A bronze statue of Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton was installed for seven years, in Hamilton, New Zealand, from in 2013[1] until removal in June 2020.[2]
Statue of John Fane Charles Hamilton | |
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![]() The statue in 2017 | |
Artist | Margriet Windhausen |
Year | 2013 (2013) |
Medium | Bronze sculpture |
Subject | John Fane Charles Hamilton |
Location | Hamilton, New Zealand |
The settlement of Hamilton (now a city) was named after Captain Hamilton,[3] a British naval officer who was killed in action during colonial invasion of Maori land at the Battle of Gate Pā.
The life-size statue by Margriet Windhausen was gifted to Hamilton City by the Gallagher Group in 2013 "to celebrate 75 years in business".[4][5]
In 2017 the donor's CEO, Sir William Gallagher,[6] gave an Institute of Directors speech describing the Treaty of Waitangi as a fraud and denied it involved a partnership between Māori and the Crown.[7] About a dozen directors walked out of the speech in protest.[8]
The statue was defaced with red paint[9] in August 2018.
In June 2020, ahead of a George Floyd protest in the US, the Hamilton City Council discussed the statue[10] with Sir William's brother and fellow director, John Gallagher,[11] then slated it for removal, after a request by Māori tribal confederation Waikato Tainui.[12][13]
On 12 June 2020, the Hamilton City Council removed the statue of Captain Hamilton.[14]
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