University's lasting legacy to rugby founder
Tuesday 27 September 2011, 3:40PM
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The man who brought rugby to New Zealand – Charles John Monro – has been honoured with a revamped memorial at the Manawatu campus.
A lookout complete with steel sculpture and storyboards was unveiled on Monro Hill by his grandson, John, on Saturday.
The ceremony was watched by more than 50 relatives and led by Massey University Assistant Vice-Chancellor Stuart Morriss.
The area (on Bourke Road opposite the School of Mäori Studies) was first designated as a memorial in 1975. The University has made it a more functional area for staff and public to enjoy views out over the Hopkirk Institute and across the Manawatu.
A concrete floor has been replaced with basalt pavers and a new safety glass rail fitted so the view is unobstructed. The memorial is part of the local heritage trail for public use and benches will be installed.
John Wylie, of Facilities Management Manawatu, helped oversee the project and the area was designed in consultation with landscape architect Dave Chardley, of Prorata Landscape Architecture, and the sculpture crafted in corten steel by local ironworker Mike Currie.
The sculpture of a Victorian writing desk and chair incorporates various elements of Monro's life. Its pattern was obtained from an original piece of table furniture carved by his wife Helena and it includes a map of the region at that time, a book A Year in Venice, a sheet of Italian opera music and a bowl of trademark Craiglockhart plums – which he introduced to the district.
Monro family descendants also toured Craiglockhart, now a hall of residence for students, which was the family home and holds many memories for the elder grandchildren.