Monday Sport Blast From The Past
Gordon Llewellyn is a name you have probably never heard off but he played a pivotal role in the birth of the Special Olympics movement in New Zealand.
In 1983, he and three other Hutt athletes – Colin Bailey, Peter Spijkerman and Brent Busby – made history when they attended the Summer Special Olympics in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The trip was organised by Grant Quinn, who later said Gordon Llewellyn proved the perfect poster boy for the Special Olympics movement in New Zealand.
Llewellyn was a larger than life character with a bold personality and a fascination with the TV character Magnum PI.
Years later Quinn recalled the flight over and an announcement that came over the intercom.
"This is your captain speaking … I have a very special passenger with me in the cockpit. His name is Gordon Llewellyn from New Zealand."
Llewellyn quickly took over the microphone and proceeded to entertain the whole plane.
"Next minute Gordon was asking, or should I say demanding, that everybody on board give the team a rousing three cheers to wish the team a successful time in Baton Rouge," recalled Quinn.
The team performed well at the Olympics and athletes returned home heroes, proudly wearing their medals for weeks to make sure nobody missed their success.
Llewellyn died in August 2014 and Quinn gave the eulogy. He told mourners that Llewellyn and the other three Hutt swimmers had changed the public's perception of the intellectually disabled.
They had helped win mainstream acceptance and played a key role in promoting an organisation that now had more than 7000 active members.
Say goodbye to tyre waste
About 40% of the 6.5 million tyres Kiwis use every year are recycled, repurposed, or used as tyre-derived fuel. But the rest end up in landfills, stockpiled or dumped.
The good news is now there’s an easy solution to all that tyre waste. It’s called Tyrewise and is New Zealand’s first national tyre recycling scheme.
Tyrewise ensures that tyres in Aotearoa New Zealand are recycled or repurposed properly, saving millions from going to the landfill.
Find out more about the scheme online.
Anzac Day
There are opportunities across the motu for the public to come together to mark Anzac Day this year.
National Anzac Day events include the Dawn Service at 6.00am and the National Commemorative Service at 11.00am (both at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, Wellington), and the Atatürk Memorial Service at 2.30pm in Strathmore, Wellington. The Dawn Service and National Commemorative Service will be broadcast live by TVNZ 1 and RNZ National.
For those wanting to join the Anzac Day parade at the Dawn Service, veterans are asked to assemble on Tasman Street by 5.30am.
The Atatürk Memorial Service in Strathmore will include a wreath-laying ceremony. A shuttle service will be running from Bowes Crescent carpark to the memorial site for anyone who may require assistance accessing the site.
For more information about Anzac Day, visit the Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage website or see the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park Facebook page.
To find out about events in your local community, visit the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association’s website or get in touch with your local council.
What's On: TALK - MAKING ENDS MEET
TALK - MAKING ENDS MEET
- Room 5, Johnsonville Community Centre
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