School seizes Blake memorial initiative

Sir Peter Blake's old school on the North Shore yesterday honoured his memory by naming its new assembly hall after him.

Sir Peter, his brother Tony and sisters Janet and Elizabeth, attended Bayswater Primary and learned to sail in a nearby bay.

Yesterday, Sir Peter's mother, Joyce, unveiled the memorial plaque in the hall, which has a stage backdrop made from the mainsail used in the 2000 America's Cup final race between Team New Zealand and Prada.

Mrs Blake told pupils that the honour was most appreciated.

"You would have liked him. He was a good sport, very keen on boats. A nice guy too."

Ideas on how best to commemorate Sir Peter's life are still being debated.

This week, a longtime friend urged the North Shore City Council to consider a cliff-top memorial to head off a move by Auckland Mayor John Banks for one on the other side of the harbour.

The friend, Devonport Yacht Club stalwart Martin Foster, said many of Sir Peter's sailing adventures started or finished in the Rangitoto Channel and the new Tamaki historic reserve at Narrow Neck overlooked the channel and the Hauraki Gulf.

"The great seaman and adventurer needs to be gazing out on the waters he adored," said Mr Foster.

The site should be a commanding one, like those occupied by the monuments for Sir Francis Drake on Plymouth Hoe, John Cabot at Bristol and James Cook at Gisborne.

Sir Peter was first and foremost a North Shore yachtsman and was patron of the Devonport Yacht Club until his death.

Both he and his father were life members and Sir Peter's widow, Lady Pippa Blake, has assumed the role of patron.

A committee of representatives from Auckland City Council, Team NZ, the Blake family, and the arts, is considering ways to commemorate Sir Peter.

Peter Blake, 1948-2001