Rampage at Treaty House ends in cop being bashed | Northland News | Local News in Northland

By Dylan Thorne and NZPA

It was business as usual ... tourists took photos while police investigated the rampage.

A man appearing in court today is accused of a brazen attack on one of the country's most important historical sites - The Waitangi Treaty House - and a vicious assault on a police officer.

The 27-year-old Northland man has been arrested on a raft of charges after allegedly driving a car into the Treaty House - where the Treaty of Waitangi was drafted and signed in 1840 - about 2am yesterday.

Police remain tightlipped as to a possible cause of the attack, but the arrested man allegedly made threats against the property and the people working there before crashing into the homestead.

Tourists stopped to take photographs as police yesterday investigated the rampage.

Paihia police Senior Constable Wayne Mills said the damage to the Treaty House was superficial, with just a veranda post knocked out. A vegetable garden, grapevine, fence, seat and an historical hand pump were also damaged.

Among the charges the man was facing in Whangarei District Court today are reckless driving, threatening to kill, aggravated assault, injuring with intent, and intentional damage.

But it was just about business as usual at the Treaty House yesterday, with the grounds open for tours just after 9am and the police cordon around the Treaty House being lifted about 10am.

Police say the man drove his car through a gate at the bottom of the grounds, near the waka house.

Mr Mills said the alarm was raised by staff at the grounds after the man began driving around the property in a blue Nissan and threatening staff.

The man allegedly drove around the flagstaff in front of the house before driving into the garden at the back of the Treaty House before grinding to a halt after knocking over a pump and getting stuck.

Police Constable Mark Caswell was first on the scene and required medical treatment after he was allegedly punched, head-butted and had an eye gouged while attempting to arrest the man. He has been placed on sick leave.

"He will be okay, he managed to arrest him with the assistance of pepper spray," Mr Mills said.

The arrested man had not been drinking and the car appeared to be his own, Mr Mills said.

Police would not comment on what may have motivated the incident but were pleased there had been no major damage to the house.

"That would have been devastating for everyone," Mr Mills said.

Waitangi National Trust communications adviser Michael Hooper said board members were upset about the incident but there was also a sense of relief that there was no extensive damage.

"Of course it is upsetting, but it's very likely that it (the verandah pole) will be able to be restored. There's constant restoration in the Treaty House anyway but we didn't plan on restoring this at this particular time," he said.

Waitangi National Trust Board chairman Jeremy Williams said he was pleased with how staff and the police had dealt with the matter.

"My first reaction was concern for the staff and the special property at Waitangi," he said.

"It was good to learn that staff and police attended to matters promptly in a very efficient manner and damage to the grounds was minimal."

Treaty Grounds chief executive Jeanette Richardson said the grounds were an iconic part of New Zealand.

"We are extremely relieved that the grounds have not sustained any long lasting damage," she said.

Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright, chair of the Waitangi National Trust, said she was relieved the damage to the Treaty house and gardens, which she described as "our birthplace", was not serious.

• Hurt while `guarding national treasures' The trust in charge of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds has praised the efforts of policeman Mark Caswell who was attacked by a man who allegedly drove his car into the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.

The Northland constable was called to the Treaty House at Waitangi early yesterday morning after reports of a car being driven around the grounds in front of the historical house.

A 27-year-old Maori man is alleged to have driven the car into the house and through the gardens at the back before attacking Mr Caswell as he was being arrested.

Police said Mr Caswell was headbutted, punched and had an eye gouged.

"I've got a cut to the forehead and lacerations to the side of my face," Mr Caswell said.

He managed to arrest the man with the help of pepper spray.

Mr Caswell would not say any more about the incident because the man had been charged and was due in court today.

But Waitangi National Trust spokesman Michael Hooper said it was another example of police guarding the national treasures held on the grounds.

"I think it was handled pretty efficiently. The officer was first on the scene and other police officers were there within 10 minutes," he said.

The arrested man was alleged to have driven his car up from the waka house at the bottom of the beach and onto the Treaty House grounds.

• Historical house overlooked `hell-hole of the Pacific'

The historical Waitangi Treaty House overlooking the Bay of Islands was built in 1833 by the British resident in New Zealand, James Busby and his wife Agnes.

It was pre-cut in Sydney and shipped across the Tasman in the New Zealander, carried up the hill from the beach below the grounds and assembled on the site by Pakeha tradesmen.

The house, one of the oldest in the country, was very small for Busby and his four children and a separate building housing the kitchen, storeroom and servant's quarters was added.

The house and grounds look across the bay to Russell, which was known before Busby arrived as Kororareka, the "hell-hole of the Pacific".

Busby was sent by the British Government after reports of the lawlessness and violence at Kororareka.

When Busby arrived and settled at Waitangi, he had few resources to enforce his authority and was known by Maori as a "man 'o war without guns" but the Waitangi National Trust said he did useful work as a mediator.

In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was partly drafted at the house and many Maori chiefs signed the document in front of the homestead.

Busby died in 1871 and his widow sold the house 10 years later. The house was neglected for the next 50 years until the Governor, Lord Bledisloe and his wife bought it in 1932 and gifted it to the people of New Zealand.

Construction of the Whare Runanga (carved meeting house) began on the Treaty House grounds next to the Treaty House in 1934 after then Maori Affairs minister Apirana Ngata said it would be a memorial to the Treaty of Waitangi worthy of the Bledisloe gift.

After Lord and Lady Bledisloe gave the house and grounds to the country, the house was restored and renamed the Treaty House by the newly formed Waitangi National Trust Board.

Strike at heritage - See EDITORIAL