Tauranga recalls knight with the common touch

By Rosaleen MacBrayne

TAURANGA - Tributes flowed in Tauranga yesterday to one of the district's leading personalities, Sir Bob Owens, who died in Auckland on Sunday, aged 78.

He was described variously as a statesman, a true visionary and an icon.

Manchester-born Bob Owens arrived in the Bay of Plenty with very little and became a self-made man through his business acumen.

Starting with one forklift, he built up a giant, freight-based international empire, but still found time to contribute substantially to his local community.

As Mayor of both Tauranga and Mt Maunganui in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sir Bob brought the two towns together and was the driving force behind the harbour bridge that now links them.

He had the common touch, gaining the respect of his workers by "rolling up his sleeves and mucking in," said the local waterfront workers' union branch president, Steve Penn.

Older watersiders had fond tales to tell about a hard but fair man, and the Port of Tauranga owed its success to the vision of Sir Bob.

"But as much as he has made money here, he has never hesitated to put it back into this community," Mr Penn said.

Tauranga Mayor Noel Pope said the district would not have been so progressive without Sir Bob, who was responsible for 25 years of groundwork which was now coming to fruition.

He was more of a statesman than a politician, forthright but humble, and a great debater.

New Zealand First leader and Tauranga MP Winston Peters said Sir Bob - knighted in 1997 for outstanding service to industry and community affairs - was a strong character who believed that action was more important than words.

His contributions to charities were legendary.

A former chairman of the Bay of Plenty Harbour Board and of Air New Zealand, Sir Bob was active in a wide range of cultural, sporting and community groups.

An Anglican funeral will be held in Tauranga on Thursday at the Assembly of God Church at Otumoetai.

Donations will go to the city's Holy Trinity Church rebuilding fund. The 124-year-old building was gutted in an arson on July 1.