Monday 30 May 2022, Whitianga, New Zealand.
The Mercury Bay Museum, Mercury Twin Cinemas and Deke Richards are proud to announce the Canadian documentary Land of a
Thousand Sorrows Revisited will be making its Aotearoa New Zealand debut on Saturday, 11 June at 3 pm.
The documentary follows the unknown and untold story of the Canadian Patriots from Lower and Upper Canada who were
exiled to a penal colony of Australia on HMS BUFFALO from 1840 to 1848 and their legacy today.
Post-film, there will be a collective group ready to answer any questions that may arise with director Deke Richards,
members of the HMS Buffalo Re-examination Project and members of the Mercury Bay Museum.
“The documentary tells another story of the HMS Buffalo that is the international link," says Rebecca Cox, Mercury Bay
Museum Manager and member of the HMS Buffalo Re-examination Project. “We are very honored and excited to be premiering
the film for Deke as it has been a long time in the making.”
The documentary having its New Zealand premiere in Whitianga has a large significance as the HMS Buffalo is interwoven
in the small coastal town's history. The HMS Buffalo was built in India in 1813, originally named Hindostan. Not long
after its completion, the Royal British Navy purchased the Hindostan. During its acquisition by the Royal British Navy,
it was renamed the HMS Buffalo, to serve its newly found purpose; a transport, timber carrier, quarantine and immigrant
ship that would travel between England, Australia, Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand.
On one of the Buffalo’s New Zealand trips in 1840, it anchored in the Mercury Bay. It was caught in a storm and became a
complete loss. The site now lies 50 metres off of Buffalo Beach. In early 2021, The HMS Buffalo Re-examination Project
began. The project aims to complete a detailed site survey to provide an accurate interpretation of the shipwreck.
11 June 2022 from 3 - 5 pm
$10 per ticket (all profits going towards the Mercury Bay Museum)
To book, please call 07 866 0730 (there are limited tickets)
Hosted at the Mercury Twin Cinema