Editorial: A fitting tribute to Sir James

The most astounding aspect of the decision to name a stretch of Hawke's Bay tarmac Sir James Wattie Place is that it took so long to happen.

We have streets named after the great and good, after people and places, after goodness knows what in some cases.

Most communities seek to remember their forebears by naming thoroughfares and public amenities after them.

There's Kel Tremain Place in Napier. There's Francis Hicks Place in Hastings. But never, until this week, was there any road named after one of the most pivotal businessmen in Hawke's Bay history, Sir James Wattie.

You could say that Hawke's Bay was raised by Sir James after he started his fruit canning operation on King St, Hastings, in 1934.

He created the region's most famous industry and in doing so, he employed people in his factory and he paid growers for their produce.

As well as being a pioneer industrialist, Sir James is remembered as a decent man, someone who took the time to treat people well, who knew the importance to his staff of a warm "hello" from the boss.

His granddaughter Caren Wattie, said Sir James "always used to say, treat people as you would want to be treated".

The business he built has become a household name in New Zealand and an international brand.

The family is pleased the City of Hastings has honoured Sir James' memory with the creation and blessing of Sir James Wattie Place on Monday. They believe he would have been "very humbled by it all".

Its location, off St Aubyn St and leading to the new shopping centre on the former Nelson Park site, is very close to the factory he founded.

I drove past the new Sir James Wattie Place yesterday, just its second day of being, and I thought "that's nice, that's very fitting".