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’Wanena’ medicinal preparation  circa 1895	Scrimshaw  circa 1860	Harpoon  1830 - 1840
’Wool Tables, Horsley Downs - J.D.Lang’  1883 - 1889	Action Rations  1931 - 1939	Aircrew survival rations  circa 1940
The Songs We Sang in the New Zealand Services  circa 1965	Anchor  circa 1768	Poster, ’ANZAC’  1916
Arawa soldier warning off. Maketu Pa, September 1865  1865	Ark curtain  circa 1895	At Parihaka  May 1886
At Whare Komiti, Haerehuka, King Country  1885	Beauty and Value  11.02.1915	Doll  about 1930
Hair comb  circa 1830	’Bloke’s Smoke’ - Rugby pipe tobacco advertisement for WH and HO Wills  1924 - 1965	Bonds for Bomber week  1924 - 1965
Breach at Gate Pa, morning of April 30, 1864  1864	Britten V1000 motorcycle  1992	Cabin trunk  circa 1850
Cannon, from HMB Endeavour.  circa 1750	Poster, ’The Canoe Poi Dance’  1950s - 1960s	Portrait of Captain James Cook  circa 1780
Caravan  1937	Suit, man’s  circa 1900	Abacus  circa 1900
Cigarette box holder  1939	Cocoa tin  circa 1909	’Columbian’ printing press  1841
Artwork for poster, ’Speed Up Production’  circa 1942 - 1943	Convict’s jacket  1800s	Crossing the Teremakau River  1876
Crowd in the water, Opononi  1956	Darby and Joan [Ina Te Papatahi, Ngapuhi]  1903	Sign Post  circa 1880
Dress  circa 1840	"Ecatahuna" [Eketahuna], The Forty Mile Bush, NZ. From the album: Views of New Zealand Scenery/Views of England, N. America, Hawaii and N.Z.  circa 1875	[Maori man]  1870 - 1880s
Electrolux vacuum cleaner demonstration  1932 - 1933	Embroidered picture  circa 1900	Feast at the Bay of Islands, September 1849  circa 1849
Food cupboard  about 1930	Gumboots  1973	Diary, Gallipoli  1914 - 1915
General Motors Marching Girls Team - The Mechanics  1935	Gold Nuggets  1800s	Gum scraper  1830 - 1840
Haka and Poi Championships - 21 February 1928  21.02.1928	Poster, ’Buy Health Stamps’  1932	Huia beak brooch  circa 1900
Trunk  circa 1900	Party in Surge chamber No 1, Mangahao Dam  20.05.1923	Jansen guitar, Invader model  1965 - 1966
Samurai armour (Sendai-do no Gusoku)  1735	Wool press  circa 1860	Muff
Kiwi beak brooch  circa 1900	Kiwicar in front of New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, Wellington  05.1940	Toby Jug  1952 - 1955
Landscape with settlers  circa 1857	Maori arms taken at Te Ranga, 21 June 1864  1864	Mincing Knife  1830 - 1840
Gold workings at the Blur Spur, Gabriel’s Gully, Central Otago  circa 1875	Model Whale Boat  circa 1970	Telescope  circa 1760
New Zealand America’s Cup Medallion  1995	New Zealand Company flag  1839	New Zealand Company flag  1839
Cup and saucer  1955	Issued one penny ’Full-Face Queen’ [Chalon Head] definitive stamp  1862	No nukes in the Pacific....  1984
Mr Wereta will be working late tonight. From the series: Washday at the pa  1964	Paua surfboard  2001	Horse, Equus caballus
Hunting possums  02.06.1929	Poster, ’New Zealand Apples’  1930s	Poster, ’Protect New Zealand’  June 1942
Publicity photograph for Jantzen Swimwear  1924 - 1965	Four hammer percussion shotgun  circa 1850	Refridgerator  1924 - 1965
"Resolution and Adventure" medal, 1772  1772	Sale of a mokomokai  1864	Sampler  1853
Sampler  1853	Trousers  circa 1900	View in Queen Charlotte’s Sound, New Zealand.  1777
Medicine Chest  circa 1880	Butter box piece  circa 1930	Piano, square  circa 1825
"Kupe"  1939	Badge, ’Support Safe Legal Abortion’  1973	Surveyor’s chain  circa 1900
Table centrepiece, in the form of a Mamaku (tree fern)  circa 1890	Te Whiti’s Bank, Parihaka  May 1886	Poster, ’Fly to New Zealand’  early 1950s
The death of Captain Cook  1785	The emigrants  1844	The Rescue of John Guard  1885
DH82a Tiger Moth, ZK-AJO  1941	Toy town  circa 1843	Waistcoat, man’s  1755 - 1765
Embroidery  1880	War dance  1851	Wartime engineering production  circa 1940
Women electroplating army canteen bottles - World War II  circa 1940	Women loading baskets with canteen corks - World War II production  circa 1940	Bathing costume, woman’s  circa 1938
Workers on Mangahao hydro-electric scheme  1922 - 1923	Writing Bureau  circa 1875	Young Maori in European clothes  1865
Otaki Church Renovations  Circa 1940	Armed Constabularly Camp near Parihaka  Circa 1881	Eskimo Dogs in Quarantine on Quail Island  1914
Hinaki upohororo  1922	Trans-shipping Ponies and Eskimo Dogs  1914	[Man working on tukutuku panel]  1923
Flag (associated with Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki)	MA_F.004486/03; Glass Facsimile of treaty document; Nauta, Jan
Tukutuku on left wall facing Te Hono ki Hawaiki  28.02.1998

The rescue of John Guard

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Description

This is a watercolour painting (22.1 cm x 45.2 cm) of the 'Harriet Affair', made by C Watson in 1885. It is entitled 'The rescue of John Guard, then a child of three years of age by Captain Lambert of "HMS Alligator"'. The painting shows the kidnapped infant John Guard, who had been a passenger on the shipwrecked vessel 'Harriet', being rescued from Māori in Taranaki in 1834. His rescuers were crew members of the naval vessel HMS 'Alligator'. The inscription in the bottom right-hand corner of the artwork reads: 'Rantwbacker Pah Irakraid [sic] New Zealand. / Where Betty Guard and her two children one at the Breast / and the other three years of age were rescued in the years 1834 by / H.M.S. Alligator Capt George Lambert'.

Educational value

• This asset shows that British authorities involved themselves in New Zealand affairs - when John Guard's father, Jacky Guard, who was an ex-convict turned whaler, appealed to the Colonial Government in Australia to assist in a rescue mission after the kidnapping of his wife, Betty, and their two children, John and Louisa, the authorities in New South Wales, who were charged with overseeing matters in New Zealand, sent two naval gun ships to intervene, the first use of Imperial troops in New Zealand.
• It illustrates the dramatic nature of the rescue mission - the boy John Guard was grabbed from the back of an old chief who had carried him down to the beach, the chief was then shot and a full-scale battle broke out, resulting in the loss of many Māori lives; a subsequent House of Commons inquiry in England criticised the commanders of the operation, who, most people agreed, had used excessive force against the Māori.
• It shows that there was conflict between Māori and European during the early contact period - it is likely that the kidnappers planned to demand a ransom for the return of the child.
• It demonstrates that important events, such as the 'Harriet Affair' (as it came to be known), were recorded by artists after the event - little is known about the artist who created this work.