Portrait, Armed Constabulary, Ōpōtiki
Production date / Rā mahi
Post 1866
Description / Taipitopito kōrero
Portrait of armed constabulary in front of Saint Stephen's Church redoubt at Ōpōtiki. “The church illustrated on this card was erected by the Rev.C.S.Völkner and his Maoris in 1860, the timber for the building having been pit-sawn in the adjacent bush. In 1865, when the Maori War broke out, Mr. Völkner took his wife to Auckland for safety and then returned to his post at Opotiki. On his arrival he was seized by the order of the rebel chief Kereopa and hanged on a willow tree. His body was then horribly mutilated in the church by Kereopa's fanatical followers, who drank the martyr's blood from the communion chalice. Major Brassey the church was garrisoned. A redoubt was built and the church was loopholed for guns. During Te Kooti's raids it was a place of refuge for the isolated families in the district." (information extracted from the back of an original postcard RK 13/10/2007)
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