Horowhenua’s new walk of fame
Icons of Horowhenua, both well known and those less celebrated, will be honoured in a new walk of fame in Levin.
The newly formed Heritage Horowhenua Trust is planning a walk of fame along Oxford St. Plaques will be installed on the pavement beside shop windows, with each one honouring a different person who has connections to Horowhenua.
Although the other names will remain secret until the first unveiling in early 2021, trustee Kerry Geertson said the first person recognised on the walk will be Victoria Cross recipient Sir Bernard Freyberg.
He worked in Levin as a dentist before World War I and played rugby for Horowhenuaka¯ piti, Geertson said.
There are a range of categories for people to be recognised in – sportspeople who have represented New Zealand; officials who have been in charge of a test match; those with an international reputation in any activity; and early settlers, pioneers, Ma¯ ori identities or local celebrities recognised by the community.
Geertson said other towns had similar walks of fame, but they didn’t recognise the same variety of people the Horowhenua walk would.
‘‘I think it’s great people have bought into it.
‘‘It’ll be unique to Horowhenua ... No-one has done these different categories.’’
The trust has decided on the first 20 people to be celebrated and will write a detailed biography for each, which will be published on a website. Each plaque will feature a QR code that links to the corresponding biography.
Each plaque will cost $250 to make and install, but Geertson hoped shop owners with a connection to the plaque might sponsor them.
The project has the support of Horowhenua District Council, which at a meeting last week agreed to let the trust put the plaques on Oxford St’s footpath. At the meeting, mayor Michael Feyen described the idea as ‘‘brilliant’’.
Along with the walk of fame, Geertson said the trust had plans to make a heritage trail marking notable sites and houses around the region.