Mike Williams: Friend s knighthood sparks fond memories
23 Apr, 2021 06:58 PM
5 minutes to read
Mike Williams reminisces on childhood and a childhood friendship. Photo / File
Hawkes Bay Today
I felt a huge sense of pride when I saw Justice Joe Williams dubbed a Knight at his home marae at Manaia on the Coromandel last week.
Joe grew up in Hastings and my family s first Hastings home, in Outram Rd, was just a block away from the house where Joe spent his childhood.
My mother told me years later that we got to know the other Williams family in the street when our mail got mixed up. No matter how it happened, our families became the closest of friends and my mum was in contact with Joe s whangai mum, Chris Williams, either in person or over the phone, every day of her life until Chris passing.