A nice thing to do on a nice day in Wellinton is a drive round the bays.
If you leave from Oriental bay driving round the bays, continue on through Shelly Bay Airforce Base, untill you come to a sign for "MASSEY MEMORIAL"
Turn off here and follow the road.
The memorial is beautiful and the views spectacular.
The Massey Memorial at Point Halswell, Wellington, commemorates William Ferguson Massey who was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1912-1925.
In 1886, because of fears about Russia's presence in the Pacific following the Crimean War, an 8" gun emplacement was constructed on the site. The gun pit was later incorporated into the design of William Ferguson Massey's tomb underneath the Memorial.
Shortly after Massey's death in 1925, the Massey Burial-ground Act was passed allocating land at Point Halswell to be set aside as a burial ground for him and his widow. Public subscriptions raised funds totalling £5,000 and the government contributed £10,000. Auckland architects Gummer and Ford and consulting architect Samuel Hurst Seager were engaged to design a fitting tomb and memorial
The Memorial was completed in July 1930 and was unveiled by His Excellency the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, on 19 September 1930
Originally known by its Maori name, Kaitawharo ('to eat jellyfish'), Point Halswell, was renamed after the Commissioner of Native Reserves, Edmond Halswell, who arrived in New Zealand in 1841.
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Address: ON the scenic drive round the bays
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