Stirling Pt memorial fund nears $10,000

NICOLE GOURLEY/Fairfax NZ

GOOD CAUSE: Invercargill man Leon Harrison gets ready for a fundraising evening at city bar Saints and Sinners to help raise money for his plan to build a memorial at Stirling Point.

Relevant offers

A campaign to build a memorial statue for those lost in Foveaux Strait has so far raised $9600.

The man with the plan to build the memorial statue said he hoped Southlanders would continue to back the cause.

Invercargill man Leon Harrison decided he wanted to build the memorial at Stirling Point, commemorating all of those lost at sea, shortly after the Easy Rider tragedy.

To raise money for the cause, a fundraising event will be held at the Players Entertainment bar in Invercargill on October 12.

The idea to build a memorial at Stirling Point - "the last place you see when you go out into the strait, and the first thing you see when you come in" - had generated a lot of support from the community, businesses, and even Invercargill city councillor Lindsay Abbott.

However, Mr Harrison said he was keen for more people to "get the gorse out" of their pocket and support the cause.

"I want them to get behind it because it's Southland people [affected in boating tragedies]. It's Southland, and that's what Southlanders are best known for, looking after each other," he said.

So far, the campaign had raised about $9600. The fundraising committee had no set target for the amount it hoped to raise, he said.

"At this stage it's just whatever we can get."

The October 12 event - which has been organised with the support of the bar's staff - would be an R18 gig, including DJs and bands such as Saelyn and Harry, kicking off at 6pm, Mr Harrison said.

Tickets are $10.

Donations to the Foveaux Strait Memorial Fund can be made into National Bank account 06-0925-0475956-01.

- © Fairfax NZ News

Comments