THEY looked like four friends sharing a meal at the South Aussie on Wednesday, but Deanne Reedy was meeting Mack and Rosalie Hone Hone Tana and Helen Booth for the first time in a moment of serendipity.
Ms Reedy had been seeking information about the last weeks of her great uncle’s life in Mount Gambier and appealed to the community through a story published in Wednesday’s edition of The Border Watch.
Her great uncle John Howe – known to his friends as “Maori John” – moved to Mount Gambier in 1973 and lived for a short time at the South Aussie Hotel.
Tragically, his family in New Zealand never heard from him again as he died in a car accident between Mount Gambier and Penola that same year.
He was buried by the publicans at Carinya Gardens Cemetery.
When Mack Hone Hone Tana read Ms Reedy’s story in The Border Watch this week, he knew he could provide answers to a few burning questions – namely who the mystery “Helen” mentioned on John’s headstone was.
“I moved to Mount Gambier in 1974 and I also lived at the South Aussie for a while – I never met John, but I heard about him from quite a few people,” he explained.
“My wife Rosalie knew John and is a lifelong friend of Helen, so when we read the story we called Helen straight away.”
Mr Hone Hone Tana contacted Ms Reedy and the pair soon discovered they had more to discuss than they realised.
“We are both from the same part of New Zealand, the Bay of Islands, north of Auckland,” he said.
“We had a chat on the phone and found out I am distantly related to the Howe family.”
Less than six hours after the newspaper hit newsagencies on Wednesday, Mr and Mrs Hone Hone Tana, Ms Reedy and Ms Booth were meeting for lunch.
Ms Booth – who is mentioned by only her first name on John’s headstone – had not yet read the story when she received a phone call she described as a “blast from the past”.
“The South Aussie was the establishment of choice at that time and my friend Patsy and I met John here on a Friday night,” she explained.
“We became quite close and spent a fair bit of time together in the few weeks he was here and then suddenly he was gone.
“It was pretty ordinary when he died, I was a zombie for a few weeks afterward.
“I still feel sad when I think about it now – I cannot believe it was 45 years ago.”
She explained the other young man from New Zealand killed in the same accident was buried by his family.
“His family took his body back home,” Ms Booth said.
“I know the police tried to find John’s family, but of course the spelling of his name was wrong – we only knew his name in English and not the Maori version.”
Ms Reedy said she was overwhelmed to hear stories about her great uncle’s time in Mount Gambier after her family had waited four decades for closure.
“It was lovely to finally meet Helen and some close friends of his during his time here,” she said.
“I have been quite emotional – to discover more relatives of my uncle was amazing and I’m so pleased there are still people around who knew him.
“We are truly grateful to everyone who stepped in and were there for him when he passed away.”
