Police are investigating the destruction of two headstones at a Waikato war cemetery where soldiers killed in the battle of Rangiriri are buried. It comes just days out from the conflict’s 160-year anniversary.
Brad Totorewa came across the smashed headstones in the Rangiriri Māori War and Early Settlers Cemetery on Monday while he was taking a group of teachers on a professional learning development tour through the site.
“I talk to them about the origins of the cemetery and the connection to the history of the [Waikato] invasion and so when I came here and saw the desecration of these headstones, yeah, I felt…e aroha ana (I felt for them).”
Ray Cooper, whose great-great grandfather’s name was on one of the two headstones destroyed, said he came down to help clean up after he was contacted by Totorewa.
Cooper said he and his whānau didn’t know much about his ancestor’s history for fear of what they would find. “We didn’t’ dig into that side of our whakapapa, as I said earlier, mainly because when we look at it, we are Māori and they were the oppressors.”
But he believes their memories must still be respected.
“I don’t like that sort of thing for anybody, whether they're Māori or Pākehā, desecrating a bit of memorial stuff that people have put up for that benefit, for remembering their tupuna.”
Many of the people buried in the cemetery were killed in the battle of Rangiriri, the first major clash during the invasion that culminated with the taking of more than a million acres of Māori land.
The battle took place on November 20, 1863, and was considered one of the bloodiest conflicts during the New Zealand Wars.
When asked by 1News whether he believed the timing of the attack held any significance, Totorewa said it was anyone’s guess.
“It is a significant act of violence, act of vandalism, in such a significant time when we commemorate 160 years. Trying to understand the reasons as to why someone who would carry out such an act is beyond me.”
Police are investigating but it remains unclear if the vandalism is linked to the war commemoration.
Glossary
aroha – love, compassion
whakapapa – genealogy
tupuna – ancestor(s)
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