Inside the Te Arawhata Museum.
If you are heading to Paris for the Olympics or post-Olympics, then make sure you include a visit to the New Zealand Liberation Museum-Te Arawhata at Le Quesnoy, writes Kem Ormond.
The New Zealand Liberation Museum – Te Arawhata opened on October 11, 2023, in Le Quesnoy. It tells the unique story of a liberation by ladder, while also honouring all New Zealanders who fought in Europe in World War I. Situated in the very heart of this French town, visiting Te Arawhata is an opportunity for connecting and reflecting, no matter where in the world you come from. Here visitors will learn about human stories of courage and sacrifice, under extraordinary circumstances. They will find themselves on an emotional, engaging, and educative journey, told with the creative skills of Wētā Workshop from New Zealand.
“The museum is a living example of ‘lest we forget’, a place of commemoration, remembrance and education about an incredible story that needs to be told”, says museum manager Josh Hansen.
“The New Zealand Liberation Museum, Te Arawhata is a high-quality museum, dedicated not only to the New Zealand public but also to all lovers of places of memory from the First World War and New Zealand culture” says Mayor of Le Quesnoy, Marie-Sophie Lesne.
Le Quesnoy is a truly special place for New Zealanders to visit and to know that this shared history has a future.
This event shows the true grit and determination of men who came from the other side of the world.
After four long years of German occupation, on November 4, 1918, the citizens of Le Quesnoy were finally freed by New Zealand soldiers with a ladder. Yes, it sounds bizarre, the
liberation of the walled town by ladder was a feat so unusual it even made the New York Times. The New Zealanders did not fire over the ramparts, preserving civilian lives within the town. While there was New Zealand and German loss of life in the fight for the freedom of the French, not one citizen of the town died in the battle.
To ensure the least amount of damage to the town, and potential loss of residents’ lives, the day dawned with the New Zealand soldiers firing 500 flaming oil drums on to the ramparts of the western walls to create a thick smoke screen which allowed the New Zealanders some cover from the German forces.
The New Zealanders moved closer to the innermost wall of the town during the morning, but soon realised their ladders would be too short to scale the huge, final 13m sheer brick wall.
A group of men got close enough to the wall to identify one place that offered a chance. Here, a narrow ledge higher up from the moat floor, meant a ladder might possibly be placed to reach the top of the wall. At around midday, a group of soldiers got close enough to the inner wall to attempt placing four long ladders against the ramparts to scale the walls. The Germans, however, fought back from above, and only one of the ladders survived the onslaught.
At 4pm, a chance presented itself and the one remaining ladder was set up on the narrow ledge. It did indeed reach the top. Under the cover of intense rifle fire, Second Lieutenant Averill, followed by Second Lieutenant Kerr and his platoon, climbed the ladder and were quickly over the top and into the town. After exchanging shots with fleeing Germans, the New Zealanders entered the town – some up this same ladder and very soon after, many others through different entry points in the town. About 2000 German soldiers surrendered and the c.1 approximately 1600 French occupants in the town were liberated without the loss of a single civilian life.
The people of Le Quesnoy were overjoyed and came out from hiding to excitedly greet their liberators. Cheering, they embraced them, offered food, and showered them with autumn flowers, before they patriotically flew the tricolour from their buildings. Salvation had been delivered, not by the English they expected, but from men who came from the other side of the world. .
Source: https://nzmmtlq.nz/
Hansen, previously a lawyer from Auckland, visited Le Quesnoy as part of a high school trip back in 2014. The students were representing New Zealand for the centenary commemorations of World War I and he visited Le Quesnoy. That was when he first heard about the heroic and daring liberation of the town by Kiwi soldiers. What he didn’t realise was that this visit and his interest in this event would lead him back there in 2023.
In 2014 the idea of a special museum to commemorate what happened in Le Quesnoy was still a dream in progress, but rolling forward to October 2023, and after years of planning, fundraising, and generous donations, the New Zealand Liberation Museum -Te Arawhata or as the French call it, Musée Néo-Zélandais de la Liberation, was opened.
Hansen was drawn to the role of museum manager as it was a chance to be based on site and help establish Te Arawhata as must-visit experience. The duality of working with French locals as well as people in New Zealand made the role very unique as well as appealing.
Lesne, says, “This project is the result of a long period of reflection of how to make it happen, both by New Zealanders and the City. After the original idea, it was able to materialise thanks to the convergence of three factors: the manifestation of a strong desire of the New Zealand Memorial Trust, the facilitation of the sale by the French State of a unique place, and naturally, the exceptional financial contribution of multiple donors.
“The town of Le Quesnoy worked to facilitate each stage of the project. The New Zealand museum is in fact an extremely strategic and important facility for Le Quesnoy, but also for the Avesnois territory, and even beyond, the regional territory. This museum is the symbol of what the bonds of friendship, maintained with fervour by Le Quesnoy and New Zealand, can produce, more than a century after the First World War. It is a second victory for the values of Freedom and Peace, which have brought us together.”
Having schools visit the museum whether from France or New Zealand is high on the agenda and the museum is actively promoting this. Last year six New Zealand schools visited, and they are hoping to grow this number each year.
Woodford House in Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay, have just taken 28 students, Year 11-13 on a 3-week Europe curriculum tour of England, France, Belgium, Germany, and Italy. All are history, geography and classics students who have been learning about Le Quesnoy and the Peace Garden/Rangimarie in social studies and on their itinerary is a visit to Te Arawhata at Le Quesnoy.
Te Arawhata can enrich learning in many subject areas such as NZ History, world history, French language learning, peace studies, as well as art and technology, so if travel is on the agenda for your school, why not consider heading over to Le Quesnoy.
In 2018, garden designer Xanthe White and her team, in collaboration with environmental consultants Uru Whakaaro, opened Rangimārie, the New Zealand Peace Garden, and it lies within the fortress walls. The seats were carved by artist/carver Tui Hobson from New Zealand, and they were the finishing touch for the garden. For Māori, Rangimarie is the quiet space, such as walking in the company of ancestors in the hours before dawn. While the memorial reflects the story of the soldiers, the garden provides the time for a serene walk away from the sounds of everyday life, in the late evening and early morning, the special moments of the day to feel the Rangimārie.
This year between 150- 200 New Zealanders mingled with residents of Le Quesnoy during events organised to commemorate Anzac Day. It is always held on the nearest Sunday after April 25. And this year with over 400 people in attendance, the ceremony and procession through the town was spectacular. It is exciting for New Zealanders to attend this special Anzac Day commemoration, as they feel such a part of the town and the locals are so welcoming to them. Not only do French flags fly but there are New Zealand flags everywhere. The museum hopes that over the years, Le Quesnoy will become a significant place to commemorate Anzac Day and that New Zealanders will venture across the other side of the world to visit the New Zealand liberation Museum.
If travelling from Paris, you can make a day trip – it is only two hours by train. However, if you can spare more time, Le Quesnoy is wonderful for a longer stay or you could even make Le Quesnoy your European base. It is recommended that you give yourself at least two days to get there, look around and enjoy, before heading off again, obviously more if you can spare it!
This fantastic visitors guide has been produced as a pdf that you can download from the museum’s website, / print off and keep.
It has everything you need to know about the museum, places not to miss at Le Quesnoy, how to get there including modes of travel, distances and times.
Good advice on travel apps for your phone, how to find accommodation, restaurants and cafes, plenty of information on their festivals, shopping, mobile phone info, nearby cities and towns, as well as tips and tricks.
This has to be one of the best visitor guides that I have seen in a long time.
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