Public invited to sign Don Stafford condolence book at council offices

ROTORUA 06.04.10: Rotorua mayor Kevin Winters has set up a Don Stafford condolence book at the Rotorua District Council Civic Centre for local people to sign and record brief messages for his family.

Don Stafford (82), the recognised authority on Rotorua’s history, passed away on Monday [5 April] after a short illness.

Mayor Winters described Mr Stafford’s passing as “the loss of a great taonga – a genuine treasure that the Rotorua community had loved, respected and revered for many years.”

“His contribution to researching and recording the rich history of our community is absolutely priceless. He championed both Maori and Pakeha cultures and did much to enhance Rotorua’s positive cultural coexistence of today.

“We have lost a true hero of our people this week.”

“Don was always the person we turned to when we needed to understand something from our past and we could be assured of getting an accurate and factual account from him, invariably accompanied by some engaging and good humoured storytelling.

“He was a talented historian who himself became part of our history. His presence will continue to play a part in our future through the legacies of his many books, papers, artworks and our memories of his rich and colourful stories.”

Mr Winters said the condolence book would be available to the general public to sign at the Rotorua District Council Civic Centre until the end of next week (Friday 16 April).

“I extend an invitation to local residents to call into the Customer Centre before Friday next week to sign our condolence book for Don, and to leave any personal messages that they would like passed on to Don’s family,” said Mayor Winters.

ENDS

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