sarah heald

Three years later after researching the full story of his journey and liaising with his descendants in Whanganui, the Australian and New Zealand governments reached an agreement to allow for Koro Hohepa's remains to be exhumed in a special ceremony on Maria Island and returned to the marae of his iwi. Sarah and her family were invited to be present and involved in these ceremonies during a week in 1988 that drew the attention of both national and international media, and forged relationships in a story that has continued to unfold over the next 25 years.

NZ's acclaimed contemporary musician Jenny Mcleod was commissioned four years ago to create "Hohepa", an opera with a libretto discussing the carefully documented and touching relationship that developed between Hohepa Te Umuroa and Maria Island's Governor at Darlington. It is a remarkable story touching upon the perception of Hohepa and his fellow convicts as 'political prisoners' of the NZ Rebellion and resulting in the unusual 'allowance' for his burial and tombstone to be created and placed in the cemetery on Maria Island amongst the burial sites of settlers.

Further serendipity ensued when Sarah Heald and fellow Pozible crowdsourcer Paora Paul Joseph crossed paths, both separately working on each side of the Tasman with a view to creating a documentary and editorial to tell the full tale of Hohepa Te Umuroa's amazing journey and the events surrounding his return to Aotearoa. In March 2012, Sarah will be travelling to Wellington to attend a special preview performance of the opera "Hohepa" and collaborate on interviews and further pre-production interviews and opportunities with Paora Paul Joseph, with the aim of creating a dramatized documentary.

http://www.pozible.com.au/index.php/archive/index/4814

Locally she is working with the Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Rangers to develop resource materials and raise the profile of this incredible story for visitors to Tasmania and Maria Island.

She is fundraising to assist with the costs of travel and sharing research and resource materials with her hosts on this amazing journey to be documented in both film and text.