Where is Captain Hamilton?

Daubed with paint, assailed with a hammer, now hidden away awaiting an uncertain fate - the tainted statue of Captain Hamilton has seeped into city’s collective memory.

But he’s out there, somewhere, a rock in our shoe that, it seems, no-one wants to talk about.

The bronze gifted to the city in 2013 was last seen being carted away from Civic Square outside Hamilton City Council after being removed amidst global protest in 2020 about racial discrimination and police heavy-handedness.

So, where is he now?

The city’s mayor, Paula Southgate, said she wasn’t sure.

“Goodness, I haven't had any chance, nor has council, to consider this issue for some time. We have some other big issues to face, and my current priority is the Long-term Plan and addressing Hamilton's financial challenges and the key needs of our city.”

Sent seven questions, she responded to none of them in full, instead she thought there were bigger fish to fry.

“Quite simply there are more important issues to focus on right now. We will pick up on the conversations that had started through our He Pou Manawa Ora strategy in due course.”

The council, meanwhile, was helpful only in obfuscating.

“The statue of Captain Hamilton is in storage within a council facility until a decision is made by council on its future,” said Sean Murray, the venues, tourism and events general manager.

After asking if the Waikato Times could view the statue, a spokesperson said Murray had determined that was impossible, too.

“We have checked with Sean and he advises it’s not possible to view the statue at the moment as it’s packaged at a secure council facility. We’re also not saying publicly where it is.”

Seizing upon semantics, the council was asked whether if “it’s not possible at the moment” could we view it in the future. The answer, again, was no. “We’ve said all we can say at the moment. We will check with Sean and if anything changes we will let you know, but at this stage we don't know when a visit would be possible.”

So, we went looking.

The two women at the reception of the Waikato Museum offered few clues either.

Mcleod Hiabs and Cranes, the company tasked with removing the statue in 2020, however were much more helpful.

“I think it went to the museum,” recalled the gentleman over the phone.

In the meantime we asked Taitimu Maipi - the man who gained infamy by taking a hammer to Hamilton’s visage - what he thought ought to be done with the vexed effigy.

Over the phone, Maipi had a simple take on the matter. “Put it in my museum in Huntly, on my marae.”

Failing that, he suggested it could feature on the battlefields near Tauranga where Hamilton died.

The eponymous city was in fact named after the navy commander who never set foot here. Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton died at the battle of Pukehinahina (Gate Pā) in Tauranga (then known as Te Papa) on April 29, 1864.

The Tauranga Campaign was an attempt by British colonial troops to prevent the flow of reinforcements and supplies from local iwi Ngāi Te Rangi to Kīngitanga fighters in Waikato.

For Maipi, it reflects the 160 years of the invasion. “It should go onto the battlefields at Pukehinahina because that’s where he invaded.”

Maipi said there were still more deserving recipients of statues, one that honoured the legacy of Māori wahine who fed and watered troops regardless of their affiliations. “It should be about the women who gave the soldiers food and water, but it was about [Captain Hamilton] instead.”

John Gallagher, who was the director of the Gallagher Group at the time they gifted the statue to the city, himself wonders about the statue’s fate.

“I guess [the statue] does have its own story. The last time I talked about it was with Andrew King and there was some talk about putting it into the museum or something like that.”

Asked if the Gallagher Group would appreciate the statue back should it simply be in storage, he said that was not in the spirit of its status as a gift.

While the statue may be in a museum, it seems those close to the matter would like it on display.