Dropped Penny
New Zealand Historic Places Trust information release
26 January 2004
The penny certainly dropped for one of the builders of the Kerikeri Mission
House back in the early 1820s.
Recent conservation work under the floor of New Zealand's oldest building
has uncovered a penny dated 1806, complete with images of George III and
Britannia.
"The penny most likely belonged to one of the missionary carpenters
working on the house back in 1821 or 1822," says the Historic Places
Trust's Heritage Adviser at the Kerikeri Mission Station, Fergus Clunie.
At the time the coin was dropped, the Kerikeri Basin was a place of great
tension between local Maori and the missionary settlers. It was at this
time that Hongi Hika began raiding other tribes to the south, and the
Basin frequently became the scene of violence towards prisoners captured
on the raids - much to the missionaries' discomfort.
"It's intriguing to think that the last time this coin saw the light
of day, the clash of cultures of the Early Contact period was in full
swing, and huge changes were happening in the Basin and other parts of
the country," says Fergus.
The coin will eventually be cleaned and displayed at the Kerikeri
Mission House.
For more information:
Fergus Clunie
Heritage Adviser
Kerikeri Mission Station
Tel (09) 407 9236
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