Obituary: John Dalton a quiet achiever

Doug Turner remembers his friend John Dalton, who died on April 15, aged 88.

John Dalton was born and raised in north-east England. He trained as a civil engineer and spent the closing years of World War 2 as a flight engineer with a Canadian bomber squadron.

After two years in Hong Kong he returned to the UK, but was persuaded to move to New Zealand, eventually settling in Kerikeri where he taught science at the high school.

I first met John and his wife Ann in 1965. His interest and experience in theatre in England meant he soon took on many key roles in the Bay of Islands arts scene.

He served as the honorary manager of the Kerikeri Memorial Hall, then the town's main performing arts venue, for an extraordinary 35 years. It was a role that brought little reward or kudos, instead requiring him to field complaints and pacify hall users.

Few users realised the long hours John put in to to make their performances or hireage proceed without hitches.

His service to the then very active Kerikeri Players is also legendary.

He later became chairman of Keri Arts Inc, promoted the National Piano Competition and initiated the highly successful summer music camps which culminated with final performances in the memorial hall. William Southgate, Jon Trimmer and the late Russ Garcia were great supporters and contributors to the camps.

John's public service was not limited to the arts. He was elected to Kerikeri Community Board, serving a period as chairman, where his chief interest was town planning. He frequently advised the then Bay of Islands County Council on its shortcomings.

John was passionate about preserving the rivers and streams that feed into the Kerikeri Inlet, and presented the council with many initiatives to maintain water quality.

Despite all those commitments he found time to revive The Kerikeri Gazette (later The Kerikeri Chronicle and now The Bay Chronicle) and, as editor, wrote many inspiring articles on local affairs.

Recognising the shortcomings of the memorial hall, in 1989 he joined me in developing the idea of a multi-purpose performing arts complex, then known as the Bay of Islands Cultural Centre.

John became a founding trustee of the Kerikeri Civic Trust, which won the backing of Far North District Council and oversaw the construction of what was then known as The Centre at Kerikeri.

It was with great pleasure that during the opening of Stage 1 on August 5, 2005, I was able to dedicate the auditorium to John, naming it the John Dalton Theatre.

A low-key memorial service was held at the Turner Centre on May 5, with John's old friend Glynne Adams, a former music professor now living in the Hokianga, playing the violin.