Featured Collection Item – Viking ship as gift from US Navy fleet visit 1925
Friday, 12 August 2016
US Navy fleets have tended to feature quite strongly in the life and history of the Rotorua bathouse building.
Bath House building opens
It began with the buildings opening, 13 August 1908 by US Rear Admiral Sperry during his fleet’s visit to New Zealand. It would be another 17 years before a US Naval fleet would sail into our countries harbour once more.
Timed quite perfectly with the Bathouse buildings opening in August; in July and August of 1925 the US Navy brought another fleet to the South Pacific. The visit was a great show of strength as New Zealand’s military ties were with Great Britain at the time.
The fleet consisted of over 50 vessels and about 25,000 men, which was the biggest ever fleet seen in this part of the world. They split into four groups, each visiting the main New Zealand ports from 10 and 11 August for around two weeks.
A highlight on the social calendar
These visits were highly anticipated and each city became party central for a fortnight while the Americans were in town. A vast schedule of balls, dinners, sports and other events were organised for the men in all the centres and some visits to outlying areas were organised for the officers.
Rotorua makes the list
On successive days hundreds of officers, including Admiral Coontz himself visited Rotorua.
The visit included tours of the Hospital, Fairy Springs, the Forestry nursery and a Māori concert with performers were organised in the evenings. First however, there was an enthusiastic welcome at Ohinemutu. Te Amohau spoke of Te Arawa’s loyalty to the British Empire and hoped for American and British unity.
Gifts given, gifts received
Admiral Coontz was presented with a carved model of the Arawa canoe and a waka huia to hold treasured possessions. It was hoped that when an alliance had been forged between those two great nations, a treaty could be placed in it for safe keeping.
At the end of the trip to New Zealand Admiral Coontz presented a gift to “The chiefs and members of the Te Arawa tribe, in memory of a delightful trip to Rotorua, August 1925”. It was a “token in appreciation of the kindness and hospitality extended to them by the Arawa during their all-too-brief visit”.
It was this silver ornament in the form of a Viking ship on a base which features King Neptune and various marine creatures. Admiral Coontz gave it to the Prime Minister, J. G. Coates, who passed it on to the iwi, and it is now cared for in the Museum’s collection.
Help us tell the story
As custodians of our Taonga, Rotorua Museum would be interested to hear from anyone who knows about the Viking ship’s journey from the hands of the Prime Minister to the Museum.
