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[00:00:00] Pūi kūu whiti whiti ora e Whiti ora ki te whai ao ki te ao mārama e Toi tū te aroha ki te tāngata e Ki atawhai ki te iwi e Atiha mauri ora. He tuku [00:00:30] atu te honore. Ki te Matua Tama Wairoa Tapu me ngā ana hera pono, ko te māngai hei tautoko mai, aia nei āke nei ai. Nā reira, kia koutou i ngā mani i ngā reo, i ngā memā o te Pāremata, i ngā kanuhi o te Kounihero o Waitaha, e te mea, e te whānau, koutou katoa rā.[00:01:00] Tēnā rā, Ngāi Tūāhuriri. E mihi atu, e mihi arohā ki a koutou kua taumai nei rungi te kāranga o tēnei a tātou hui huinga. Nā reira, kia koutou ngā mane i ngā reo. Pikimai, kakemai, taumai. Kei rungi tēnei a tātou nei whenua. Nā reira, koutou katoa rā. [00:01:30] Tēnei mātou te taumata o Ngāi Tuahiriri. E mihi kawatu, e mihi aroha kia koutou katoa. Nā reira, huri noa, huri noa. Nau mai, piki mai, kake mai. Hara mai, whakatau mai. A tihei mauri ora. So in translation, firstly, we give honour to the Creator and the author of all life, the holy and faithful angels, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. And to [00:02:00] you all, to our members of parliament who have come, to our councillors, to our mayor, welcome. I, Tūāhiriri, extend the warmest of greetings to you all on a special occasion. And today, may we remember those of the ancestors who we have come to celebrate. [00:02:30] And the times that they went through. So on that note, again, I just want to reiterate and reinforce the welcome of our Hapū Tū all. Welcome, twice welcome, thrice welcome, Aotearoa.[00:03:00] E arepa te omeka, kau [00:03:30] toko tiamai te roku nei. Piri Wiritoa, a muera, ka puta, ka ora e. Nā reira hurinoa, mihi ana [00:04:00] kia koutou. Look, just want to reiterate, reinforce our acknowledgement to you all, and in particular the whānau who have come. Hurinoa, tihei mauri ora, Lauren. Hī nā i tū ahuriri. Mana whenua o tēnei rohe, tēnā koutou. Ngā mihi mō ō kaitiakitanga o ngā whenua, ngā maunga, awa, rohe me tai. Ka nui te mihi anō. Ngā mihi hohonu mō te [00:04:30] whakanoa ki tēnei whenua. He tino hirahira mō mātau, mō aku whānau, whānui rātaukau, te hāpore, takata, pui. Ahakoa, nau mai, haere mai ki a koutou, morena, kia ora. My name is Lauren Abahart, and as you have probably guessed by my last name, I am the great niece of Charles, also known as Alan Abahart, who we are here to remember today. I want to start by acknowledging all of you [00:05:00] who have taken the time to join us here in today's memorial event for Alan. Who tragically lost his life at this very site 60 years ago today. However, today is not just to close the door on the past. But is to remember the man behind the story. And to acknowledge the legacy that his death left on the generations that followed. And the change that his death had on both our social fabric and the legal system here in [00:05:30] Aotearoa, New Zealand. I particularly want to acknowledge and recognise my fellow family members who are here today. For most of us, this is the first time we have visited this site. And I'd also like to note and acknowledge those who couldn't be with us today. Those who have passed or those due to ill health or other circumstances were unable to attend. I want to recognise them. I'd also like to acknowledge the special guests here today, including Honourable Mayor [00:06:00] Phil Major, Honourable Megan Woods MP for Wigram, Honourable Duncan Webb MP for Christchurch Central, Councillor Sarah Templeton, Councillor Yani Johansson, Honourable Leanne Dalziel, former Mayor of Christchurch, Liz Ketidu, Mark Kato and our Ngāi Tuahiriri whānui, and the many members of the queer community who have come today. We thank you. I'd also particularly like to acknowledge Honourable Grant Robertson MP who is here today who supported our [00:06:30] whānau in having Alan's, uh, conviction expunged. So thank you, Grant. Finally, I'd like to thank the Rural Foundation, Christchurch City Council, and particularly Nicole Skewers Poole, my newly found cousin, for their support in making today happen. We are incredibly thankful for your support, and to live in a city where we know the queer community are seen, valued, and celebrated. So, as your MC today, it is my job to keep things [00:07:00] running, so here is a quick summary of what to expect this morning, and I promise it ends with tea and coffee. Firstly, um, I'd like to acknowledge the role of Ngāi Tua Huriri, who have supported us this morning in releasing the tapu from the site of Alan's death. It has been a meaningful and symbolic gesture to support our whānau in moving forwards. Shortly, we'll be hearing from our family spokesperson with memories of Alan's life and some reflections of our wider family experience. [00:07:30] Next up, we'd like to open the floor to hear from any members of the community here today who wish to remember Alan or speak about the legacy that his death has left on their life or their community. So please do take the time to think if there's anything you'd like to say. Finally, we'll hear from the Christchurch Foundation, who, with the support of the Rural Foundation, will be working alongside our family to establish a fund in Alan's name to continue to make a difference for the queer community.[00:08:00] At the end of today's proceedings, we'll then all move through the park, around here, over to Ilex to share some kai. It is now my pleasure to introduce the spokesperson on behalf of our family, Dennis Aberhart. Dennis has a range of memories to share about Alan's life, but will also speak about the deeply personal impact Alan's passing had on our family. Kia ora Uncle Dennis. Thank you Lauren. Tēnā koutou, [00:08:30] tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Um, special welcome to our Honourable Mayor, Phil Major, to Honourable Megan Woods. Duncan Webb and Grant Robertson to Liz . And . Great to see you again, mark and the na. Um, to re um, au who came this morning to do that. Uh, honorable Lee Delle, uh, and councilor Sarah Templeton, and I think there was, Yanni Johanssen [00:09:00] was mentioned as well. And anyone that I've forgotten, councilor Sarah Templeton and anyone I've mentioned, but. Special welcome to the, uh, Rainbow community, to, um, members of the Ruhl family, Ruhl Foundation, and also to members of the Christchurch Foundation. And, of course, our whanau. And anyone else that I have forgotten, it's great that you are here, and you've come to support this occasion. So, yes, my name's Dennis. Uncle [00:09:30] Alan was my father's brother. Uncle Alan was the oldest, um, member of five brothers, um, and they lived in Grove Road, across the road from the commercial hotel, which was quite close for them. And, um, some of them there, and Uncle Alan was probably the quietest of those boys, and they were, because they were quite, they were rural characters. Um, so my father was Ray, and he passed away in 1985, [00:10:00] and we came back to the funeral when Auckland Shield. Of Canterbury and after that long era. My mother Ruby, uh, would love to have been here today. Um, and I apologise, not for her, but I apologise that she cannot be here today because she would love to have been here. And, um, so we recognise that. So on this day, 60 years ago, Uncle Alan was killed by 6 youths. Who were all arrested by 7 o'clock the next morning. [00:10:30] They admitted they'd come here to attack a queer. Well, they achieved their goal, and because of the beating that Uncle Alan had here, he died. I remember when Dad was told about it, and my mother, and we were living in a lovely place called Kinna Beach, on an orchard. And Dad was the manager. But we knew that Uncle Alan had been killed, but we were not given any [00:11:00] detail, as a family. In fact, it wasn't until I went to Teachers College in 1972, yes that long ago, um, where I was in a hostel on Bullcott Street, and one of my mates at the hostel said, Did you know Alan Aberhart? And I said, Yeah, he was me uncle. And he got out his textbook. And so the first I knew really about the details about the trial was that of a textbook [00:11:30] that a mate of mine was at the university and it showed all the history. I must say there was a phone call soon after to my parents to find out more details but it was never really talked about. Um, and my dad in particular never talked about it very much at all and even within the family. And you knew not to ask questions or to discuss, you knew it. So we found out pretty much from court papers and all those things, our own information. [00:12:00] But times were different 60 years ago. There's no doubt about that. Nana, that's Uncle Alan's mother, asked, who was down here with Uncle Alan for a wedding that they were attending, asked that no members, family members go to the trial. So from my understanding, no members of our family were at the trial. So, it leaves, she said the police would sort it out. And, well, we know different than that in the [00:12:30] end. But, um, so there's a lot of unanswered questions for us. He certainly didn't receive justice. The six youths were not found guilty. Even though they admitted the assault. The defence lawyers pushed the sympathy of the accused because they were young. And the defence lawyers pushed the Alleged shortcomings of Uncle Alan, and that he was a convicted pervert. To quote from one of the lawyers, this [00:13:00] is a sordid story, and the tragedy is the youth of the sixth accused. In spite of this, Abahad had a right to live, in spite of his shortcomings. The year before, Uncle Alan was sent to jail for three months for an indecent assault on a male. That was used at the court. This was fully consensual and today would not be unlawful. And [00:13:30] through the homosexual law reform that Grant was very much involved in. Um, some other men had been arrested, so Uncle Alan decided that he would confess as well. So story has it, and I've got this from family, that he went to the police station and told them. And they said, go away Alan, we were actually We're not interested in you, but he got a three month sentence and, um, his conviction in 2019 was expunged [00:14:00] and was cleared of any conviction. And thank you Nicole, who I met for the first time this morning, so thank you to Nicole and I know Grant was involved in that as well, for your persistence and, um, your initiative to begin with. And, um, Gaining this. As a family, we'd have no clue that you could do that, and we wouldn't even know how to go about it. So thank you for, uh, the time and energy that you spent in doing that. It's much [00:14:30] appreciated. The verdict in the press the next day reported that it's hard to understand how the jury decided yesterday that none of the six youth were guilty. We can only hope they were not influenced by the reported character of the dead man. Well, I believe we know the answer to that. He did not receive justice that I'm sure that he would get today. So it's really great that we've [00:15:00] come here this morning, and for the tapu, and the prayers, and to bless the site, and as a family to give us the opportunity. Most of us have not been here. Um, this is Uncle Alan. He was a good looker in the family. Abahar, take great ears. And if you look at the other side, check their ears out. So, Uncle Alan was certainly [00:15:30] the good looker. Always well dressed, and all of us in the next generation are struggling to be good lookers as well. We're not quite making it, but we do our best. Except for yourself. Except Michael. Um, he's the eldest of five brothers. And the only one that escaped Blenheim was Dad, who went to manage an orchard in Matawaika. But the, um, the other three brothers, Uncle Les, who was a magician, he got, he married. But the [00:16:00] other three were not married. But we lost Uncle Alan first, of course, at the age of 37. They lived in Grove Road, and it was an easy trip across the road to the commercial, which is now called The Grove. My father Ray was the second eldest. And Uncle Alan, I've seen the photo, he was the best man at my parents wedding. I remember Uncle Alan as a kind, and I was almost 11 at the time. And, um, I remember him as a kind, caring, [00:16:30] gentle man. He was very reserved. He was the most reserved of the Abha boys. Always well dressed. And a gentleman. He was a wonderful son, brother. Uncle and friend, and he got involved in all the family things that were going on, like you do the old sport and cheating at cricket on the backyard and the rugby, all that sort of thing. Taught us how to put the coins on the railway line so we could flatten them when the trains went past their backyards through the, pretty much through their garden.[00:17:00] Uncle Alan was multi talented. He was an actor. He starred in shows, Blenheim Operatic Society's, uh, All the drama things are there, you see pictures of him acting on the stage. He was also a fine piano player and singer. Certainly, only one of the members of the family have got that, not many of us have got that. He travelled all around Australia and New Zealand to see the great [00:17:30] shows that were on. He was a great photographer, so he used to love coming home and sharing the photos that he had taken, and, and shared them with family and friends. He knew many magic tricks. One of our uncles was actually a magician, Taiyan the magician, who used to go to pubs and do, do the, act as a magician and go to shows and all those sort of things. Uncle Alan also knew many tricks and he tried to teach us them as well, so he shared those things. He was [00:18:00] well liked and successful manager of Miller's Drapery in Blenheim. From what I've been told his staff loved working with him. He was a member of St John's. In other community groups, so he was definitely a person that was involved in the community, doing stuff. Not a talker, he was a doer. And I think that's really important to remember. From what others have told me, he was a very special man. And I [00:18:30] found that myself, as a little, um, pain in the ass nephew. Um, and I can remember that, that he really was a special man. I'd actually, in fact, I think he was a BGB, which is a bloody good bloke, and I think that, that, that's how I would remember him. Uncle Alan would not enjoy this. He would not enjoy this fuss. He would be in the background [00:19:00] doing what, but he just would not be enjoying this fuss. But as a family, we are grateful that his miscarriage of justice. He's been used to make a real difference for the rainbow community. And I, and the other people that he is, perhaps he's the poster boys, not bad poster boy, I think, and maybe he is for that. The homosexual rule law reform is, but one example really where people have taken this on board. [00:19:30] The establishment of the rule in the Christchurch foundations, um, for the benefit of the rain community is to be welcomed and applauded. And we're really pleased that Uncle Alan is to be part of that. And we thank the Royal Family, the Royal Foundation, the Christchurch Foundation, for, um, what will be talked about soon. But as a whanau, we are really pleased to be part of that. We are grateful for today's blessing from the local [00:20:00] iwi. It's brought us together as a whanau, it's brought all these people here together. It's even got the Mayor away from his digger and from the office and things, which is really great. And in this great city of Christchurch, that we've come here, under these trees, where Uncle Alan was killed. And to remember that. But, the people here are looking to make a difference. And I think that's what the important thing, and that's what Uncle Alan would love, the fact that people are trying to make a difference out of a horrible [00:20:30] situation. Um, for most of the family, and I've been in Christchurch. Almost since Adam was a cowboy, but for 40 years I moved here, I have not been here. So for me, and for our whanau, to do that, it's special. To be able to come and do that. Um, I can't finish without saying thank you to Lauren, for her organisation, and putting this together. And thank you to all you [00:21:00] people for coming, and supporting this occasion. Um, and, uh, Making us realise this man did make a difference. And he will continue to make a difference if we remember him. And I'm glad today that I've been able to share about the person that Uncle Alan was. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.[00:21:30] Thank you, Uncle Dennis. That was incredible. And I think, um, for all of us as a family getting together, um, it is always a shame that these things, uh, often happen at weddings and funerals. Uh, but we are getting together for dinner tonight, which will be lovely, and also to recognise my cousin Dom's 18th birthday. So happy birthday, Dom. Um, so look, I'd now like to open the floor if anyone would like to, um, speak. Uh, no pressure. Um, and I'm not sure I'm capable of [00:22:00] getting the microphone working, so you might just need to speak loudly. Grant. He mihi ana a mana whenua. Tēnā koutou katoa. Rau rangatira ma'ana hoefa. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Uh, I just wanted to say very briefly to acknowledge, um, Alan's whanau because whenever there's a shared public grief, it's actually very [00:22:30] challenging. A family mourns the loss of a loved one and a community shares in that. Um, that is something that the family gives to the wider community. And so I just want to acknowledge, um, the Abahat whanau and the wider. Uh, whānau who are represented here today, and thank you for, um, letting all of us be part of this. Because, um, it can be and should be a deeply personal thing, um, especially in the circumstances of, of Alan's murder. And so [00:23:00] Uh, I think it's important that we acknowledge all of you today and say thank you, nami, nui kia koutou katoa for, for what you have done, um, to let us in, because, um, for lots of the people here, um, Alan's part of our whakapapa as well, uh, because he's part of our rainbow community and we share that whakapapa with you. And I want to acknowledge Nicole, I've lost you Nicole, wherever you are, there you are, um, who came into my office, and I can't [00:23:30] remember what year it was, um, to talk about Alan and talk about whether it was possible for his conviction. Uh, to be, uh, expunged under the law that we passed, uh, to allow for that to happen. And I'm grateful, Nicole, because I didn't know about Alan either. And the more I learned, uh, I'll be honest, the angrier I got. And it's important to acknowledge that emotion today as well. Um, but also the more I realized the importance of the [00:24:00] law that we had passed that allows those convictions to be expunged. For as Dennis indicated. Um, an act that, um, is actually part of the daily life of many of the people here, uh, today and is a consensual thing and should never have been a conviction at all. And so the ability to expunge it and take it off the record, and Alan has no criminal record, very important for the whanau to know that. He has no criminal record. And [00:24:30] so, Nicole, I thank you for, for bringing that to me and then, um, for the wider family for this opportunity today. Uh, I also want to acknowledge, um, the Rule Foundation, uh, who I've worked with over a period of time now. Um, when we did do the, uh, expungement legislation, we created a fund, the Rainbow Legacy Fund, which is designed to support young people, particularly, um, with mental health challenges in the queer community, but more [00:25:00] broadly to support positive uh, actions. The idea now that there will be a further addition to that in Alan's name, um, I think is tremendous, because the legacy must be a positive one. Um, Alan was murdered here, but many of us have been able to live our lives, uh, in ways that he could never have imagined. And it's down to the fact that people like him went through. that. There are many members of the community here who were around [00:25:30] Christchurch at that time or in other parts of New Zealand who worked on homosexual law reform. I'm not quite as old as you think I am, Dennis. I was 14 when homosexual law reform passed, but I wasn't involved in that. I was involved in some things that came a bit later, but I, I acknowledge all of the people whose sacrifice and whose mahi over many, many years has allowed our community to be able to live the way we do. Nothing's perfect in the world. There's still more work to do to create a society that is [00:26:00] inclusive, and that respects, I hate the word tolerance, I never use it, because if you're tolerating something, you're putting up with it. What we want is a society where we include, and we respect, and we support each other in our differences. And so I want to acknowledge today that this is an important occasion to say thank you to Ellen. To mourn his passing, but to look to a future where his sacrifice is one that supports future generations to live their lives as they want to. [00:26:30] Ngā mihi nui. Is there anyone else that would like to say a few words? Yeah, welcome. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Good morning. Um. I'm not a member of Alan's whānau, but I feel like I am, and I feel like I have a connection to Alan. So, my name is Kelly Hopkins. I was born in 1976. Um, well [00:27:00] after the events that happened here in this space. And I'd really like to thank Ellen and for the people that did the work that allowed, um, homosexuals and, and people with different genders and sexualities to walk down the street holding the hand of their partner. I believe I was the, I've come up in that first generation of gay men where we can do so. We can walk openly outside holding the hands of our partners. We can walk proudly. We're no longer, um, limited by the law and who we can love. [00:27:30] Um, I also feel a kinship to Ellen because, uh, less than one year ago, in a park in Christchurch very similar to this one, I was also attacked and beaten by between six and eight teenagers. Um, as were, um, around ten other men in the Christchurch area. Um, we were ambushed. Um, these teenagers had cell phones. Um, so they live streamed and broadcast. these attacks on social media. So for all of the progress that we've [00:28:00] made, it's really, really important, the work that's happening here today, with the Royal Foundation and the Christchurch Foundation and Alan's whanau to actually, um, to support other victims going forward and to ensure that these things don't happen anymore. Grants, there's more reform that we need to do around the youth legal system as well because, um, the young people who were responsible for Alan's death went on to live their lives. It's highly likely that the young people that were responsible for these ten [00:28:30] vicious attacks across Christchurch, or even more Um, and I say even more because, uh, well under half of the victims are known and over half of the victims are still as yet unknown, they haven't come forward. This is because of the shame that we often feel in the, in the gay community. Potentially they're married or, or they're not out. They were so seriously traumatized or injured. We know they're there because the police have the videos of these attacks. Um, so I think it's really important that we recognize and we thank Alan for his [00:29:00] sacrifice and the family for, for really bringing this forward. Um, and let's hope that this momentum continues and we can get some real change as well to start holding people accountable. We still have gay people, we still have our trans community, we have our non binary community, anybody that looks a little bit different. We still have some risks. So, um, I'd just really like to thank the whanau for making this happen today, um, kia ora.[00:29:30] so much, that is, um, yeah, I am so proud to be here today to continue to try and make a change for the community. Um, which is a wonderful segue because it is now my pleasure to invite Amy Carter, Chief Executive for the Christchurch Foundation, uh, to speak about how the Aberhart family would like to continue to remember Alan's memory. Tēnā koutou katoa everyone. It's lovely to see so many lovely, bright, cherry faces this time of the [00:30:00] morning. Um, I'm very proud to be here today representing the Christchurch Foundations and the citizens of Greater Christchurch, which includes Selwyn and Waimakariri as well. We're a community foundation for that area. And as such, we're an advisory and support entity that helps generous people and businesses create enduring, transformative change for our people and our place, in this place. And we also act as a catalyst, bringing individuals, organisations and businesses together. to collaborate for positive [00:30:30] change and intergenerational impact. As part of ensuring that we achieve this, in 2019 we asked residents what was important to them. Where should we prioritize our philanthropic investment? And I'm really pleased and thrilled to say that three strong themes came out of that research, with over three quarters of our residents mentioning them. And relevant today is that our residents want our place to be somewhere where everyone feels welcome, safe and can thrive. [00:31:00] I'm pleased to share, as mentioned before, that the Aberhart family have asked us to establish a fund in Alan's memory that will support those who have been impacted by hate crimes. The finer details are yet to be locked in, but we're working towards launching this fund as part of Christchurch Pride, which is happening in March. The new fund will sit alongside our already established Rainbow Fund. And the two funds will complement each other, one playing a supporting role for those that need help. And they are the raising profile of the community, celebrating and championing [00:31:30] our people here in Greater Christchurch. Anyone that's interested in helping with the establishment of the new Allen Fund? Please get in touch, I'm happy to have a conversation. Um, we will need a distribution committee, and we want members of the community to be part of that, that have been through that process, to help us with our allocations of resources. And the Ellen Abahart Fund will have a geographic area probably a little bit wider than our area as well, just to recognise that the whānau, so many of them, live slightly further north. [00:32:00] Um, so just please keep an eye out for further information, and thanks to Nicole and Lily, it's been great working with you. Thanks. So that brings us to the end of, uh, today's proceedings. Um, I'd like to invite Ngāi Te Huriri now to close today's event. Um, and then we invite you all to join us for more conversation, um, and maybe a few tears and hugs, [00:32:30] uh, over, um, refreshments at ILEX, um, to join us in the final whakanoa, as we move towards and to what we hope is a future where we can all be free to be who we were born to be. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou, kia ora. Tēnā tātou anō. Look, I'll just say whakamuimiti, or give thanks, to close our proceedings off here this [00:33:00] morning. But again, mihi ana ki a koutou, a big acknowledgement to you all. On that note, let us pray, kia inoi tātou. E tō māte matanui te rangi, tukumai tō hātora hano kei runga kia mātou e hui hui nei. Awhina Tiamana, ki te mai a mātou i tēnei rā, mei ngā rā kei te heke mai nei kia piki te ora, piki te kaha, piki te māramatanga, kei runga kia mātou tīnana, kia mātou ngākau, mei mātou wairua. Ko kaitou anō nei te tīmatatanga mei te whakāotinga, mai a mātou e tūmanāku [00:33:30] te atu nei iro te tō kaitou. Kororiatanga, ko te māngai hei tautoko mai, āia nei, āke nei āe. Amine. [00:35:00] So let us proceed now [00:35:30] to continue on that note.
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