HISTORIC GANNON

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 68, 22 March 1933, Page 5

HISTORIC GANNON

THE BLINKINSOPP GUN

SOME ANCIENT HISTORY

After lying neglected In- Seymour Square for thirty years or more, the Blinkinsopp gun, one of the most interesting historical relics in New Zealand, has been mounted outside the Plunket Rooms in High Street, Blenheim, and was formally unveiled at an interesting little ceremony a few days ago, says- the•"■•'-' Marlborough.: Express;''

The gun, a six-poundor which formed & part of. the protective .armament of the whaling schooner Caroline iu 1831, ■was given by her owner, Captain John Blinkrnsopp, to Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaetea, the overlords of the Wairau district,- as payment for the Wairau Plain, but the Natives subsequently—after the death of Blinkinsopp—repudiated the bargain, stating that they had understood that the gun was given to them: in payment for the % right t'o secure wood and water on the Caroline 's frequent visits to these shores, and not for the purchase of the land, Blinkinsopp had drawn up a deed setting out the details of the transactions from his point of view, and it seems likely that this was tho first "conveyance "of land ever executed in the South Island. In the long run, after the Native repudiation of the deal, the gun was left lying close to the beach in Kakapo Bay, Port Underwood, for many years, and "it was ultimately brought to Blenheim in 1866 by Captain Scott, of the steamer Falcon. In 1875 it was mounted on a wooden carriage outside the Municipal Chambers, where it was an object of much interest until the time of the Boer War, when mis-, guided enthusiasts used it to fire salutes. After this, the carriage fell into disrepair and tho gun was relegated to the obscurity of Seymour Square, where it remained until interest in its romantic history was reawakened some little time ago, when the Mayor took steps to see that it was properly preserved. The gun has been mounted on a substantial concrete base, and bears a plate setting out its history in a single sentence. -"