This trophy Boer 37mm Maxim Nordenfelt ("Pom Pom") gun was reported (Taranaki Herald 10 Sept 1960) to have been buried by retreating Boer forces and afterwards presented by Lord Kitchener to New Zealand, in recognition for the services of the 4th and 5th Contingents to South Africa.
It first arrived in New Plymouth for the 1904 Taranaki Exhibition which opened on Boxing Day. The New Zealand Government then decided that the gun was to be given to the town "as a South African War trophy". It's not known exactly when it was installed on Pūkākā pā/Marsland Hill, it could have been as early as 1909. However, it was certainly in place by the time the South African 'Troopers' memorial was unveiled in January 1911.
In 1972, Fitzroy Engineering Ltd. completed a four-month restoration of the gun free of charge.
The gun was removed and loaned by the New Plymouth City Council to Graham Champion of Hāwera in 1983. Graham then restored the gun and carriage.
It was returned to the New Plymouth District Council in July 2015.
Further Reading about New Zealand's Artillery Heritage
Cooke, Peter & Ian Maxwell, 2013
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