Editorial: Blake's Harbour fit tribute to hero

There is now, to paraphrase Rupert Brooke, some corner of a field in Hampshire that is forever New Zealand.


Sir Peter Blake's final resting place in Emsworth, where he and his family lived, is a fitting memorial to England's role in the great sailor's remarkable life.

Now we must find a suitable way of honouring him in the country of his birth, the waters on which he learned to sail and the harbour where he enjoyed some of his greatest yachting triumphs.

So great is the regard in which he was held, and so deep is the distress at his murder, that suggestions abound. The Herald will play its part in promoting the best of them.

Some lack little in scope or grandeur. The idea, for example, that the America's Cup be renamed in his honour. Or that a huge statue of him be built on Bean Rock in similar proportions to New York's Statue of Liberty. Or that North Head be renamed Sir Peter Blake's Head.

None quite fits the bill. So rich is the history of the America's Cup - think of the thwarted dreams of Sir Thomas Lipton, for example - that it seems inappropriate for it to carry any name other than the yacht that first claimed it for the United States.

Likewise, Sir Peter himself might look askance at a statue on Bean Rock. Defacing the environment in that manner might not sit well with his final campaigns in Antarctica and along the waters of the Amazon.

And somehow the names of geographic features are often resistant to tinkering - Mt Cook, for example. By far a greater number of people have more restrained, and more appropriate, visions.

The most popular, and probably most fitting, is to rename the Viaduct Harbour in Sir Peter's honour. Let's call it Blake's Harbour. The great yachtsman would have wanted nothing of Sir Peter Blake Harbour or a title along such august lines. And let's also put up a statue of Sir Peter at the harbour entrance.

New Zealand has been strangely coy about building statues to its national heroes. Think of the statue of Sir Bernard Freyberg in Auckland's Freyberg Square, and then think of ... Compare that with, say, London, a city seemingly bursting at the seams with statues of its best and bravest. Many date back to long-forgotten wars but some, such as that of Sir Winston Churchill, are relatively contemporary and of a style that means they are far from historical oddities. We need not be reserved about acknowledging a favourite son's contribution to both NZ and the world.

That contribution should also be remembered in the manner suggested by sailor Grant Dalton, in many ways Sir Peter's successor in the arena of long-distance ocean racing. Dalton has proposed a fund to foster talented young sailors. It could, and should, also extend to funding environmental awareness. All New Zealanders could contribute to the fund, which would take the form of a "super trust" charity.

Dalton says, quite correctly, that Sir Peter deserves more than a statue or a harbour named after him. The fund would ensure that the name of our greatest sailor continues to be recognised by those who follow in his wake, and continues to inspire them. It will also help New Zealanders to remain near the pinnacle of world yachting while recognising the fragile nature of the oceans on which they sail.

Such memorials will ensure that Sir Peter's achievements live on in the minds of New Zealanders. For 20 years we have thrilled to his exploits and in practical ways, such as the development of the Viaduct Harbour, benefited from them. His name must live on.

Those who next defend the America's Cup will surely be imbued with his spirit and inspired by his example as they sail out of Blake's Harbour to confront the challenger. Sir Peter has provided them with the perfect illustration of what is possible, as he will continue to provide the perfect inspiration for future generations.

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Peter Blake, 1948-2001