No peace yet over memorial
A tortuous path to memorialising people who refused to fight in war may inadvertently highlight their plight. Conscientious objectors were abused and shunned. Unwanted at two sites in Dunedin, a planned memorial to them now has a home — but not everyone i
WHEN a Dunedin memorial commemorating New Zealand’s most prominent pacifist is completed, it will reflect battles fought hard.
Archibald Baxter was subjected to relentless physical abuse and mental intimidation in World War 1, and a sculpture depicting cruel punishment will suggest some of the suffering he endured.
The mere existence of a memorial dedicated to highlighting conscientious objectors will be a statement about the struggle to do justice to their place in history.
Less obvious may be manoeuvrings over a suitable design at a suitable site and conflict about whether the plan approved by the Dunedin City Council adequately reflects Mr Baxter’s unwavering convictions.
For Archibald Baxter Memorial Trust chairman Emeritus Prof Kevin Clements, the project has the green light, the time for objections has passed and a yearslong battle to provide physical acknowledgement of a warrior for peace should conclude by the end of 2020. The site — the intersection of George and Albany Sts — may not be optimal but it ‘‘definitely will work’’.
For Dunedin sculptor Stuart Griffiths, who submitted an initial design but disengaged from the project when the new site was chosen, the process has become hopelessly compromised, and proceeding would be folly. Despite all the hurdles the project has cleared, he doubts it will go ahead.
In a letter to the editor on April 22, Mr Griffiths called for an intermediate review
‘‘before another public art debacle unfolds’’.
Prof Clements responded swiftly, arguing the proposal went through extensive review processes, the design was ‘‘perfect for commemorating Baxter and all conscientious objectors to war’’ and the project was ‘‘moving ahead with all consents in place’’.
That did not satisfy Mr Griffiths, who contends two better sites were abandoned in dubious circumstances and the trust and council ‘‘betrayed the memory of Archibald Baxter and other conscientious objectors who would’ve never submitted so meekly’’.
ARCHIBALD MCCOLL LEARMOND BAXTER was born in 1881 at Saddle Hill, near Dunedin.
He rejected fighting in World War 1 well before New Zealand imposed military conscription in 1916.
The New Zealand History website says the Christian socialist was arrested, and in
July 1917, Baxter and 13 other objectors were forced on to the troopship Waitemata bound for Britain.
He was sent to France and was tormented on the front line. Sustained abuse took a hefty toll but Baxter was desperate not to yield, and he later married and fathered two sons, one being James K. Baxter, the poet.
Baxter recorded his wartime experiences in a memoir, We Will Not Cease, published in 1939.
The Archibald Baxter Memorial Trust, formed before World War 1 100year commemorations, aims to promote peace education.
In 2014, the trust mooted a memorial be created in Anzac Ave but misgivings were quickly expressed about the proposed location, a road where rows of elm trees were planted in the 1920s to pay tribute to Dunedin’s fallen soldiers.
A reserve in front of the Otago Museum then became the favoured site and a competition was held, resulting in three designs making a shortlist.
Mr Griffiths, one of the sculptors shortlisted, describes the area as Dunedin’s unofficial peace park.
It has not been made clear why the museum balked about having the memorial there, though Prof Clements suspects similar forces to the ones that scuppered the Anzac Ave siting were at work again.
A small, steep piece of land at George St was then favoured, sculptors were asked to submit adjusted designs, and an idea was chosen.
The trust secured a resource consent in 2018 and the project received a big boost in November last year when it was granted $326,639 by the Lottery Environment and Heritage fund. That meant the project was fully funded.
The memorial park, designed by Queenstown landscape designer Paddy Baxter, will include new footpaths, timber seating and lighting.
A rock sculpture by Arrowtown sculptor Shane Woolridge will be the centrepiece, depicting a form of punishment to which some objectors were subjected.
Mr Baxter and three other New Zealanders endured Field Punishment No 1, which involved each man being tied to a pole with his hands bound behind his back for hours, in any weather.
The trust says the memorial will be a place where people can consider peace as an alternative to conflict.
LETTERS from and about Mr Baxter have been written for more than a century. ‘‘It is impossible for me to serve in the Army,” he wrote in a letter to his parents that somehow got past wartime censorship.
“I would a thousand times rather be put to death, and I am sure you all believe that the stand I take is right.”
In a letter to the Truth newspaper in 1918, B.E. Baughan wrote that Mr Baxter was “punished so often for refusing to do what his conscience forbade him to do, that he has broken down in brain as well as body”.
In 2018, Central Otago author and historian Gerald Cunningham wrote an opinion piece in the Otago Daily Times questioning the value of a memorial.
“Its construction could be seen as an insult to the memory of the thousands of young Dunedin and Otago men who fought and were killed in action . . .”
One response was from Orma Bradfield, from Broad Bay, who wrote there were many types of courage. Many people died in the Great War and a few became conscientious objectors: “How can one insult the other?”
Both Prof Clements and Mr Griffiths are believers in acknowledging conscientious objectors such as Mr Baxter. Where they differ is in how.
Mr Griffiths says there is “no rhyme or reason” for locating the memorial in George St, the environment is not conducive to reflection, the site could be vulnerable to slips and he does not see the relevance of an alpine garden there. Mr Baxter was not a man who took “the line of least resistance”.
Mr Griffiths suggests the memorial money could be put to better use in an endowment fund for an annual fellowship.
Prof Clements says there are “no grounds for saying the site won’t work”. Structural plans are sound, the site will not be subject to slippage and the proposed garden is in honour of Mr Baxter's wife, Millicent Baxter.
‘‘The design will provide a wonderful focal point for reflection and conversation. The Baxter Trust believes that it will be an icon for the city when it is finished by the end of the year.’’
Even with construction approaching, controversy has yet to dissipate. Whether or not there are more twists and turns, the memorial will be a talking point for some time.