Historic Walk to celebrate local Howick identity Emilia Maud Nixon

A community celebration of the life of local Howick identity Miss Emilia Maud Nixon will be held on the 140th anniversary of her birth with a guided walk on Saturday 4th December 2010, commencing from outside Miss Nixon’s homestead, Te Whare Ora, at 35 Uxbridge Road at 1.30 pm.

Local historian Alan La Roche will be the guide for this 2 hour walk or “hikoi”. The route will take in All Saints Church and a visit to Miss Nixon's grave, before concluding at the Howick Library The cafe at Uxbridge Arts will be open until 4:00 pm where refreshments will be available for purchase.

Local people are welcome and encouraged to join the walk and to learn more about Miss Nixon and her generous legacy to the local Howick community. As part of the celebrations, an exhibition of photographs and documents from Miss Nixon’s collection will be displayed at the Howick Library from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm.

On her death in 1962, Miss Nixon made a bequest of her property at 35 Uxbridge Road, Howick to the People of Howick for the benefit of all New Zealanders. The celebration is a grateful acknowledgement by the community of her many gifts and a tribute to this visionary lady who wanted to provide an opportunity to promote goodwill between all peoples by fostering understanding of the early settlers, pioneer women and the traditions of Māori, particularly Ngai Tai.

Aside from her property bequest, records show that Miss Nixon donated significant amounts of money over the years to local Howick churches, sports and community groups.

ENDS

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