Maketu has gone to the dogs...

Like I've mentioned before, Cemeteries interest me...this one we visited in Maketu also has historical part graves to it - these ones are in the newer part. This one caught my eye....judging by the headstone on the grave I'd say this one is affiliated with a local gang, looks like the Mongrel Mob and the dogs on top show that the person must've loved bulldogs.

According to local history many Maori pa were situated in various parts of the area around the early part of European occupation. The history lies in it's numerous burial grounds especially in Wharekaru are graves of some Pakeha and Maori leaders including Philip Tapsell and Anne Chapman who established the first local school in Maketu. The open fields of the Peninsula are considered sacred ground (Tapu).

Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

California Poppies at Maketu Cemetery

Major roadtrip today! B is looking for a car for his daughter so after searching an online auction website we found two in Whakatane, which is just over an hour away from where we live. On the way there we popped into the local historical cemetery in Maketu. 

Information I've found says that "in 1769 the British explorer Captain James Cook sailed past Maketu, noting in his journal a Maori settlement on the point of the peninsula which he named “Town Point”, a name that continues today. Never mind that it already had a name, “Okurei”.

Shortly following Cook’s arrival in New Zealand, whalers, traders, and missionaries began to arrive. And the prosperous Maori settlement of Maketu was in their sight. The abundant fishing grounds, easy access to timber and flax, and rich agricultural land made Maketu a prime location.

Arguably the most significant of these Pakeha settlers was a Danish merchant named Phillip Tapsell who arrived in Maketu in 1809 and established a thriving business trading in flax and other goods. He was married three times to Maori women, died in 1873, and is buried in the Maketu cemetery. The Tapsell name is prominent today in the Maketu community."

This photo is of one of three graves grouped together while California Poppies grow along the edge and in amongst the concrete.