The day Sir Tim Shadbolt paid a visit to a group of 'skinheads'
“I can honestly say that we never had issues after that because he went and took that initiative to go and speak to those people that were causing trouble. A lot of people would not know about [that].
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Penny Simmonds says she has hundreds of funny Sir Tim Shadbolt stories from the many years working alongside him.
She enlisted Shadbolt as a paid SIT ambassador during her time as Southern Institute of Technology CEO. The pair travelled together promoting SIT to the world.
“He drunk salty yak tea in Inner Mongolia for us, he chewed on turtle shell for us in China, he watched hockey games in India, he literally travelled all over the world recruiting international students for us because it was such a big deal having a mayor opening doors in all of those counties,” Simmonds said.
Simmonds was one of the invited speakers at a private unveiling last week when the Invercargill Airport terminal officially became the Sir Tim Shadbolt Terminal.
Shadbolt didn’t attend the event. The former long-time Invercargill Mayor’s days in the public eye appear to be over.
His former traveling partner - Simmonds - had prepared to share a few of the many funny Shadbolt stories at the event last week but opted not to when she realised Shadbolt would not be in attendance.
“Traveling with Sir Tim was never uneventful; however, it doesn’t feel right to be laughing at those stories without him here. But we did so much together, and I am forever grateful for the support he gave SIT,” Simmonds said.
Although Simmonds - now the MP for Invercargill - did provide an interesting glimpse into the extent Shadbolt would go to in his role as an SIT ambassador.
Early on in SIT’s push to attract international students to Invercargill a problem arose when there were several “skinheads” throwing stones on the roof of international student’s accommodation, followed by racial abuse.
Various organisations - including police - met to work through the problem.
Shadbolt decided he would go and visit those “skinheads” for a chat.
“He explained why we had international students and the fact they weren’t taking their jobs, they were creating jobs. He explained that he really wanted them to treat our international visitors well,” Simmonds said.
“I can honestly say that we never had issues after that because he went and took that initiative to go and speak to those people that were causing trouble. A lot of people would not know about him doing that.”
Simmonds said Shadbolt was a key factor in the success of SIT’s Zero Fees scheme launched in 2001.
“He was again always very generous because people credited him with the scheme and he always would say; no, no it wasn’t him, it was Bharat [Guha], myself and others.
“I had to stop him doing that because it was really important people did think it was his scheme because that gave us immeasurable marketing and advertising that we could just never have afforded. I’m forever grateful for that.”
The Invercargill Licensing Trust, Community Trust South, Southland District Council, Invercargill City Council, and a group of Southland businesses teamed up to put together a $7.25m fund for SIT to get the Zero Fees scheme kick-started 23 years ago.
The selling of it to potential students became vital, which was why Shadbolt’s role was viewed as being so important.
“One moment of truth really occurred for us when the decision was made to go ahead with the $7.25 million being given by the various entities in Southland, and we sat down and looked at each other with horror on our faces and a nervous laugh and said, ‘this could be really embarrassing if we don’t charge anyone, and no one turns up’.
“So, at that stage, we knew we had to work really hard to make it happen.”
“I have got so many fond memories working alongside Tim, and the fact he would give anything a go for us. Including being fired out of a cannon for a TV advert,” Simmonds said.
“I can honestly say SIT would not be the success it was without his contribution, and we should all be very grateful for that. I’m feeling quite emotional about it.”
Among the other speakers at last week’s Sir Tim Shadbolt Terminal unveiling was retired long-time Invercargill City Council chief executive Richard King.
Shadbolt worked with King for the majority of his time as Invercargill’s Mayor and King paid tribute to what Shadbolt had done for the city.
“When he came to Invercargill, we were the fastest-declining city in Australasia. People went on - at that stage CUE TV - and demanded we do something about it and being the local authority we had limited legal powers, we had to think outside the square.
“The most famous thing we ever did was Penny’s Free Fees Scheme she dreamed up in the shower. That cost several millions but boosted the local economy unbelievably well.
“One of the other things we did also, was promote the city - and Tim was brilliant at that - with the World’s Fastest Indian [movie].
“That cost the funding partners $600,000 but it was well worth it.”
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Yes there were a lot of so called knockers during the tenure of Sir Tim but I can assure readers Sir Tim was an asset to the city, worked tirelessly on it's behalf, and changed the general view of all in NZ as it was asked "how's Tim" rather than a comment about the cold weather and penguins in the streets! How do I know? Well I served the city for a while as a Councillor before business demands restricted that time, and I travelled quite extensively throughout NZ!
I understand the free fees concept was first raised at a meeting on Stewart Island with a few of those people who had a vision of what it could bring to the south.
It is great that we now have something that acknowledges Tims time as mayor of Invercargill. The other person who did a lot for the city and should have something to recognise that is Louis Crimp. He made some pretty large donations to various things including the stadium and while a bit of a divisive character you still can't take away that. All from his own pocket.