GUTENBERG DESCENDANT SESQUI GATHERING REPORT
Emma Kennedy and Simon Weir were close to their birthdays as they cut the Sesqui (150th) cake.
Those who gathered
Standing L-R: Gabrielle & Andrew Bredow, Allan Thompson, Sally Greensmith, John Greensmith, Claire Thompson, Terry, Sarah & Margaret Alve, Scott Barker, Melanie Modespacher (Swiss Embassy), Maksymilian Zych (Polish Embassy), Dennis & Christene Andrews, Peter Brieseman (obscured), Terry Boyle, Alice Kennedy, Scott & Alison Brieseman, Max Kennedy, Simon & Margaret Weir, Philip Brieseman, Emma Kennedy, David Sparrow, Andrea Robinson, Christine Rose, Peter Waugh, Deborah & Warren Meech, Elaine Newson, Caroline Hopgood, Theresa Cooper, Melanie & Gavin Grinsted. Sitting L-R: Te Parahe O Rangi Crown, Pahi O'Carroll, Jenny te Huamanuka Crown, Wendy Corbett, Julie Solomon, Lesley Handcock, Maria Kennedy, Maureen Boyle, Janice Waugh, Neryl Cross.
Absent: Elijah Perris and David Alve (photographer).
E&OE - please provide any corrections to Terry
Gathering Report
On the weekend of 21-22 March 2026 desendants and associates gathered in te Whanganui-a-tara (Wellington) to remember and celebrate their tupuna: the hundred and sixty five Gutenberg European passengers who arrived in the nation's capital city on Thursday 23 March 1876.
Forty five descendants and partners of the Alve (18), Bredow (11), Brieseman (4), Stenberg (4) and Turchi (8) families were present. They were joined for afternoon tea by two European diplomats: Melanie Modespacher - Research Associate, Embassy of Switzerland to New Zealand (and Pacific Islands) and Maksymilian Zych - Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Wellington.
Wellington Harbour tours, brunch at Bin44, a Wellington Museum guided tour and dinner at the Portofino restaurant had attendees mixing and mingling over the weekend. The centrepiece of the weekend were the four hours spent in the Loaves and Fishes reception area at the Wellington Anglican Cathedral of St. Paul, beginning with lunch. Presentations by Turchi, Stenberg and Bredow and Alve descendants followed. The formalities ended with the launch of the book, From Bremerhaven to Wellington before a social hour followed.
Forty five descendants and partners of the Alve (18), Bredow (11), Brieseman (4), Stenberg (4) and Turchi (8) families were present. They were joined for afternoon tea by two European diplomats: Melanie Modespacher - Research Associate, Embassy of Switzerland to New Zealand (and Pacific Islands) and Maksymilian Zych - Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Wellington.
Wellington Harbour tours, brunch at Bin44, a Wellington Museum guided tour and dinner at the Portofino restaurant had attendees mixing and mingling over the weekend. The centrepiece of the weekend were the four hours spent in the Loaves and Fishes reception area at the Wellington Anglican Cathedral of St. Paul, beginning with lunch. Presentations by Turchi, Stenberg and Bredow and Alve descendants followed. The formalities ended with the launch of the book, From Bremerhaven to Wellington before a social hour followed.
Several of us joined a guided tour on Wellington Harbour and passed
Mokopuna Island (aka Leper Island) near Somes Island along the way.
Mokopuna Island (aka Leper Island) near Somes Island along the way.
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Scott Barker did the Wellington Harbour Tour on Wednesday 18th and was accompanied by 70-100 dolphins, he estimates!
Picture Gallery
The Book
From Bremerhaven to Wellington
THE 1876 GUTENBERG IMMIGRANTS TO AOTEAROA
The Auswandererdenkmal (German for Emigrant Memorial) is a statue in the port of Bremerhaven, Germany.
A STORY OF THE BACKGROUND, VOYAGE, PASSENGERS, DESCENDANTS
AND THEIR FIRST FIFTY YEARS IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
Terence V. Alve
$40.00
Postage/Courier in NZ - $12.50
AND THEIR FIRST FIFTY YEARS IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
Terence V. Alve
$40.00
Postage/Courier in NZ - $12.50
If you have submitted your registration form, here is key payment information:
Books - $40 each. Courier fee $12.50 per book additional.
Please pay to Terence Alve - account number: 03-1534-0015068-025
Please include your name for our bank statement.
Financial
Financial Statement accounting for Income & Expenditure associated with the Gutenberg 150 Gathering in Wellington, NZ 22 March 2026. Expenses in 'bold' were receipted. Supplied by T. Alve - Organiser.
| Gutenberg 150 Finances |
Postscript
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As a result of our gathering together, new and updated information is emerging that will/may be included in a 2nd edition of From Bremerhaven to Wellington. If you would like anything included which is new or edits what's there please email this to me, with permission to include it in a future edition/s.
One of the additions anticipated is a report of this Gutenberg 150 gathering. Those who have purchased a first edition book will be given access via a digital/pdf link to any revised editions of From Bremerhaven to Wellington. |
