News & Events

22 August 2019

What was it like for those on the ships if a bit of wind blows away the commemorative board?

What was it like for those on the ships if a bit of wind blows away the commemorative board?

The commemorative board to the ships, Duchess of Argyle and Jane Gifford 1842 arrivals, has been blown away in a storm that hit Auckland on 11th August 2019.

The metal figures were unscathed, perhaps showing how our ancestors themselves were the stronger. Part of the "Cloud", a building on the waterfront, lost it's roof that night as well, looking somewhat similar to the sails of the ships themselves. How these early sailing ships managed the sometimes year-long journeys to reach our shores in weather that would have been equally as bad, beggars belief.

The council will be replacing the board in due course. It was great that a number of members from outside Auckland were able to view the original board at the AGM a couple of months earlier in June.

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