A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
Just a thought for all those surfers who think they are hard done by, to not be allowed to surf for a few weeks . . .
My great uncle Frank was a surfie in South Brighton, Christchurch in the '20s and '30s, regularly biking all the way from Papanui
to South Brighton each summer weekend, along with his mates and siblings . . . including my grandma Eddie. A round trip of about 35km! They loved the beach and ocean so much, they were part of the building of the very first South Brighton Surf Club in 1929. Grandma Eddie met my granddad at the opening party of that club!
In 1939, the young men of New Zealand were asked to take up arms, travel across the globe and shoot people . . . and get shot at! Uncle Frank answered that call and off to war he went . . .
First stop on the way over was in Hawaii but, because of bad behaviour onboard, the soldiers were not allowed shore leave. Uncle Frank was wanting to see the original surfers in action, so jumped overboard and tried to swim ashore . . . he didn't make it, was put back on the ship and continued on to war.
Uncle Frank never made it back to Christchurch.
