A pair of wooden crosses made from a shipwreck in New Zealand have been sent to Quebec to honour the 185-year-old wish of a francophone man who rebelled against British rule.
François-Xavier Prieur was one of dozens of Patriots who were exiled to Australia aboard the HMS Buffalo as punishment for their part in the 1837-1838 uprising in Lower Canada, now Quebec. He later wrote in his memoir of his desire that pieces of the ship be sent to his home as a reminder of what he had suffered.
Last month, his wish was granted, thanks to a Quebec-Australian film crew and officials in New Zealand, where the HMS Buffalo was wrecked in 1840 shortly after Prieur arrived in Australia, which used to serve as a British penal colony….