It's hard to know what these fragments of plates have seen, but where they were found hints at the possibility of their involvement with a very interesting figure in Taranaki history. These china fragments were found at the site of "Brookwood", an Omata homestead owned by Reverend Henry Handley Brown. Renowned for his humanitarian efforts and close relationships with local Maori, Brown's family and property were protected during the battle of Waireka in March 1860 by a panui attached to the gate by Maori, informing other Maori they were to be left alone. Whether these fragments were used by the Brown family or one of the other owners of the land is unlikely to ever be conclusively known, but it is always interesting to daydream about what objects in our collections have possibly seen...