New Hobsonville Village Named In Honour Of Sir Keith Park

Ryman Healthcare has named its new Hobsonville retirement village in honour of one of New Zealand’s finest military leaders and strategists, Sir Keith Park (GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC, Croix de Guerre, MA (hon.)).

Sir Keith Park (1892-1975) was best known for his leadership during the Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) air defence of London and South-east England during the Battle of Britain in 1940.

Following the war Lord Tedder, head of the RAF, said: “If ever any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I don’t believe it is realised how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgement and his skill, did to save not only this country, but the world.’’

Sir Keith’s service during the battle was just one part of a long and distinguished military career that began in World War 1. He also fought at Gallipoli and on the Somme, before learning to fly and shooting down 20 enemy aircraft as an ace in the Royal Flying Corps.

In the inter-war years, he rose through the ranks in the RAF and was part of the team that developed the radar defence system. His war service included taking responsibility for the air defence over Dunkirk in 1940, and the air defence of Malta and Burma in the later war years.

After a long and distinguished career in the RAF he returned to New Zealand and later served as an Auckland City Councillor. He was the driving force on several strategic Auckland projects, including the construction of the airport at Mangere.

Sir Keith and his wife Dorothy, known as ‘Dol’ were tireless fundraisers for charity, supporting many good causes.

Massey University historian Dr Adam Claasen said: “He was undoubtedly New Zealand’s greatest wartime commander and an ANZAC whose influence on twentieth century history is challenged by few contemporaries.
“What New Zealand commander has had as big a role in history as Sir Keith Park? There aren’t any.”

Brian Park, Sir Keith’s great nephew, described ‘a great and good man’ of which the family were incredibly proud.

“We as a family were in awe of him, after all he was a hero,” Brian said.
“But he had no airs and graces when it came to dealing with us young people. He was interested in what we were doing, what our interests were and where we were working.
“So he was held with much affection in the Park family.
He said: “This naming opportunity with Ryman offers the chance to raise the prominence of his legacy.”

Ryman Healthcare Chief Executive Gordon MacLeod said it was an honour to name the village after Sir Keith.

“Sir Keith Park was an astonishing man – easily one of the brightest, bravest and best individuals this country has ever produced.
“It is an honour for us to name our Hobsonville village after someone with such an incredible legacy and something we do not take for granted.”

Ryman Healthcare has named its villages after significant New Zealanders for more than 25 years. Other Auckland villages include Edmund Hillary (Remuera), Murray Halberg (Lynfield), Grace Joel (St Heliers), Bruce McLaren (Howick), William Sanders (Devonport), Bert Sutcliffe (Birkenhead) and Miriam Corban (Lincoln Rd).

Construction of the new Keith Park Retirement Village on Scott Rd began in 2018.

The village will offer a full range of retirement living options with care tailored to each resident’s needs.

The village will include independent apartments, serviced apartments as well as a care centre with resthome, hospital and dementia-level care options.

Residents will also be able to enjoy an indoor swimming pool, spa, gymnasium, hairdressing and beauty salons, café, movie theatre, library, a bar and billiards room.

About Sir Keith Park:

Air Chief Marshall Sir Keith Park (GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC, Croix de Guerre, MA (hon.)) is New Zealand’s most celebrated aviator, who was best known for his role protecting London during the Battle of Britain.

Keith Rodney Park was born in Thames in 1892, the youngest of 3 sons and 8th of ten children of Francis Rogers and Scottish-born geologist, engineer, explorer and academic, James Park.

Keith was educated at King’s College in Auckland and Otago Boys’ High School in Dunedin and joined the Union Steam Ship Company as a cadet purser at the age of 19. This earned him the nickname ‘Skipper’ which stuck with him for life.

When war broke out in 1914, he enlisted and served at Gallipoli during the campaign in 1915/1916 as a Lance Bombardier in the NZ Artillery, before being promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, transferring to the British Army whilst there.

In early 1916 he was withdrawn from Gallipoli and transferred to serve in the Battle of the Somme as an artillery officer. Wounded twice and declared unfit for army service, he pestered the medical board to transfer him to the Royal Flying Corps as a trainee pilot and went on to command 48 Squadron.

He proved to be a resolute and skilled pilot and an imaginative leader becoming 48 Squadron’s highest scorer shooting down 20 enemy aircraft, earning a Military Cross and bar, and Croix de Guerre. He was also shot down, but fortunately landed in friendly territory.

The experience he gained in flying and in-command in WWI was invaluable in developing the tactics he later employed in the air defence of Great Britain.

In November 1918, two weeks after war ended, he married livewire Dorothy (Dol) Parrish, and they had two sons.

He remained in the RAF in the interwar years, and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross following an 1,800-mile circumnavigation of Britain in a Hadley Page bomber.

He commanded training units, including Oxford University’s unit, following which the university awarded him an Honorary MA degree. He commanded No.111 Squadron and was Station Commander of RAF Northolt, organising the annual RAF Air Display at Hendon.

He served in Air Attaché roles in South America and Egypt and as an aide-de-camp to King George VI. He was assigned to Air Defence Great Britain HQ and upon establishment of the RAF to HQ Fighting Area he worked with Sir Hugh Dowding to develop Britain’s radar and communications defence network.

By the time World War 2 broke out the New Zealander had been promoted to Air Vice Marshall and he was made commander of Fighter Group 11.

Fighter Group 11 was responsible for defensive air cover during the withdrawal of Dunkirk, and then the defence of London and South-east England during the Battle of Britain.

From his Group Control Centre in an underground bunker at RAF Uxbridge his leadership and brilliance at strategic, day-by-day tactical response during the Battle of Britain won him accolades.

After a day’s fighting, he would fly around his airfields to check in on his pilots, ‘his boys’, in his own Hurricane fighter OK-1, earning him their respect. His empathy for them and the dangers they faced set him apart from other commanders.

After the Battle of Britain ended, he was transferred to a pilot training squadron and then on to Egypt as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Middle East, and he led the successful air defence of the island of Malta. His tactics saw off the bombing after nine days of his command, turning defence into attack on enemy air forces and shipping.

The air war over North Africa continued with the support of the Allied shipping and the invasions of Sicily, Italy. He received his first knighthood following the Battle for Malta.

He was then promoted to Allied Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South East Asia and headed the Burma campaign in the late stages of the war.

He was present at the surrender of the Japanese in Singapore and then oversaw the demobilisation and repatriation of troops to their homelands.

Following the war Lord Tedder, head of the RAF, said: “If ever any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I don’t believe it is realised how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgement and his skill, did to save not only this country, but the world.’’

Sir Keith retired from the RAF in 1946 and returned home to New Zealand, where his organisational skills continued to be in demand. He was the Hawker Siddeley aircraft company’s Southern Hemisphere representative, before retiring in 1960.

He became an Auckland City Councillor, serving three terms, and was a driving force behind the Government’s acquisition of land for the Auckland International Airport and the establishment of the Mangere Sewage Purification Works, both nationally and regionally critical facilities.

Sir Keith and Dol were also formidable fundraisers who worked hard for medical causes and the restoration of St Matthews in the City Anglican church. He retained an active interest in aviation, regularly flying or being flown, and his beloved sailing.

They worked with the New Zealand Foundation for the Blind, the New Zealand Epilepsy Association, and the King George V Children’s Health Camp in Pakuranga.

A practicing Christian until his passing in Auckland on 6 February 1975, aged 82, Sir Keith’s funeral service was conducted from Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland with full military honours and RNZAF flypast.

The Sir Keith Park School in Auckland, named in his honour and with his endorsement, opened the same year of his passing. He is also the namesake for the aviation collection at the Auckland Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT). More recently, his achievements and contributions have been memorialised in Thames, his birthplace, by statue and replica Hurricane OK1 at Thames airfield.

A statue of Sir Keith Park bearing the insignia ’Defender of London’ honouring him and airmen of the Commonwealth was unveiled in Waterloo Place, London, on 15 September 2010 during the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

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