Photos: Ōpononi's Ventnor memorial honours 499 Chinese goldminers lost at sea 11 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM 3 minutes to read Members of a Chinese dance troupe place incense sticks at the Ventnor memorial. Photo / Peter de Graaf Members of a Chinese dance troupe place incense sticks at the Ventnor memorial. Photo / Peter de Graaf Peter de Graaf is a reporter for the Northern Advocatepeter.degraaf@northernadvocate.co.nznorthernadvocat A memorial to 499 Chinese gold miners whose remains were lost at sea when the SS Ventnor sank off Hokianga Harbour in 1902 — and the west coast Māori who recovered the bones and buried them alongside their own people — was dedicated in Ōpononi on Saturday. More than 200 members of New Zealand's Chinese community, from as far away as Dunedin, attended the ceremony along with iwi, government ministers and MPs.