INFO
| Name | The SS Ventnor memorial |
| Year | 2021 |
| Names of Artists | TT Architects |
| Organiser / Venue | New Zealand Chinese Association |
| Artform | Visual arts, Public art |
| City | Opononi |
ABOUT
Unveiled on 10 April 2021 on Tomb Sweeping day (清明節), the SS Ventnor memorial sits outside the Manea Footprints of Kupe in Ōpononi.
Commissioned by the New Zealand Chinese Association and designed by Richard Tam and Robert Tse of TT Architects, the memorial commemorates the sinking of the SS Ventnor and the 13 lives lost, along with the bodies of 499 Chinese men that were being transported home to China. The memorial itself lists the names of those who were onboard and gives thanks to Te Roroa, Te Rarawa and the people of Hokianga for the care shown to those bones that washed ashore.
Made of steel and concrete, the memorial pays tribute in particular to the bodies that were lost, through the inclusion of “499 perforations on the graduated panels that sweep to a standing position at the memorial’s end”.
