Arthur's Stone, located near Kerikeri, is recognised as New Zealand's earliest monument to a Pākehā (European).[1] It was erected in November 1840, by Reverend Richard Taylor in memory of his 10-year-old son Arthur who died at the site as a result of a fall from a horse. The stone was entered into the Heritage New Zealand list of historic places on 14 May 2008, as a Category 1 List No:7743.[2]
History
editThe stone was erected on 9 November 1840, by Reverend Richard Taylor as a memorial to his son Arthur. Taylor wrote an account in his journal of the memorial being erected stating he had returned that same evening "having waited to see a basaltic column of 7½ feet put up on the spot where poor Arthur met his death. It was carried from the Kerikeri". The following day Taylor and a person named Steele returned to the site whitewashed the stone, cleared a circle around its base and planted it with clover.[3]
Ten-year-old Arthur Taylor was accompanying his father Reverend Richard Taylor from Kerikeri to Waimate to meet his mother, when according to a contemporary report, the horse he was riding was startled by a touch of a switch and bolted, causing Arthur to fall from the saddle and being dragged by the stirrup resulting in his death on October 12, 1840.[4]
References
edit- ^ "NZ's oldest Pakeha memorial recognised". The New Zealand Herald. 14 June 2008. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
- ^ Park, Stuart. "Arthur's Stone". Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
- ^ Taylor, RMS (1983). "Arthur Spencer Taylor". Whanganui Historical Society. 14 (1): 10–11.
- ^ "Bay of Islands". New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator. 21 November 1840. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
35°16′21″S 173°54′03″E / 35.2726°S 173.9008°E
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