Rewi Alley museum opened in NZ to commemorate ‘old friend’ of China
Print Edition
A small museum has opened in Christchurch, New Zealand, to honor the legacy of Rewi Alley, a man who lived in China for six decades and has become a symbol of relations between the two countries.
Alley arrived in China for the first time on April 21, 1927 at Shanghai’s Pier 16, eventually going on to make a massive impact thanks to his humanitarian work. He passed away in Beijing in 1987, and is today considered one of China’s top 10 foreign friends.
The November 22 opening event was attended by Zhao Leji, China’s top legislator, who expressed his heartfelt gratitude to those who worked hard to make the museum a reality.
“Rewi Alley was a founder and pioneer of Sino-New Zealand friendship,” he said. “We will never forget that during the most difficult period of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan, Rewi Alley stood with the Chinese people through thick and thin, sharing their hardships.”
Zhao encouraged attendees to carry forward the “Rewi Alley spirit,” so that China and New Zealand can write “a new chapter of friendship and mutual understanding between the two peoples in the new era.”
The event was hosted by Sir David Carter, Honorary President of the New Zealand China Friendship Society and a key figure in the realization of the Rewi Alley Memorial Museum.
“Today, our relationship with China is something that should never be taken for granted. While the economic part of that relationship is important, the true basis of the relationship has to be genuine friendship,” he said at the opening event.
Sir Carter hopes the museum will help more New Zealanders learn about what Rewi Alley achieved, including his “significant part in [China’s] miraculous development.”
Also in attendance were Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger and the Mayors of Selwyn and Hurunui, Rewi’s foster son Deng Bangzhen and his wife Lu Bo, who donated many of the artifacts on display, Geoff Steven, director of the 1980 documentary “Gung Ho — Rewi Alley of China,” Rewi’s grand niece, Sarah Stuart, and China’s ambassador to New Zealand, Wang Xiaolong.
While Rewi is honored by the Chinese side as a key figure in Sino-New Zealand relations, few Kiwis know who he is or what he achieved. His grand niece, Sarah Stuart, believes that while the museum is a great step towards educating more people, more needs to be done. She suggested teaching Kiwi children about Rewi in schools.
“I think the New Zealand government needs to recognize that this is an enduring friendship that the Chinese people rate and respect, aside from any economic benefit.”
She continued: “New Zealand is considered China’s best Western friend on account of Rewi Alley. I don’t think that friendship is currently reciprocated in quite the same way [by the New Zealand side].”
Adding Rewi Alley’s history to New Zealand’s education curriculum would play a huge part in correcting that, she said.
Eric Livingstone, Rewi Alley researcher and former President of the New Zealand China Friendship Society, agrees, and said he hopes New Zealand’s new education emphasis on local history will include Alley.
But until then, the new Christchurch museum also offers a great opportunity to pass on Rewi’s legacy, he said.
“Rewi was well known in China, and less known in New Zealand. People with firsthand contact with Rewi, with firsthand information about him, are going to slip away. We run the risk of our children in the generations to come not knowing much about him, so having a museum should help to correct that.”
The Rewi Alley Memorial Museum, located in central Christchurch at 159 Oxford Terrace, will be managed by the New Zealand China Friendship Society. Entry is free.
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