The memorial pays tribute to Lake Alice survivors, and those who have died. Photo / Jimmy Ellinghm, RNZ
By Jimmy Ellingham of RNZ
In the 1970s, the Lake Alice child and adolescent unit near Marton was a place of horror for the children tortured there.
But farmland has replaced the psychiatric hospital, whose buildings have gone, and all that remains from the time is a water tower.
On Saturday, a memorial was unveiled at the site paying tribute to those who never left Lake Alice and those whose lives were scarred forever.
Unit survivor Robyn Dandy came up with the idea for the memorial.
“It’s important to remember all those who have gone before us, way way too soon. They should have lived long and happy lives, and never did.
“It’s about the returned servicemen who were dumped in here. It’s about the children of Lake Alice who are still with us today.”
She was going to fund the memorial herself until the local council took on that responsibility and, with an iwi, Ngāti Apa, made sure it happened.
More than 400 children – including many with no psychiatric illnesses – went through the unit, where they were given electric shocks and paralysing drugs under the watch of Dr Selwyn Leeks, and raped.
“It’s not about anybody in particular,” Dandy said. “It’s about everybody that was involved in Lake Alice and, sadly, a lot, like my own brother, went very young in life.
“It’s about remembering them. They couldn’t be here for this, but I’m sure they’re watching down today.”
The current Government has apologised to victims of state abuse and introduced a compensation scheme for Lake Alice survivors.
But for many, life remains tough.
The house Dandy was renting was badly damaged in last week’s storm and she urgently needs to find another home.
“The water’s only just come on today. The electricity is half on. I need somewhere safe for me and my animals now. I’m getting a bit long in the tooth for running around looking for properties.
“If anybody out there’s got a nice little country cottage around the Manawatū-Rangitīkei district, preferably – I’m a good tenant.”
Lake Alice unit survivor Sherab Palmo was among those who delivered moving speeches to the roadside gathering of about 40 people.
She said she was a clever child, who wanted to be a vet, only for Lake Alice to rip that away. Now, though, aged 63, she’s qualified as a midwife.
“I really wanted to meet some people that I’ve been here with, more than anything. It’s like having this whānau that you didn’t see for a long time.
“I’ve connected with a few over the years. And then also just meeting the ones who I have met here today – it’s like having an affinity with someone that you know has survived something that you have.”
Before unveiling the memorial, Dandy paid tribute to Hake Halo, who died last year.
Halo raised the alarm about what was happening at Lake Alice by writing notes in Niuean to his family on drawings sent home. He made sure the figures in those drawings were smiling, so not to raise suspicion among Lake Alice staff.
Journalist Aaron Smale, who has for a decade exposed state malfeasance to do with the Lake Alice unit, also paid tribute to a recently deceased survivor – Rangi Wickliffe.
The minister in charge of the response to the Royal Commission into state abuse, Erica Stanford, spoke about the wrongs not only of the unit, but of the state covering up what happened for decades.
“I have been meeting with Lake Alice survivors since almost day one. Being here was extremely important to acknowledge what happened here,” she told RNZ.
“[I’m here] to say the words that I’ve said to them privately, that I’ve said in public – but to say them here at this place, in the shadow of the tower, to acknowledge that the state over 50 years has actively worked against them.”
Many of the horrors of the Lake Alice unit were exposed during royal commission hearings overseen by retired judge Dame Coral Shaw, who travelled from her Waikato home for the unveiling.
“I felt here’s an opportunity to remember and to mark, and to do something tangible for the memory of those who’ve passed and the survivors of Lake Alice, who continue to live with their trauma.
“For me, it’s a very important part of this long journey.”
She heard weeks of harrowing evidence from survivors and the commission produced the Beautiful Children report into abuse at the Lake Alice unit.
“Before I came I sat down and just went through it again because I wanted to make sure that I had it alive in my mind, and it hurt.
“It hurt to read again and to relive that, but it’s important that we do, that we keep the memories alive, because if we don’t, we can’t promise that it won’t happen again.”
Rangitīkei mayor Andy Watson said he had no hesitation in deciding the council should pay for the memorial.
He described what happened at Lake Alice as a stain on the community.
When he was growing up, he remembers going there to play sport and having no idea what patients were going through.
“Lake Alice was groomed, it had many groundsmen, and we thought as kids that everything was okay. We didn’t know.
“Maybe that’s part of the tragedy. There should have been people who raised the flag earlier and said, ‘Things are not okay.’”
Survivor Karilyn Wildbore said she applauded Dandy for making the memorial happen.
“We all knew driving down this road when we were kids it was going to be horrific.
“Now, we can come back here and we can actually see that it’s not there any more.”
The Lake Alice unit closed in 1978 and the wider facility 20 years later.
- RNZ