Lisburn delegation fosters city links

Lisburn Mayor Margaret Tolerton (left), Wanganui Mayor Annette Main, Lisburn councillor Pat Catney, David Twigg, chair of the Ulster NZ Trust, and Lisburn council acting chief executive Adrian Donaldson lay wreaths at the Veterans' Steps war memorial. Photo/Stuart Munro

It may have been a brief visit but a delegation from the Lisburn City Council in Northern Ireland believes it has sown some seeds in Wanganui that will bear fruit.

Mayor Margaret Tolerton of Lisburn told the Chronicle her delegation hoped their visit would strengthen links between her city and Wanganui.

There has been a connection since 1994, when both cities signed a "declaration of friendship and goodwill".

That declaration recognised the historic link with former New Zealand Premier John Ballance, a long-time Wanganui citizen, whose birthplace was Glenavy, near Lisburn.

Mrs Tolerton led a delegation from Lisburn, which included Councillor Pat Catney and acting chief executive Adrian Donaldson.

They arrived in Wanganui last Tuesday and have taken part in puanga/matariki celebrations at Putiki, been hosted at a mayoral dinner and visited the Waiouru Army museum.

On Friday, the visitors met the Whanganui Employers Chamber of Commerce and Mrs Tolerton said it was a very positive meeting.

"We look after tourism in Lisburn, so we've brought a lot of that sort of material with us. The chamber was very interested in what we had. They said they will meet and look at some of the ideas we flagged.

"We have invited them to visit us later in the year, and we can introduce them to our economic development department and show them what Lisburn has to offer."

She said although the treaty of friendship was signed in 1994, "nothing has ever come of that. It's been sitting dormant."

"We're a successful council and the second biggest in Northern Ireland. Belfast is the only one bigger than us. And we have a very strong economic development department, and through that we've developed strong trade links around the world.

"Why shouldn't we be trying to generate the same thing with Wanganui?"

Councillor Pat Catney said anything their council could do to create an "economy corridor" between Wanganui and Lisburn, his council would been keen to help with.

On Friday afternoon, Mrs Tolerton and the delegation laid wreaths at the monument at the base of the Veterans' Steps. The Queen's Park memorial commemorates 138 imperial and colonial troops who died in and around Wanganui during the New Zealand Wars, and another 18 veterans who died long after the wars ended.

The Lisburn party flew home on Saturday.