Auckland Branch had the fulfilment of a two year dream occur on the 27
thJanuary with the unveiling of a commemorative board on Queen’s Wharf, Auckland, to mark the 175
thanniversary of the first organised arrival of settlers aboard the vessels “Jane Gifford” and “Duchess of Argyle”, to Auckland, on 9
th October 1842. We learned that the Auckland City Council had installed large boards commemorating the history of the waterfront and that of the five developed only four had eventuated. After our approach, Panuku, the development arm of the council, suggested our branch could fill the space. As the previous four boards had been designed and made by a Wellington firm, Story Inc, we engaged them to produce our board. They fully took up our ideas and with very small changes to format, delivered a stunning result.
In January 2018 the unveiling took place. Our members were present, along with several others, including our immediate past President, Adrian Gover and National Secretary, Carolyn Adams. After a detailed introduction of the story behind the board, all those involved were duly thanked before the covering on the board was officially released by Mike Lee, an Auckland City Councillor, who had been aware from the beginning of our quest.
The board stands above half a metre above the surface of the wharf and is about a metre and a half long by about a metre wide. On it is reproduced a painting of the arrival of the vessels entitled ‘Waka from Scotland”. This stands slightly behind two silhouette figures cut from steel (just under two metres tall) depicting a couple with a baby. It is placed as the fifth of the story-boards against the wall of Shed 10, one of the last remaining cargo sheds on Auckland wharves. Facing it is the modern structure called “The Cloud”. The created alley way is wide as it leads down the wharf and is very busy with the numerous events taking place in the area and is generally open to the public.