A VISIT TO- TE PAPA CEMETERY.

New Zealander, Volume XX, Issue 2132, 4 June 1864, Page 3

A VISIT TO- TE PAPA CEMETERY.

The place of; interment' of the heroes who fell nobly leading on their menjn the memorable engagement of the 29th April is one well worthy of a visit. Te Papa, the mission station of the Venerable Archdeacon Brown, is situated on the Southern peninsula of Tauranga harbour, and presents the appearance of a very fertile pastoral district. The cemetery is on: a point overhanging thei entrance to the harbour, and is a really picturesque spot for the sacred purpose to which it has been allotted. On the opposite side of the water stands the mammoth Maimganui Mountain,'rising some 859 feet from the level of the sea. Conspicuously, too, may be seen the Mayor Island ; and the low level plains on the North and South, stretching far into the distance. Te Papa comprises only some half-dozen European residences, and these have been, for the most part, deserted by their,occupants in consequence of the commencement of hostilities in that vicinity. The church and parson age of' the Archdeacon are in close proximity to the cemetery, and serve to heighten the beauty of the local it}'. Near this is the house formerly occupied by the Rev. Mr. Baker, now converted into an hospital for wounded officers. Closely adjacent are three well-looking residences,' formerly occupied by the Messrs. Clarke and their families—the one Commissioner, another the Resident Magistrate of the district, and the third an influential agriculturist and dairy farmer. These houses present sad contrasts with their former neatness and order. The first is occupied as a Commissariat store, the second as the head-quarters of the Colonel in command, and the third is rented as the offices of the Commissariat purveyor (Mr. W. Buckland). The land is very rich and level, and the scenery and position very desirable. The burial-ground has evidently been used as a place of interment by the natives for some considerable period, for it is dotted here and there with time-honoured mementos of Maori graves. Hero is a decayed vault of plain wood, at the head of which we perceive, through a crevice wrought in it by time, the remains of a blanket and spear. At another place mat’ be seen the skull of a human being, lying loosely on the soddened mound of earth which denotes the last resting-place, probably, of a chief of‘ notoriety. Some are of opinion that he met an untimely end at the hands of an assassin, and that the .skull of his adversary has been procured by his relatives and laid there as a memorial of his fate. Plain wooden head-posts, indicating the name and tribe, and date of demise of the deceased, in rude, uncouth carvings, are scattered over the place. Other graves have simply a rude block of stone, and others again the figure-head of a canoe, to mark the resting-place of a deceased native. The cemetery is not without the remains of European settlers, although they are few in number. Conspicuous is the tomb of a Mrs. Faulkner, with the crude words inscribed thereon—“ Here you see the mother of a large family.” In the midst of. this ground, most charmingly situate, and having two weeping willows, bowed down with time, at the upper end, .is. palisaded off the place of interment of the brave men who fought and died in the Gate Pa' engagement. The pailings are neatly arranged and painted white, with a wicket in the centre. The whole, is unique and perfect in its arrangement. The walks consist of sand, and are tastily laid out by men Of the 43rd Regiment. The graves are ornamented with shells from the seashore, and borders of white shells grace the walks. On the greater part are arranged emblems of a cross and a vase of flowers underneath. At the upper end stand four tombstones to the memory of officers of the Navy. The first we will notice is to the memory of Commander Edward Hay, who not long ago came out here to relieve Captain Sullivan, of H.M.S. Harrier , who has gone home. The deceased was formerly on this station as a subordinate officer of the Havannah in 1847, under Capt. Erskine. Commander Hay fell a victim to the noble daring of the enemy, on the occasion of the attack in front of the Gate Pa, Captain Jenkins, although his senior officer, gallantly serving under him at the time. He died in the noble discharge of his duty 7 , and in the prime of life. The tablet bears an inscription to the effect that ,he died of wounds received in the attack on the Pukehinahlna Pa, on the 30th of April. Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton, of H.M.S. Esk, lies by his side. Byrne’s Naval » Biography says of this gentleman that he is the son of Colonel Hamilton and Charlotte, daughter of John Fane, Esq., of Wormsley, L.L.D., an eminent agriculturist, and many years M.P. for Oxford. His uncle, Rear-Admiral Francis William Fane, died 28th March, 1844. This officer entered the navy 28th August, 1835 • and in 1841-42, while attached to the Blonde , 42, Captain Thomas Bourchier, was present, either in the boats or on shore, at the taking of Amoy, the storming of Chinghae, , the attack on the Chinese entrenched camp on the heights of Segoan, the capture of Chapoo, and the engagement with the enemy’s batteries at Woosung. He also, on the 10th March, 1842, served in the boats, under Captain George Goldsmith, at the destruction of ten fire vessels with which the Chinese had attempted to annihilate the British shipping and transports at their anchorage off Chinghae. Having passed his examination 10th November, 1841, and been further employed as mate in the Warspite, 50, Captain Provo William Parry Wallis, and St. Vincent, 120, flag ship of Sir Charles Rowley, on the Lisbon and Portsmouth stations, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, Bth March, 1844, and subsequently appointed, 24th May and; Ist August, 1844, to the America, 50, and Racer, 16, Captains Hon. John Gordon and Archibald Reed, both on the South American station. He left the latter vessel in the summer of 1846, He

afterwards became senior lieutenant of the Leander, anil was further promoted for his services while on the Naval Brigade at the siege of Sebastopol. On the 26th February, 1858, he received his post rank. It is much feared that this brave officer was cruelly deserted by his men, who were seized with a panic and fled back to our position after being gallantly led as the forlorn-hope to the attack. It is true it was a critical moment, but if the men had displayed half the courage and daring of their officer, a very different result would have to be chronicled respecting this unfortunate encounter. The storming party, who preceded them, were exposed to a murderous fire, in which their officer was very early cut off. They were consequently wavering at the time the Captain led on his men to the rescue. He sprang upon the parapet on reaching the Pa, shouting, “ Follow me, men!” It was at this moment, rushing into the fight, he received his deathblow, nobly doing his duty, as did other worthy officers. The tablet simply intimates that he was killed in the action at Pukehmahina, on the 29th of April, 1864. Side by side is the body of Lieut. Charles Hill, of H.M.S. Curocoa, whose loss is doubly deplorable from the fact that he was a survivor of the ill-fated Orpheus, and was appointed to the Curacoa after going home on the loss of his vessel. His body was found in the interior of the Pa, after its desertion by the enemy. He led on the men of the Naval Brigade, and fell in the thick of the engagement, bravely doing his duty. There is also side by side with this the tablet to the memory of M. Watts, Royal Marine Artillery, of H.M.S. Miranda, who was also killed in the same struggle for possession of the Gate Pa. Like the former, it bears a notification that he was killed in the attack on Pukehinahina Pa, on the 29th of April. Closely adjacent is the mound over the remains of Lieut.-Colonel Henry Jackson Parkin Booth, who died of wounds received in the attack, whilst leading on the men of the 43rd Light Infantry. He became a lieutenant on the 9th August, 1850 ; a captain on the 29th July, 1853 ; a major on the 3rd April, 1857; and lieutenant-colonel on the 11th February, 1862. He served with the 43rd in the Kaffir war of 1851-3, for which he received a medal. At another part lie the remains of Captain Robert Coke Glover, who met his death whilst leading his men, who composed the storming party, up to the breach made in front ot the Pa. He died shot through the- head -by a bullet.. He became lieutenant on the sth December, 'lßsl, and he received his captaincy on the 30thj with ther-Slst- Regiment through the Burmese war, in 1852, for which he received a medal, and he was on board the East India Steam Company’s steam frigate Ferooz during the naval action and destruction of the enemy’s stockades on the Rangoon River ; and he was present during the succeeding three days’ operations in. the vicinity, and at the storming and capture of Rangoon. Lieutenant Charles Langlands, of the 43rd Regiment, is the next, and he, too, met his death inside the Pa. This gentleman had only been three years in the service, having obtained his ensigncy in May, 1861. Captain Charles Reginald Mure, of the 43rd Regiment, likewise rests in peace near his brother officers of the same Regiment, who met their . deaths in _ this illustrious encounter. He entered the 43rd Regiment as an ensign on the 16th August, 1850 ; he obtained his lieutenancy on the 29th July, 1853 ; and his captaincy on the Bth January, 1856. He served with the 43rd Light Infantry in the Kaffir war of 1851 and 1853, for which he received a medal. He served also in the Crimea from the 29th July to the 29th j September, 1855, as Aide-de-Camp to Major-General Markham. He received a medal and a clasp for Sabas- j topol, sth class of the Medjidie, and Turkish Medal.

Next follow the mortal remains of Captains Hamilton and Utterton, of the same .Regiment, The former entered the army on the 23rd January, 1852, when he became ensign in the 43rd Regiment., He was a lieutenant on the 13th April, 1855; and captain on the 31st July, 1860. He served with the 97th Regiment in Bengal, in suppressing the mutiny in 1857 and 1858, and was present in the actions of Nusrutpore (as orderly officer to Colonel Ingram, and mentioned in despatches), Chanda, ytumeerpore, and Sultanpore ; siege and capture of Lucknow and storming of the Kaisa Bagh ; operations in Bundlecund in 1859, including the pursuit to, night attack, and surprise of, the rebels on the Lalee Nuddee, for which he received a medal, and clasp. Captain Edwin Utterton entered the 23rd Regiment on the 30th April, 1855. He became lieutenant on the 10th September in the same year, and captain on the Bth October, 1861. He served at the -seige of Sabastopol in 1855, including the assault of the Redan, on the Bth September; for which he received a medal and clasp, and ,Turkish medal. He served also in the Indian campaign 0f'1857-58, including the relief of Lucknow by Lord Clyde, defeat of the Gwalior Contingent at Cawnpore, affair of the Ramgnnga, siege and capture of Lucknow - (mentioned in despatches), and Trans-Gogra operation when the rebels were driven- from Oude into Nepaul, and for which he received a medal and two clasps. Closely adjacent is a tablet to the memory of a noble host of men of the various vessels of war engaged, chronicling their names and ages, ships and positions. Amongst these are;— James Harris, ordinary seaman of H.M.S. Curaqoa ; William Leigh, stoker of H.M.S. Esk ; Robert Fuller, ordinary seaman of Esk ; William Dalton, O. M. of Esk ; Henry Clarke, a boy ; George Young, A. 8..; and Andrew Greenhow, /stoker, all of H.M.S. Harrier ; Sergeant Harding, Royal Marine Artillery, of H.M.S. Eclipse, The remainder of the ground is occupied by the men of the various regiments who were killed in the attack. Not tar from the Cemetery is the place where the dead bodies of the enemy, who were found lying inside the Pa when it was occupied by our troops,are interred. Our worthy General, with the humanity which is characteristic of English warfare, sent word to the rebels that they were a-t liberty to bur}' their dead if they thought fit, if not he would provide a decent interment- for them himself. They accordingly sent a party of twenty men, who arranged the bodies of the common men in a row, and then placed the better class across their stomachs. But the number of- our dead within the precincts of this Cemetery is more than double the number of the enemy thus buried almost by their side. Te Papa contains the graves of forty illustrius dead.