Local historical war figure Sir Keith Park has become much more recognizable to the people of Thames, thanks to a new mural on the Ngāti Maru Highway just outside the town.
The six metre high artwork, featuring the head-and-shoulders visage of Sir Park in his pilot’s uniform, hat and medals, stands proud on the back of an aircraft hangar at the Sir Keith Park Memorial Airfield.
Thames artist Kylie Gunn said the idea for the mural came about during a chat with Sir Keith Park Memorial Airfield society president Geoff Furkert.
“[The mural] was a mixture of three or four different images, so I had to make up a hat, and his face was from a picture taken of him back in the day. And then I had to merge a few different things and put the medals in colour. We used the actual replica medals,” she said.
“It was just a major privilege to realise that it was him, and learning about his story, that was pretty impactful.”
Geoff said he was thrilled with the mural.
“We’ve got a floodlight on it so it looks almost even more impressive at night time,” he said.
“It’s almost monochrome except for his wings and metal ribbons, they just really stand out.”
Its unveiling comes a month ahead of the society’s annual Battle of Britain commemorations, to be held this year on September 15. Sir Park’s grand-niece Lesley Park, Royal NZ Air Force Base Commander GrpCapt Mike Cannon, and UK military representative Commander Richard Greenwood-Bell are all expected to attend the event.
The new mural is just one part of the society’s plans to memorialise Sir Park. A full-sized replica of a Hurricane Fighter, modelled on the one he flew in World War Two, already marks the entrance to the airfield. Below the replica is a space reserved for a 2.3 metre tall bronze statue of the man himself, which is currently being worked on by New Zealand sculptor Joanne Sullivan.
“We’ve now secured adequate funding for the waxes to go to the foundry and they’ll be dispatched in a couple of weeks. What comes back in March next year is the finished bronze statue… It will probably be inaugurated at the Battle of Britain [commemoration] next year,” Geoff said.
Recognition of Sir Park’s legacy has gained traction in recent years, and Geoff said people overseas are also beginning to take notice.
“[I] had an invitation to go to the RAF club in Piccadilly [in London], and was really disappointed to see that there was literally no recognition of Keith Park in any of the displays,” Geoff said.
“So having had a discussion about that I received an email a couple of months ago to say that two paintings have been commissioned – Lord Dowding who was Park’s boss, and one of Keith Park himself.”
The paintings, due to be unveiled on September 9, will hang on either side of an existing portrait of Sir Winston Churchill in the club, Geoff said.
“The unveiling of the portraits is a huge milestone, I think it’s a huge acknowledgement for New Zealand as much as it is for our project.”
Geoff said his reasons for wanting to memorialise Sir Park go well beyond recognising his war efforts.
“He was a councillor at the Auckland City Council, the chair of the committee that persuaded the government to buy the land for what is now Auckland International Airport… He did a lot of things in support of people with epilepsy and disadvantaged children,” Geoff said.
“I’ve come to realise that really his legacy is all about those qualities and his ethics and his leadership, which in my mind should be a huge and significant role model for young New Zealanders.”
DETAILS: Battle of Britain commemoration, September 15, 11am at Sir Keith Park Memorial Airfield, Thames.
