The man who opened the country's first indoor heated swimming pool, received a Service Honours Award and was a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit has died.
John Beaumont passed away on Sunday at Hawke's Bay Hospital aged 82-years, a loving husband, father, brother and poppa.
Mr Beaumont, who retired from swimming at 73, started coaching at 16 before turning professional at 23. He opened New Zealand's first privately owned commercial indoor heated pool in 1968 in Havelock North.
The John Beaumont Swim Centre, which is now Hilton Brown Swimming, saw thousands of both young and old learn to swim there. He coached rugby players, New Zealand swim teams, and generations of Hawke's Bay residents.
He went on to scoop a Service Honours Award for 25 years service to swimming and then just three months later was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) back in 2009.