Te Henui Cemetery, also known as New Plymouth Cemetery, is the oldest public cemetery in New Plymouth, New Zealand. It was first used in 1861.
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "the great mistake" for Te Hēnui. [1]
An ordinance by the Taranaki Provincial Council dated 28 October 1861 set aside 24 acres (9.7 ha) and established the first public burial ground in New Plymouth. [2] [3] The cemetery is the resting ground for the last eight victims of Tītokowaru's War. On 13 February 1869, a war party of Ngāti Maniapoto led by Wetere Te Rerenga killed all three men, a woman and three children, and also the Wesleyan missionary John Whiteley who arrived shortly afterwards, at the isolated Pukearuhe Redoubt, some 57 kilometres (35 mi) from New Plymouth. This was the final act of the Taranaki wars. [4] There are two separate monuments at the cemetery that commemorate people who died in the incident. [2]
With the abolition of provincial government in 1876, the cemetery came under the control of the New Plymouth Borough Council. [2] Today, it is controlled by the New Plymouth District Council. [3]
The main entrance to the cemetery is located at the intersection between Watson and Lemon Streets, [3] where memorial gates were installed in 1924 on the request of Alice Honeyfield, a former resident then living in Sydney. [5]
The cemetery contains the Commonwealth war graves of 12 men who served in the First World War, and 19 men who served in the Second World War. [6] [7]
Plots are no longer available for purchase, and the cemetery has mainly a heritage function. Occasional burials still occur on family plots. [3]
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Francis Ullathorne Gledhill was a New Zealand politician.
The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876.
The Taranaki Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Initially known as New Plymouth Province, the province was renamed on 1 January 1859 as the Taranaki Province.
Frederic Alonzo Carrington was a 19th-century New Zealand politician and surveyor. He is regarded as the Father of New Plymouth.
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Thomas Kelly was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Taranaki, New Zealand.
Cyril Hendry Croker was a New Zealand solicitor and member of the Legislative Council. He was a leading sportsman in his youth. He went to World War I in France in 1918 and returned to England sick within days. Active in the National Party, he was a electorate chairman for many years. In 1950, when the first First National Government wanted to disestablish the Legislative Council, Croker was appointed to that body as part of the suicide squad.
Leila Agnes Sophie Hurle was a New Zealand principal and senior school inspector. She was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand on 5 June 1901. She is buried at Te Henui Cemetery in New Plymouth.
John Lorraine Sullivan was a New Zealand rugby union player, coach and administrator. A three-quarter and second five-eighth, Sullivan represented Taranaki at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1936 to 1938. He played nine matches for the All Blacks including six internationals.
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Te Henui Vicarage from New Plymouth, New Zealand, is one of the heritage buildings of the city, registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category 1 Historic Place, situated in the suburb of Strandon. It features the symbol of the undivided diocese of New Zealand (1841–1856) affixed to the front elevation.
