Historic events marked in Dannevirke

Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis plants a kowhai tree to mark the coronation of King Charles III. She is helped by Marlee and Indie Cantwell. Photo / Supplied

Two historic events were marked in Dannevirke on Monday but rain and a temperature of 10C meant only a small but hardy group of people witnessed the events.

The first was the planting of a kowhai tree in honour of the coronation of King Charles III, and the second was the burying of a new time capsule and the re-burying of the time capsule first buried 25 years ago to mark the 125th anniversary of the town’s founding.

In opening the tree-planting ceremony Tararua District Deputy Mayor Erana Peeti-Webber said it was never intended to plant a tree in Dannevirke honouring the newly crowned King because only one tree was presented to the district for this purpose. This was planted in Woodville on Saturday, May 6.

“At the last minute Dannevirke was given a tree to plant,” Peeti-Webber said.

Tararua Mayor Tracey Collis recounted the history of the district, from the discovery of the region’s unbroken forest by Māori through to the district becoming home to many settlers, particularly from Scandinavian countries, who were seeking a better life.

The tree planting was carried out in Hall St near the Frances Massey garden.

Dannevirke Community Board chairman Pat Walshe unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion.

Dannevirke Community Board deputy chairman Terry Hines and board member Ron Wallace prepare to bury two time capsules. Photo / Sue Emeny

The tree planting was carried out by Collis who was assisted by Dannevirke Girl Guides Marlee and Indie Cantwell who had an added interest in the occasion. They had made a personal contribution to the new time capsule in which they wrote about the effects of Covid.

After the tree planting, which was carried out to a bagpipe accompaniment by Harvey Sattrup, Peeti-Webber outlined the background of the original time capsule, which was dug up in December.

Peeti-Webber said locating the capsule site “was a bit of a process”.

“The first thing was finding where the time capsule actually was.”

This took some doing but the capsule was eventually found and it will now remain buried for a further 25 years.

Apart from the Cantwell sisters’ contribution, the new time capsule contains reports of notable events including the Ngāti Kahungunu Treaty settlement, Shires celebrating 100 years in business, Cyclone Gabrielle and various council projects.

Care has been taken to ensure the siting of the time capsules has been recorded.

“Hopefully, when the time capsules are lifted in 25 years’ time, they will be easier to find,” Peeti-Webber said.

Community board deputy chairman Terry Hines and board member Ron Wallace were tasked with placing the time capsules in the ground.