If you spent more than five minutes with Noel Hewlett, chances are he had a story for you. Every tale began the same way: “Have you heard…?” Whether you had or not rarely mat-tered. Noel simply loved people, loved conversation, and loved sharing the stories that con-nected a community.
Noel Hewitt
Born in Otorohonga on 16 November 1939 to Amy and Stanley Hewlett, Noel was the youngest of six children. He grew up on the family farm, where rugby, tennis, singalongs around the piano and trips to the movies filled a happy childhood. Music stayed with him throughout his life. Whether it was Elvis, dancing in the street to a guitarist in Arrowtown, or enthusiastically breaking into Purple People Eater, Noel found joy wherever there was a tune.
Leaving school at 15, he soon discovered retail was his calling. A sign promising the oppor-tunity to become a Woolworths manager captured his imagination, and he never looked back. It was through a church youth group exchange that he met the love of his life, Nicky, in New Plymouth. They were engaged within six weeks and married in January 1967, begin-ning a partnership that would last almost six decades.
Their early years saw them move around New Zealand as Noel built his career in retail. One family story perfectly sums up those times. When their first child, Kim, was born in Blen-heim on New Year’s Day 1968 – becoming the first South Island baby of the year and second in New Zealand – Noel’s mother insisted there was no point in both parents losing sleep. While Nicky welcomed their daughter into the world, Noel enjoyed a full night’s rest and a hot bacon-and-eggs breakfast before heading to the hospital to meet his first child. It be-came one of those stories that was retold for decades, usually accompanied by plenty of laughter.
Eventually the family settled in Whitianga after Noel saw potential in a local supermarket and decided to take the leap into business ownership. It proved to be far more than a busi-ness decision. Whitianga became home, and Noel devoted himself to helping shape the town he loved.
After running the local grocery store, Noel and Nicky took on new ventures, including estab-lishing the Health Factory, which became much more than a business. It evolved into a community hub where people gathered for events, films, performances and Noel’s much-loved “Welcome to Our World” evenings, introducing newcomers to the community of which he was so proud.
Community service was never something Noel fitted around his life; it was simply how he lived. Over 48 years with the Lions Club, 12 years as a Thames-Coromandel District coun-cillor, service on local community boards and countless other organisations, he believed everyone had a responsibility to make their community a better place. He advocated pas-sionately for local causes, supported the arts, welcomed newcomers, championed young people and delighted in sharing ideas for what Whitianga could become.
Together with his brother Ray and many other volunteers, Noel also helped develop the Whitianga Bike Park, another project he proudly showed to every visitor who came to town. He never tired of pointing out the trees, the tracks and the people who had made it possible.
Above all, Noel loved people. He remembered people, made strangers feel welcome, and was endlessly proud of his family. In his final weeks he was telling people around town how proud he was of his children and all they had achieved.
Noel never wanted to leave Whitianga, and in many ways he never really did. There is comfort in knowing that one of his last remembered moments was sitting beside his beloved Nicky with a cup of tea, about to watch New Zealand in the World Cup.
The stories he told will continue to be retold by the people who loved him. And somewhere, you suspect, every one of them will still begin the same way:
“Have you heard…?”
