to see it go."
Ngati Tama iwi manager Greg White said the church had an agreement with the iwi to remove the memorial.
"It is just a piece of land that was returned to us and we don't need any monuments on it at the moment," Mr White said.
The iwi says it depends on whose version of history you believe as to what sort of person Mr Whiteley was.
"If he was a man of such high mana, how do you explain him being killed?
"He was running messages on behalf of the army or militia at the time and he paid the price of being an informer," he said.
Mr White said the church was meant to remove the entire memorial.
Ngati Tama iwi member Colin Mattock, of Urenui, said he was annoyed about the plaque's removal.
"I firmly believe they don't have any right to make the church remove it," Mr Mattock said.
He said he had heard the plaque was going to be removed quickly and quietly.
A majority of the iwi would not know about the removal and Mr White was not representing all of them, he said.
"I don't see why he has the right to do that.
"They are taking history away. Our younger generation will never know."
Historic Places Trust central region area co-ordinator David Watt said it was an issue between the church and the iwi.
The memorial was part of the registration of the historic reserve area, Mr Watt said.
"I think the important thing is to try to achieve an outcome that is going to be acceptable all round," he said.
The trust had been kept in the loop about what was going to be done.