Man vows to tear Captain Hamilton statue down

Thursday, 11 June 2020

Kaumatua Taitimu Maipi protested against the Captain John Hamilton statue in Civic Square in 2018.

A man who believes a colonial statue in Hamilton represents a murderer has pledged to tear it down, possibly with the help of the Mongrel Mob.

Huntly kaumātua Taitimu Maipi told Stuff he intends to remove the statue of Captain Hamilton from civic square during a protest march on Saturday.

'I went up to my tribe today and told them I'm taking the statue out, I left my name at Hamilton City Council and said I'm taking it out.'

Maipi said Hamilton was a 'murderous a….hole' standing in the city as though he was a hero.

The statue of Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton was damaged and graffitied by protester, Taitimu Maipi.

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'How can that be? How can we accept that he's a hero when he's a monster who led battles.'

Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton was a naval commander who led a detachment of the 43rd regiment at the Battle of Gate Pā in Tauranga during the New Zealand Wars.

It's doubted he ever stepped foot in Hamilton.

Maipi said he was marching from Hamilton Police Station to the statue on Saturday for a Brown Lives Matter march against racism.

Activist Taitimu Maipi said Captain Hamilton should not stand in the city centre like a 'hero', and debate has now turned to whether it will go to another public place.

He would be joined by members of the Mongrel Mob but believed it was mainly him facing the statue.

'It's not their battle, it's mine.'

He knew the statue was 'pretty solid' so was considering using some kind of equipment to remove it.

Maipi previously protested against the statue in 2018, when he sprayed red paint on it and attacked it with a hammer.

He had watched recent protests around the world against colonial statues, and was sick of seeing Hamilton in the city.

'I started it two years ago, and there was a promise to remove it, but history tells me statues like this should never again be celebrated.'

Hamilton City Council mayor Paula Southgate said she believes the statue should be removed, but did not agree with tearing it down.

Maipi said he believed the city should change its name to Kirikiriroa and remove street names such as Von Tempsky and Bryce St because of their colonial baggage.

'We get to a comfort zone of saying 'oh well that's just their names,' but they are not just names, they are a historical people who murdered our people during those battles.

'And we didn't even start the battle.'

The Gallagher Group gifted the life-size statue to Hamilton city for the company's 75th anniversary in 2012.

Council's decision to accept the statue and place it in Civic Square was made in public excluded sessions in 2012.

When Stuff contacted Sir William Gallagher, he did not want to comment.

Maori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer from Ngati Ruanui has called for a government inquiry into colonial statues around the country.

But Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said she believed the statue should be removed from Civic Square.

'It's in a public place, many people find it personally and culturally offensive.'

But she did not agree with wilful damage of public property and would also be speaking to Maipi soon.

A decision needed to be made in consultation with Waikato-Tainui, The Gallaghers and other councillors, Southgate said.

She was pursuing the matter 'with urgency' and hoped to have an outcome soon.

Southgate was aware of a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest happening in the city on Saturday.

Yesterday, leaders of the Māori Party called for an inquiry into colonial monuments and statues around the country.