Aramoana bravery medal sale upsets police and war memorial museums

Friday, 11 May 2018

The sale of a bravery medal awarded to a police officer killed in the Aramoana massacre was an 'unfortunate fait accompli', released documents reveal.

Sergeant Stewart Guthrie was posthumously awarded the George Cross medal for bravery – the second-highest Commonwealth award after the Victoria Cross and the highest medal that can be awarded to a civilian.

Guthrie and 12 others were killed by gunman David Gray in the coastal Otago settlement of Aramoana on November 13, 1990.

After Guthrie's widow died, their children decided to sell the medal. It was bought, for an undisclosed sum, by British billionaire businessman Lord Michael Ashcroft earlier this year.

**READ MORE:

* Flashback: The Aramoana massacre 

* Concerns over Aramoana bravery medal heading offshore**

Documents concerning the sale have been released to Stuff by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage under the Official Information Act.

The decision to grant the offshore sale of the medal angered experts at the New Zealand Police Museum and the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

The medal was of 'considerable rarity and significance to not only New Zealand Police, but also the public of New Zealand', a senior manager at the Police Museum said in an email.

The agreement with Lord Ashcroft was 'tenuous' as it would belong to him, despite him agreeing to display it in a museum.

The manager said 'it would be highly unusual for a museum to guarantee permanent display'.

The Police Museum asked for the ministry to look at the legality of the sale.

'I can assure you that many current and former New Zealand police will be disappointed with this decision.'

The documents also reveal Lord Ashcroft had 'minimal interest' in the medal unless it was sent to England.

Auckland Museum also criticised the deal, with one person saying the sale to a private collector was an 'unfortunate fait accompli'.

The best outcome would have been for the medal to remain in New Zealand, the person said.

Of the 408 George Cross Medals awarded, only three were awarded to Kiwis. The other two were housed at the National Army Museum at Waiouru.

While Guthrie's medal was most important to his family, it was also important for New Zealanders 'as symbolic recognition of the courage and sacrifice made by Guthrie when responding to a horrific event'.

Police documents said it was preferable the medal, which one appraisal valued at $30,000, was bought by a public institution rather than a private collector.

'The export of the medal to an international museum does not preclude the medal returning to New Zealand on a temporary basis for display.'

The ministry recommended the sale be approved, and the medal was exported on February 12.

Aubrey Bairstow, of New Zealand Medals, confirmed he helped broker the deal on behalf of Guthrie's family.

The sale also included Guthrie's New Zealand police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and his New Zealand Defence Service Medal.

Bairstow said the price Lord Ashcroft offered 'would not have been achieved locally'.

'They were kept by Mrs Guthrie in a cereal box as she was apparently fearful they may be stolen.'

'It was absolutely the family's right to sell the medals and once that hard decision was thrust upon them following the death of their mother, to whom the medal was presented, it was only logical for them to seek the most amount of money they could.'

Ashcroft said in an earlier statement he wanted to assure Kiwis that the medal was 'a much-treasured decoration that will be safe and secure in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery for a very long time to come'.

The gallery is based at London's Imperial War Museum London and includes the largest collection of Victoria Crosses in the world.