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In 1902, the SS Ventnor, a ship carrying the remains of hundreds of Chinese gold miners, sank off the coast of Hokianga. In the years after, local communities gathered bones washed onto shore for safekeeping. After three days in the Far North paying respects to ancestors and those who cared for their remains, James To reflects on the ways the historic event has connected Māori and Chinese.

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There’s nothing quite like that typical Kiwi experience of kicking off your socks and shoes at the beach, and running out in your bare feet.

This is the stuff of childhood memories, family holidays, or just escaping the rigours of city life and becoming one with nature. At first, you bounce gingerly along the hot fluffy sands that has been baking in hours of summer heat; but as you approach the shore line, the transition to the squelchy, wet ground offers a most delightful sensation: soft grit squishing between your toes; your tired soles enjoying the cool, rolling sensation that comes with each step; and then finally what you’ve been waiting for – complete relief as you hit the surf.

I was soaking all of this up out in the Far North with my wife and two kids at the end of a late summer. 

But this wasn’t your average family getaway; we were with 50 others on a three-day trip. We travelled in a big bus that took us across some of the most luscious rugged scenery you’ll ever see in Godzone; enjoying a brief ferry ride across the waters of the Hokianga Harbour, and finally arriving to warm pōwhiri welcome by our Māori friends in Rawene, then by Te Rarawa on the next day at Matihetihe Marae at Mitimiti, and finally by Te Roroa at Kawerua near the Waipoua Forest.

At each pōwhiri, we were more than just a bunch of curious tourists or visiting guests. The greetings we received with a big smile, warm hug and hongi were a hearty and sincere “kia ora whānau!”. 

For once, as a Chinese-New Zealander, I didn’t feel like an outsider anymore.

And it didn’t take long to realise why. We had “returned” to possibly the most significant place in Aotearoa for Māori-Chinese relations.

Spiritually linked

On a fateful night in 1902, a vessel named the SS Ventnor bound for Canton (now known as Guangzhou), sank off the Hokianga coast, claiming the lives of 13 crew members.

What made this tragedy more significant was the cargo on board. Apart from items such as coal, dried fruit and tobacco, the ship was chartered to transport the remains of about 500 Chinese gold miners back to their homeland for burial.

Over the years, local Māori communities have been gathering bones washed onto shore for safekeeping – and this story has served to connect Chinese with Pākehā and Māori symbolically and spiritually ever since.

Some in our group could claim direct ancestry to the bones themselves, and others shared iwi relations.

The kaumātua spoke of intermarriage between Māori and Chinese in his own extended Te Rarawa family. And overlooking the urupā (burial site) at Mitimiti was the Red Gateway – a bold red wooden arch nestled amongst the gently swaying toetoe that recalled these connections and history with strength and serenity. So yes, we really were whānau.

It then occurred to me that this was not so much a visit, but more a pilgrimage in many respects.

In fact, the timing of our travel up north was specifically planned to revolve around Qing Ming, a traditional annual occasion where Chinese families head out to the cemetery to tend, clean and sweep the tombs and gravestones of their forebears.

And so back to the beach where we were looking far out into the horizon. We offered incense with three deep bows and burnt notes to honour those who had passed; we conveyed to their spirits our thoughts and prayers.

It was also our moment to pay tribute and thanks to those who have cared for our lost ones with dignity and respect. In our hands were long bamboo poles, for scrawling messages to our ancestors into the wet sand.

This was where earth and sea met, a final resting place to remember and connect to a moment that occurred more than 100 years ago – and at the same time ponder our past, present and future relationship with the land and its peoples, and how we all fit into that.

So for myself, my family, and certainly those who travelled with me to Mitimiti and Kawerua – those wonderful sensations of running onto the beach now evoke not just the nostalgia of long hot summers, but a completely new set of emotions and recollections that is forever woven into our social tapestry – adding to a rich history of intercultural connectedness, and pointing a way ahead for establishing a powerful shared identity as New Zealanders.

It’s amazing what a day or two at the beach can do.

James To is National Secretary of the New Zealand Chinese Association. Views expressed in this article are personal to the author.

This article was first published by the Foundation’s Asia Media Centre

The legacy of the SS Ventnor

• The SS Ventnor sank off the Hokianga Heads in October 1902, after striking a reef off the coast of Taranaki. The steamship had been carrying the coffins of about 500 Chinese men, mostly goldminers in Otago and Southland, back to their homeland. Thirteen crew members and passengers died.
• The boat had been chartered by a Chinese community group Cheong Sing Tong to send to remains back to China for reburial in their home villages – mostly in Poon Yu, Guangdong.
• Otago businessman Choie Sew Hoy was the first president of the Cheong Shing Tong group. Through his arrangements, in 1883 another ship had safely carried 230 exhumed bodies to China.
• Sew Hoy died in 1901 and his body was among those lost on the Ventnor.
• In 2007, New Zealand-born Chinese researchers learnt that members of Northland iwi Te Rarawa and Te Roroa had grown up with stories about human remains washing up on beaches and being buried in urupā (burial places). In 2009, Chinese New Zealand Ventnor descendants were invited to Te Rarawa and Te Roroa marae (Matihetihe Marae in Mitimiti, and Matatina Marae in the Waipoua forest) to pay their respects.
• Since then, several ceremonies have been held to honour the dead. In April 2013, plaques were erected to mark gratitude to the Māori who had cared for the remains.
• In early 2014, a diving group, the Project Ventnor Group, began to examine the 150-metre deep wreckage., having confirmed its location the year before. They retrieved five objects from the wreck, causing the New Zealand Chinese Association and the Human Rights Commission to express concern about a “lack of respect” and consultation. 
• In May 2014, the wreck was given legal protection. It is now covered by archaeological provisions of the Historic Places Act 1993.
• Planning is underway for a Chinese Historic Ventnor Trail in Northland and work is underway identifying a site for a memorial.
• The sinking of the Ventnor inspired Renee Liang’s play The Bone Feeder, later made into an opera.

24 April 2018

In this article, Ashalyna Noa describes travelling to Samoa and China to conduct fieldwork for her PhD, which examines New Zealand and China’s foreign aid and soft power in the Pacific. The Foundation supported Ashalyna’s research with a postgraduate research grant.

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Navigating the complexities of my own cultural identity has played a significant part in shaping my interest in international relations. On my maternal side, my grandmother is Samoan, German and American and my grandfather is Samoan Chinese. On my paternal side, my grandfather was born and raised in Papua New Guinea but is Samoan Tongan and my grandmother is Samoan English.

I have always been interested in understanding the relations between these different countries, their cultures and peoples. Through my studies I have been able to explore some of these connections.

My master’s research analysed the impact of the Chinese in Samoa by examining China’s contribution of ‘human capital’, through early Chinese entrepreneurship and the indentured labour scheme.

This research helped me to piece together part of my family history, as my great grandfather was one of the first twelve Chinese men to settle in Samoa. He set up a number of businesses, became one of the first owners of race horses in Samoa and a foundation member of Samoa’s Chinese Association.

As a first generation New Zealand born Samoan, I wanted to build on what I had learnt from my previous research, with a focus on New Zealand’s connections in the Pacific.

My PhD examines New Zealand and China’s foreign aid and soft power in the Pacific. It explores the interests and approaches of the donors in the region; the interests and responses of the recipient countries; and its impact on the Pacific.

With the support of an Asia New Zealand Foundation postgraduate research grant, I was able to travel to Samoa in August-Sept 2017 to conduct field work. During this time, I interviewed a number of participants including current and former Government officials and public servants and also visited a number of sites funded by Chinese aid.

Prior to heading to Samoa, I was riding a rollercoaster of excitement and apprehension. It was such a privilege to be there for my studies.

Being born and raised in New Zealand, like many New Zealand born Samoan can relate to, I constantly had that conflict of not being seen as a New Zealander in New Zealand and then instantly standing out as a New Zealand born when you set foot in Samoa. I was apprehensive about being an insider outsider and wondered how this would influence my research.  

Each of my interviewees provided me with great insight on different aspects of New Zealand and China’s support in Samoa – from narratives of Samoa’s experiences at a world stage, to its historical connections with New Zealand and China and how it has evolved today, perspectives on current projects, local building company perspectives, negotiation and interactions at local, regional and international levels. 

There was a wealth of expertise and knowledge that is not often reflected in the literature that I was enthusiastic to soak up.

Hearing and reading the reactions of locals about China’s influence in Samoa was interesting. It often did not reflect the perspectives of those in positions of authority that I had been interviewing.

These perspectives mirror that of the first wave of Chinese migrants. Of notable difference this time, is the number of Samoans with Chinese heritage, especially in positions of authority and how these connections can be leveraged in diplomacy.

During my time there, Samoa hosted the 48th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting. The theme of the Forum was ‘The Blue Pacific’, which signified a strengths-based concept of ownership and collaboration for the region.

There was a real buzz in town, with high profile delegates, observers and partners present. Although these events impacted on the availability of a number of my potential participants, the experiences on the ground and anecdotal feedback from people present at the Forum was additional material I had not factored in prior to travelling to Samoa.

I was also able to travel to China for the first time and spent some time in Beijing and Shanghai. I was initially overwhelmed by the size of the cities and population. In Beijing I spent a day with a senior Pacific diplomat and heard about their experiences in China.

My experiences in Samoa and China influenced my research in a way that text books and interviews alone could not have. In a research capacity, these experiences enabled me to weave in more cultural elements to my methodology and enabled me to adapt to the culture of the different environments.

It was the cultural insights and alternative perspectives that were invaluable and provides a basis for understanding the different contexts at play in my research.

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• Find out about the Foundation’s research programme
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23 April 2018

The Asia New Zealand Foundation, in partnership with the New Zealand India Research Institute, will lead a delegation of experts to New Delhi for talks with officials and leading think tanks. The visit is part of the Foundation’s Track II programme in Asia.

The Foundation’s executive director Mr Simon Draper will be heading the delegation, which includes Prof Sekhar Bandyopadhyay (Director, New Zealand India Research Institute), Dr Manjeet Pardesi (Senior Lecturer, Political Science and International Relations Programme, Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University of Wellington), Dr Kate McMillan (Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics, Victoria University of Wellington), Abbas Nazari (Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network Member), and Dr James To (Senior Advisor Research, Asia New Zealand Foundation).               

“The Asia-Pacific region is facing myriad challenges and India’s response will be consequential for New Zealand in terms of economic prosperity or security,” says Mr Draper. “There are several ways forward, and it is important New Zealand understands what is driving India’s responses.  The best way to get that understanding is face to face.”

The Foundation published a research two years ago which looked at ways India and New Zealand could deepen connectivity beyond ‘cricket, climbing and the Commonwealth’.

“One of the ways we can do this is to engage in a free and frank conversation on the many foreign policy, security and trade challenges facing India and New Zealand, and Track II – or informal diplomacy, with think tanks – helps support this engagement.”

Mr Draper says the visit also serves as a useful opportunity to find out what’s framing Delhi’s current domestic and international policies.

“We want to hear our Indian colleagues’ thoughts on issues that impact on us.  For instance, when they talk about trade, does New Zealand matter? And when it comes to regional security, how does India view New Zealand’s engagement in the region? We also want to share our thoughts on why we prefer ‘Asia-Pacific’ over ‘Indo-Pacific’,” Mr Draper says.

Engagement with India’s diaspora is a priority for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. New Zealand’s Indian community numbers around 170,000, the second largest Asian ethnic group in the country. The Track II delegation also aims to find out how people-to-people links can play an important role in building the relationship between the two countries.

About the Asia New Zealand Foundation

The Asia New Zealand Foundation is the pre-eminent non-profit, non-partisan organisation in the country focussed on New Zealand-Asia relations.  Our mission is to equip New Zealanders to thrive in Asia by enabling deeper connections, awareness and knowledge.

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• Find about the Foundation’s Track II programme 

19 April 2018

Closing in on the half way point of his Foundation residency at Kriti Gallery in Varanasi, India, artist Elliot Collins gives his observations of this city on the banks of the Ganges.

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Watch a slideshow of Elliot’s images of Varanasi

It seems strange to talk about being half way into my Varanasi residency, but my half way point is approaching and it feels apt to mention navigation, space and perspective.

This place walks the fine line of truth and fiction. It is easy to see how mythology folds naturally into everyday life here. Even the smell in the air of honeysuckle and incense mixed with cow manure and roasting spices betrays and confuses memory. I am gently reminded that I will never fully know this place, it will always keep something from the visitor.

If I told you that I passed a boat learning to fly or a monkeys that can talk to children I wouldn’t be entirely lying. There is so much rich storytelling material here that I was initially overwhelmed. As I return to the river, the city seems to persist in its unfolding and I change to meet it, no longer phased by the pollution, poverty or beggars but with a resolve to address it upon my return Aotearoa.

On one walk along the river, I find a submarine-like life boat sat on the steps of the ghats and watch a sardu (holy man) playing a convincing game of cricket with some local children. There is a stepwell called Manikanika Kund where pilgrims come to bathe that is a geometric dream that leads down to a still pool that reflects the stars at night. Over on the river’s edge a temple sinks on its foundations and people bathe, cleansed by Mother Ganga. 

Just along from Manikanika are the burning ghats (places where cremations are held) with wooden logs stacked high in orderly towers. These are purchased by families who have brought their deceased loved one to the river for cremation and interring into the river. They walk in a procession along the road chanting and singing with the cloaked body raised upon their shoulders. This was a shock at first, but after sitting on the steps watching the whole event unfold, there is a very peaceful and natural aspect to this tradition. In the Hindu faith, this process is the end point of reincarnation, death and rebirth.

Leaving the ghats, there are endless chai stalls selling sweet and restorative tea to the weary pilgrims. I will often stand sipping the hot tea out of terracotta cups, which are smashed on the ground after use, next to shopkeepers who seem rooted like plants in their kiosks, growing too big for their container.

A little further on, holy men worship and chant, slowly turning to stone, their faces covered in pigment and hair tied in a knot. I have become accustomed to the cows wandering the streets, lanes and alleyways around the city. I’m told they hold the gods in their bellies, so I always give them some space as they wander around unimpeded by the noise and pace of the city. You’ll see people tap them lightly as they pass.

This ancient city, which is built on ancient cities, whispers ‘creation, destruction, creation, destruction’ endlessly as I weave through different areas of markets and temples. Hanuman, Shiva and Ganesha statues and shrines are everywhere and must come to life and coat themselves in vermillion paint in the night, which is the only way to explain the hurried paint job, always fresh but always quickly applied.

I have spent most of my time here filming the river from different ghats, so I often find myself sitting on the painted steps that lead to different worlds beyond the river. The steps sit below castles and fortresses and fold out like origami to reveal that they are all one but with many different sides.

There seems to be no wrong turn in Varanasi, just a different way to arrive at your destination. This adds to the many unexplainable yet somehow ordinary occurrences that life in Varanasi gifts you. This is a place where, as a tourist, you have to sit in the mystery and be carried by the flow of the traffic, the people and the rhythm of the river.

It is very hard to define this experience. Being in among the chaos, the city seems to fold you into her disordered embrace and leads you, again, to the river. However, with the sun setting like a deep red bindi circle in the sky, it is perhaps necessary to speak in riddle or metaphor. And although it might seem mysterious, and I might be caught up in the allegory of this place, because of everything I’ve experienced in this enchanted place and for reasons I can’t explain, I now know what gold smells like.

Elliot Collins is a text based artist who works across multiple disciplines to generate artwork that plays with ideas of memory, trace, memorial and invisibility. While on residency at Kriti Gallery, Elliot hopes to engage with the local life and experience daily rituals as he reflectively continues to make work in response to his surroundings. 

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• Find ouut more about the Foundation’s arts and culture programme
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11 April 2018