A little bit of background
The Queen’s Redoubt Trust was formed in 1999 to acquire the property where Queen’s Redoubt was located (22 Great South Rd) and develop it into a cultural heritage attraction principally through the reconstruction of the earthworks and building a Visitor Centre (now called the Education Centre).
It took 3 years to raise the funds to buy the property (about 70% of the original redoubt)
When we started, we had half a dozen active members who lived in Pokeno, but they have all left town (and that was before the new Helenslee subdivision).
The aim from the outset was not to glorify the NZ Wars (esp. the Invasion of the Waikato), but to recognise that the Wars were a seminal event in NZ’s history and impartially present both sides of the story as accurately as possible. •
Between 2003 and 2008, the original defensive ditch was excavated and the parapet (the bank) recreated where it was originally (i.e. on the inward side of the ditch.
C.2012, we started raising funds to build the Education Centre. This was achieved by 2014 and the building was erected 2 years later. •Then we raised another $130K to research, design and build the interpretation and displays inside the building. This was completed in 2018.
The next major project was building a replica of the SE blockhouse. It’s nearly finished but it’s been a 2.5 year project. All this work has involved thousands of hours of volunteer labour, much of it by people who live well beyond Pokeno.
To date we have raised over $1 million to get the project to where it is now. The bulk of this has been from grants supplemented by the rent we get from a house on the property. The QRT has also funded three books and earns some income from their sales. The main one is a comprehensive history of QR and the Invasion of the Waikato. We have also compiled a library of NZ War reference books and papers 2nd to none.
However, although our project has been fairly smooth going to date, it is definitely approaching ‘a difficult hurdle’ for 2 reasons:
Our Trustees and the people available for working bees are getting on in years.
There is less engagement with the people of Pokeno than we would like, and getting more buy in is essential for a smooth transition from the present trustees and the redoubt continuing to be an important part of Pokeno’s heritage.
The people who established the QRT (mainly professional archaeologists) saw its focus as totally on the NZ Wars and especially QR’s role as the preplanned launching pad for the invasion of the Waikato. Most people now accept that it was an orchestrated land grab, but it is part of the nation's history, and we all live with the consequences.
Visit Hours
In terms of visitation, we are open for 4 hours on Sunday’s, but our main focus is group visits on demand. 80% of our visitors are school and other groups such as historical societies.
However, as the years have passed, the QRT has realised that despite the existence of Pokeno being largely attributable to the establishment of Queen's Redoubt (in fact the town was called Queen’s Redoubt for the first 5 years of its existence), the Redoubt represents only a small portion of the overall history of Pokeno, so we have reached a decision point and that is what I want to talk about with you tonight.
It is believed if QR is to survive long term it needs more support and engagement with & from the people of Pokeno.
To this end it was proposed a new project within our project and that is the establishment of a new building in QR adjacent to the established Education Centre. That building is tentatively called the Pokeno Heritage Centre, and its focus would be on the development of Pokeno from c1865 to the present.
Plan your Visit
The Redoubt is open on Sundays from 10:00 am until 2:00pm
For Group bookings: Peter Moy Ph 027 393 3326 or e-mail: gailandpetermoy@gmail.com
We always welcome more volunteers from the Pokeno community.
Our present thinking is that QR would donate the land for the building, but the Heritage Centre would be funded, developed and managed by a separate community Trust which would have 1 or 2 QR reps on it. Outwardly it would be built in a similar style to the Education Centre.
The next issue is what could be in the Heritage Centre - We presently favour- a photo and record archive (like the Treasury at Thames), with an open space for exhibitions or presentations by invited speakers (possibly regular speakers)
As opposed to a colonial museum full of Victorian era artefacts (partly because there are already museums in Mercer, Tuakau, and at Karaka and possibly others.
We envisage the Heritage Centre would be adjacent to the Education Centre and by means of CCTV, enable a single person to keep an eye on both buildings. The 2 buildings could be connected by a glass corridor.
We see a synergy between the 2 buildings- in effect they would be dual attractions on the QR site and hopefully lead to longer open hours
We had intended to have a Pokeno History’ panel in the Education Centre, but in the end, there was no room for one.
Themes in the heritage centre-could include the original Helenslee settlement, the arrival of the railway, flax milling, pioneer families, any number of stories
Another auxiliary project the proposed Heritage Centre could take on is to produce a definitive illustrated history of Pokeno, more or less a companion volume for the Queen’s Redoubt history.
So that’s the proposal in a nutshell. After due consideration, if the Community Council thinks it has merit, we can sit down and nut out the details. Part of the existing Education Centre is our work and meeting room. We offer it for any future planning meetings concerning the establishment of a Heritage Centre.
Queen’s Redoubt Excavation 2004
Hydroseeding
Queen’s Redoubt Excavation 2004
Students excavating postholes and drains •Pattern of postholes exposed by excavation
Part of the drain system on the top photo
The 2004 excavation now the site of the Visitor Centre and carpark
Cross-sections of the ditch
Cross-section of ditch exposed by excavator
4.5m across the top
2.5m deep
Warren Gumbley drawing section
Hand-knapped rock road through the centre of the redoubt
Future Projects
An extension of the visitor centre
Construction of another replica barracks building to house an on-site classroom
Guided tours to neighbouring Waikato War sites
Guided tours following the advance into the Waikato
More Queens’s Redoubt Trust
Publications (3 so far, another underway)
Possible help from the Pokeno Community Council
Acknowledge that Queen’s Redoubt was the beginning of the modern town of Pokeno
Promote the Queens Redoubt Project
Encourage people to volunteer at the Redoubt to keep the Education Centre open or help on working bees
Highlight the town’s growth up to the present by supporting the proposed Pokeno Heritage CentreProvide morale support for fund raising efforts
