Many of those who take the oath or affirmation of allegiance at Te Ahu in Kaitaia to officially become New Zealand citizens speak about how they came to the country, and how pleased they are to be here.
Christopher Hagerty, originally from Britain and now living in Kerikeri, who said the ceremony had completed his migration journey, went much further than that last week.
He told the gathering that his family included one Aunty Katherine, aka Kitty Hagerty, who had "pitched up" in the Bay of Islands many years ago, having initially arrived in Parramatta, Australia, aboard a British convict ship. There she met fellow convict Charlotte Badger, who would be "immortalised" in the Bay by artist Lester Hall, and by the establishment of Paihia restaurant Charlotte's Kitchen.
Kitty and Charlotte had made their move after they were loaded aboard another ship bound for the penal colony in Hobart, where they really did not want to go. They succeeded in persuading the first mate to mutiny, raided the store vessel that was accompanying them and headed for New Zealand, graduating in the process from petty criminals to pirates.
They duly landed at Rangihoua, not far from where the modern day Hagertys settled.
