Peter
Wells' Journey to a Hanging was launched last night/ on Monday 7 July
2014 at the Old Church Restaurant, near Napier among a warm crowd of friends,
fans and followers.
The
Old Church has resonance as it was the church of Sister Aubert who spent the
last night of Kereopa Te Rau's life in his cell, in Napier Prison comforting
him before his execution in 1872. He was charged with murdering missionary CS
Volkner in Opotiki.
The
subject matter of Peter's book is lively as Kereopa was given a Crown pardon in
April of this year.
Wells
spoke about the echoes of a difficult and painful past reaching into the
present. 'The book is about how we come to terms with the present and how we
understand - and misunderstand the past.'
The
violent and bloody death of Rev Volkner in 1865 was the breaking of a great
tapu - the killing of a man of God - and the event, taking place during the
land wars, had divided New Zealand bitterly. "Just as I felt,
writing this book, I was pulled in different directions at different times. But
I was also trying to be empathetic - but without being conned into a false
sympathy. And this was what I came up with in the end. There are many paths
to understanding. There are many ways to see the same thing. Other people
might and will see things differently. But this book is a single writer's
honest attempt to make his own path towards understanding.'
Like
his book on Colenso, Journey to a Hanging is a contemporary journey back
into the complexities of Aotearoa's past.
Maori
TV were present to film the event.
The
launch was supported by Napier City Council through the auspices of MTG Hawke's
Bay Tai Ahuriri, The Old Church Restaurant Meeanee, Ngatarawa Wines and Random
Penguin New Zealand.
Images
MTG Hawke's Bay Tai Ahuriri, photographer David Frost.
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