Obituary: Katikati says goodbye to celebrated arts supporter and mural painter Pat Williams

Roly and Pat Williams on their 60th wedding anniversary. Photo / Rebecca Mauger

An artist behind not one, but two of Katikati Open Air Art’s giant murals has died.

Arts devotee Pat Williams died on Saturday at Bob Owens Retirement Village in Tauranga aged 83 — she would have been 84 on September 19.

Pat and husband Roly were familiar faces having spent all their years together in Ōtūmoetai, Te Puna, on an orchard for 25 years, a decade in Whakamarama followed by another decade in Katikati.

But it is Katikati where Pat left her mark.

She was commissioned to be the artisan behind KOAA’s impressive mural No14, A Pioneer Kitchen, in 1994, a depiction of an early settler kitchen, and The Pioneer Store mural numbers 26 and 27, based on the original Landing Store, a few years later. An original design of the Pioneer Store was recently found.

Pat was born in Helensville, but spent her schooling years in Taupō.

Pat Williams as a young woman.

Roly and Pat met at midnight on an old truck. She was off to the skifields with a friend and ended up sitting with Roly. Roly often made the trip from Whakatāne to the skifields during the season. He had helped build the ski club in Whakapapa.

Roly and Pat were married on Valentine’s Day in 1959 and were married 65 years this year. The wedding date was not a sentimental decision — Pat’s brother also picked the same marriage date, so they decided on the next weekend.

The couple tied the knot on Valentine's Day in 1959.

Roly worked mainly for banks. Pat worked hard on their orchard among her other jobs in horticulture, and with KOAA she helped set up The Little Blue House, which was the town’s first art hub.

They had three children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

“She was hard working ... she always had new projects on the go — her artistic side really came through,” says daughter Linda Andrews. “Furniture was always being revamped, there was spinning, weaving, pottery and lots of painting; she was always decorating the house and rearranging it.”

She also loved cooking and was ahead of her time with her exotic dishes, Linda says. Food presentation was superb.

The family had a small gathering on Monday to say goodbye and they plan to have a memorial service at a later stage.

By Steve Graveson

Katikati Open Air Art

Katikati Open Air Art recently heard the sad news of the passing of another valued member of the Katikati art scene.

Pat Williams was a great contributor, artist and supporter of the journey KOAA has been on.

The community had the opportunity to see Pat’s wonderful artistic talent on display in not one, but two murals in their collection.

In 1994, Pat was commissioned to paint mural No 14, A Pioneer Kitchen.

It was a tribute to the district’s pioneering women and depicts an early pioneer kitchen scene. A few years later, in 1997-98, Pat was commissioned to paint another mural, this time The Pioneer Store, which were numbers 26 and 27. This was a recreation of both the interior and exterior of the original Landing Store, this can be seen on the Four Square store wall.

Pat was a valued committee member for a number of years, but one of her greatest passions was seeing the local art community supported where possible. This led to the establishment of The Little Blue House, a little iconic garage gallery located where the library complex is now. This simple little gallery allowed local artists to showcase their artwork and hopefully make their first sales.

The Little Blue House caretakers with Pat Williams (sitting third from left).

It was also the location for Pat when she entered the 2013 New Zealand Mural Contest and painted the image of the town cryer, John Groves, leading a cultural procession.

Many of Pat’s paintings and artworks can be seen hanging on numerous local walls, but her creative talent, passion, seemingly endless imaginative ideas will be what we will miss the most.