Joy Rudsits, 97, is fighting the council over plans to remove her son's memorial seat, which has his ashes underneath. Photo / Alex Cairns
Joy Rudsits, 97, is fighting the council over plans to remove her son's memorial seat, which has his ashes underneath. Photo / Alex Cairns
A 97-year-old woman is fighting plans to have her son’s ashes and memorial seat dug up to make way for a $5.67 million boardwalk in Mount Maunganui.
Joy Rudsits paid $2000 for the ocean-facing seat and a plaque dedicated to her son Kim Rudsits, who died aged 51 in 2005,after a brain tumour.
The seat is on Marine Parade, near Sutherland Ave, and holds a special place in Rudsits’ heart. She said she buried some of Kim’s ashes beneath the seat, after being given permission at the time it was installed in 2006.
The ashes, seat and plaque, however, now sit in the way of Tauranga City Council’s new Marine Parade Coastal Path and Rudsits says she has been told they will be dug up.
The council says it has met with Rudsits and is working to find a solution. It said 12 memorial seats or tables may need to be moved for the pathway and it has been contacting affected families.
The boardwalk plan was approved in 2021 with a final concept design going ahead in 2022. The 3-kilometre project has a projected budget of $5.67m and construction began earlier this year, with 300 metres having already been laid down.
The path is expected to be a mix of timber surfaces and concrete with a grass berm. On the council’s website, the path plans were described as respecting the natural environment and cultural values of the area.
Rudsits said the seat and its ocean view were special to her and honoured her son’s memory.
“He saved someone in the water here. He was a good swimmer.”
Rudsits said the seat was roughly 18 metres from the roadside and about half that distance to the dunes.
“There is all this other space around it. Why can’t the boardwalk be placed in between?
“I don’t think they need to disturb the seat,” she said.
Rudsits said she wondered how many other families with memorial seats were in the same situation.
In October 2022, the family of Adrian Shuen was shocked to discover his memorial seat of 19 years had been removed from Mauao without their knowledge - one of 11 being removed from the mountain as part of a wider project. Mauao authorities apologised to the family for the distress caused and gave the family the seat.
Rudsits said she had heard about the case. “They are not going to do that to me. I’ll fight.”
Rudsits, who has one other child living overseas, said the seat was always being used and this gave her comfort.
“It is special for me because ... I haven’t got much left.”
Joy Rudsits, 97, is fighting the council over plans to remove her son's memorial seat, which has his ashes underneath. Photo / Alex Cairns
She hoped sharing her story publicly might give the council some pause to reconsider its boardwalk design.
“If people don’t speak up about things, nothing changes.”
She said she was first contacted by the council about two months ago and told the seat may be removed. About a week ago she was contacted again and told they planned to remove it, she said.
“I can’t see why they have to move it. This is used every day,” she said.
“They told me they ‘just want to move it a few feet’. Why bother?”
During public consultation on the project, held between December 2021 and January 2022, the council received more than 370 submissions. Most of the feedback was in favour of the boardwalk plans but the information did not mention memorial seats being removed.
“I’m not ashamed of what I’m doing. I’m fighting for my son.”
Council manager of spaces and places operations Warren Aitken said the council met with Rudsits on Monday and was working to find a solution with the design team.
“We very much feel for Joy and everyone affected by our needing to move memorial furniture and understand her wish to keep the seat where it is.”
Joy Rudsits' son Kim is remembered with this plaque on a memorial seat at Mount Maunganui. Photo / Alex Cairns
Aitken said the council was aware that the spreading of ashes had happened on its reserves “from time to time” but these ashes were not something the council would have knowledge of.
Rudsits was among 12 families with memorial seats or tables that might need to be moved to allow for the new pathway, Aitken said.
“Since last year, we have been personally reaching out to family members who have memorial seats/tables to talk about the new pathway and to discuss if their loved one’s memorial seat/table may be affected by the new Marine Parade Coastal Pathway.”
There was still one family the council has not yet been able to reach, he said.
“When residents dedicate a memorial seat to a special person, we share with them that there is no right of renewal after 10 years or the life of the seat. This allows for others to have a seat as there is limited room along the coast and memorial seats are very popular.
“We currently have a waiting list for areas such as Pilot Bay.”
The pathway has been designed to run between Hopukiore (Mount Drury Reserve) and Oceanbeach Rd.
It is expected to be wide enough to safely accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, users of wheelchairs and mobility devices, skaters, and scooter riders and takes into account factors such as the dunes and trees.
