TREASURED HISTORIC FLAG

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 44, 20 August 1938, Page 27

TREASURED HISTORIC FLAG

It is not generally known that the flag flown by Colonel William Wakefield when he made his historic landing on the Petone beach on September 30, 1839, still exists and is carefully treasured by Mr. Andrew Haggerty R. Gillespie, of Dannevirke, who is himself a descendant of the historic family, two members of which were massacred by the Maoris in the Hutt Valley. The flag, of which a photograph is shown, measures 6ft by 4ft, and has a red cross on a white ground, with four stars on a blue ground in the masthead corner. . „ Mr. Gillespie has intimated that, provided there are proper safeguards and conditions are suitable, he is prepared to allow the flag to be flown, under his own direct supervision, at the Centennial celebrations on September 30, 1939. He has very courteously supplied particulars of the flag and the tragic incident in his family's history. HISTORY OF THE FLAG. "The flag flown by Colonel William Wakefield at Petone on September 30,

1839, on the occasion of the taking possession otitiies&art>our lands of Port Nicholson is in my possession," he states. '"The history of the flag as I know it is this: It was flown from the top of a small tree fashioned into a flagpole, and erected close to the Petone pa, under instructions from Colonel William Wakefield, to signalise taking possession of the harbour lands of Port Nicholson, "In whose possession it was from that tiirie until 1853 is not certain, but it is believed to have remained in the custody of Colonel Wakefield, and, after his death in 1848, was taken care of by one of the several members of the, Wakefield family. "The flag passed from the- Wakefield family, through Edward Gibbon Wakefield, to Mr. William . Schmidt. Mr. Schmidt was a native of Denmark, who had been a sailor on the Minerva, the vessel which brought Edward Gibbon! Wakefield to these shores on February 2, 1853. During the voyage from Lyttelton to Wellington Mr. Schmidt fell from a yardarm and broke a leg, and when visited by Edward Gibbon Wakefield agreed to enter his employ on his recovery. He did so, and remained with him until 1862, in which year Edward Gibbon Wakefield died, and, as he had made provision in his will for his retainers, William Schmidt proceeded to Christchurch, where he. be- j came a well-known and respected settler. "The flag passed from Mr. William Schmidt to Mr. David Lewis, who) arrived in Wellington in the Oriental, | January, 1840. David LeWis entered the employ of the New Zealand.Land Company as a clerk, and was for many years its Land Commissioner. He resided in Lewisville : Terrace, and in the year 1892 shifted to Cambridge Terrace. It was then that he handed the flag over to Mr. C. H. Gillespie, of the Shepherd's Arms Hotel —the hostelry was at one time well known as a miniature museum (the museum pieces were afterwards transferred to the Tramway Hotel). . The hotei is now known as the Western Park. MASSACRE OF THE GILLESPIES. "Mr. C. H. Gillespie was the second son of Mr. Andrew W. Gillespie* who arrived at Port Nicholson by the ship Birman on March 1, 1842. Andrew Haggerty Gillespie was. the first man I

WAKEFIELD'S LANDING AT PETONE BEACH

placed on land at the Hutt from wnich the Maoris had been evicted, and he and his eldest son Andrew were massacred with tomahawks. This massacre led to reprisals being taken by Governor Grey—the incident is published in various accounts bf early New Zealand history. Mr. Charles Haggerty Gillespie escaped the fate of his father and brother owing to the fact that when on the way to the section he met some soldiers who sent him to the inn to get a bottle of whisky. On his return and arrival at the section he found that his,father and brother had been tomahawked. Both died. "The flag passed from C. H. Gillespie to my father Andrew, who*carried on tjie business in the Shepherd's Arms Hotel until the year 1906. The flag was handed to me by my father in the year 1911, so it has been cared for by the Gillespie family for the past 46 years and is still in the hands of an Andrew Haggerty Gillespie. "The flag was flown across Tinakori Road in front of the Shepherd's Arms Hotel on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Jubilee, and was hoisted at the inauguration of New Zealand as a Dominion. It was laid on the railings of the grave of Colonel Wm. Wakefield during the ceremony held there

in 1921, and again hoisted on the day of the crowning of our present King. The flag is in fair order considering its age and like the flags of those days is hand sewn and was made by sailors." -= ACCOUNT OF THE LANDING. Colonel Wakefield records in his diary: "I had the satisfaction to be received on all hands as a benefactor and to hear the reiterated assurances |of contentment with the purchase money, and joy at the expected arrival of settlers. On * Monday, September 30, the Natives frorii all parts of the port mustered at the prescribed place (the Korokoro) foi; the appointed ceremony. In every direction on the beach the Native ovens threw up clouds of smoke, and an immense flagstaff was raised, with the assistance of our carpenter, on which to hoist the colours of New Zealand, which I intend to leave here. In the afternoon at a signal from the shore, all the cabin party and those who could be spared forward, landed and were received by about 300 men, women, and i children. Immediately on landing I had the New Zealand flag hoisted at the flagstaff head, when the same was done on the ship (Tory) which saluted. it with 21 guns, greatly to the satisfaction of the assembly. A war dance then took place, followed by the chiefs addressing the different bodies of Natives assembled, assuring each other Of their mutual good will. After justice had been done to the feast prepared, the healths of the chiefs and people of Port Nicholson were drunk in champagne, and, christening the flagstaff, formal possession was taken of the hai> bour and district in the name of the New Zealand Company, amidst cheers of the Colonel's party and the Natives. The whole scene passed in the greatest harmony." ' , . i

In regard to the massacre it is recorded that on April 2, 1846, Mr. Gillespie and his 12-year-old son were attacked by rebel Maoris and tomahawked so severely that they succumbed. They were buried in the Sydney Street Cemetery, Wellington, the inscription on the tombstone reading, "To the memory of Andrew Sagarty Gillespie, aged 42, and his son Andrew, aged 12, who died of wounds murderously inflicted by the rebel Natives early in the evening of April 2, on the banks of the Hutt River. Laid in this grave together on April 7, 1846. The surviving widow and mother erect this memorial."