'People's hero' Bernie Hornfeck prepares to rebuild

Bernie Hornfeck has plans to rebuild his house and replant his garden before summer. Photo/Stephen Parker

After a devastating fire destroyed his house, people's hero Bernie Hornfeck plans to replant his garden and rebuild his home on the section he's lived on since 1952.

The Rotorua Daily Post caught up with Bernie and his son John as they made a visit to the section on Monday.

Bernie was unable to salvage anything from the Lynmore property that went up in flames on June 27.

The property has now been stripped back to its foundations and the Hornfecks said it was difficult to tell where the house used to be.

Seeing him walk across what remains of his flattened home, it would be easy to assume it's a bit of a setback for Bernie, but the 88-year-old said it was no good crying about it.

"Now it's more or less cleared we've gotta start thinking about putting another house up," he said.

"It's all gone."

Bernie Hornfeck in front of his fire damaged home. Photo/File

Donations flooded in for Bernie after the fire and he said when this was all over he would be donating a lot of it back to the Salvation Army.

A Facebook page, Help Bernie Hornfeck rebuild his home, was created to rally around the man locals described as the "people's hero".

He is a well-known activist. In 2012 he helped lead an Aotearoa Is Not For Sale hikoi in Rotorua protesting the sale of state-owned enterprises while in 2004 he helped organise a march against the foreshore and seabed legislation.

His record of protest involvement goes back to the 1975 land march led by Dame Whina Cooper, the Bastion Pt protest, Springbok tour, the fiscal envelope march and the hikoi against poverty.

"This has been a slow process, because whenever he sees someone he thinks is more in need than him, he'll stop to help them," his son said.

John has lost the home he grew up in, but said it was the grandkids who were really missing out.

"All their memories were in it and now they've got nothing," he said.

"All the things that Mum owned that would one day be theirs was always left here because Dad was here, all the photo albums, everything.

"What's done is done, we just have to move on now. At least we've got Dad."

Fortunately for Bernie the large vegetable gardens and shed at the back of the section were undamaged and he has already planted seeds in the gardens of Apumoana Marae, ready for the move back to his.

Bernie is staying in a kaumatua flat at Apumoana Marae until his new home is ready.

John said although he didn't have the same green fingers as his dad he was sure they'd all be up to help him with his garden and the rebuild.

"We'll come up and do whatever we need to, to help him," he said.

The new house would be smaller than the last, with Bernie saying he didn't need as much space anymore.

"I won't build it myself, but I'd like to help them, supply some free labour."

Bernie hopes to be in his new home and back working in his garden by summer.