Lucian Tapiedi - Westminster Abbey, London, UK
N 51° 29.968 W 000° 07.716
30U E 699295 N 5709279
A statue to Lucian Tapiedi, a modern martyr, was unveiled in July 1998 and stands above the west entrance to Westminster Abbey. This is one of ten statues of 20th century martyrs.
Waymark Code: WME2D8
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/25/2012
Views: 10
The statue, by Tim Crawley, was placed here in 1998. It
weighs about a ton and is carved from French Richemont limestone. The statue,
that is about twice life size, shows Tapiedi in native dress, bare chested with
a cross hanging from his neck.
The Westminster Abbey website (view
link) tells us about the man:
"'I will stay with the Fathers and Sisters.'
AT Sangara mission station in Papua New Guinea there stands a row of graves: two
of Australian women, Mavis Parkinson and May Hayman, and a third of Lucian
Tapiedi.
Tapiedi was born in 1921/2, in the village of Taupota, on the north coast of
Papua. His father was a sorcerer, who died when his sons were still young. He
was taught at mission schools and then, in 1939, he entered St Aidan's teacher
training college. Here Tapiedi became known as a diligent and cheerful presence,
fond of physical recreation but also musical. In 1941 he became part of the
staff at Sangara as a teacher and evangelist.
In December 1941 Japanese forces attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbour.
In the same month they invaded Malaya. British forces capitulated in Singapore
in February 1942. The missionaries who lived in New Guinea watched events
anxiously, and feared the worst. In January 1942 the Anglican bishop, Philip
Strong, had broadcast an appeal to them to stay at their work, come what may.
Many of the missionaries themselves wished this, and had already resisted calls
to turn to safety.
On 21 July 1942 the Japanese invaded the island near the mission station at Gona.
Three of the residents, Parkinson, Hayman and James Benson, fled inland and
there encountered other Australians in hiding. But they were soon caught. The
soldiers murdered Hayman and Parkinson at Popondetta.
In Northern Papua, meanwhile, a second group of missionaries struggled to evade
capture. Among them was Lucian Tapiedi, who was determined not to abandon the
missionaries with whom he worked. In a few days this group swelled to ten
people. They came to a village inhabited by the Orokaiva people, and found
themselves escorted away by men of that tribe. One of the Orokaiva, a man named
Hivijapa, killed Tapiedi near a stream by Kurumbo village. The remainder of the
group perished soon after; six of them beheaded by the Japanese on Buna beach.
333 Christians lost their lives in New Guinea during the invasion and occupation
of the island by the Japanese forces. The greatest number of those who died -
198 - were Roman Catholics. But there were also Methodists, Salvationists,
Lutherans, Anglicans, members of the Evangelical Church of Manus, and Seventh
Day Adventists among the dead.
Now a shrine marks the place where Lucian Tapiedi died. His killer later
converted to Christianity. He took the name Hivijapa Lucian, and built a church
dedicated to the memory of his victim at Embi."