Te Kuiti Hero Immortalised in Bronze

A statue commemorating a NZ WW2 hero has been unveiled in the Scottish village of Cowie, where he died. Flight Lieutenant Carlisle Everiss of Te Kuiti lost control of his Spitfire over Cowie in 1941, but chose to steer the plane towards a nearby wood rather than crash it into the small mining community. The 26-year-old died after being read his last rites by three villagers. Nearly 70 years later, residents in Cowie have raised £12,000 to erect a bronze bust of the pilot, to accompany the plaque dedicated to him in the 1970s. “Once in a generation a guy like this comes along,” said local councillor Gerard O’Brien at the statue’s unveiling. “We should not forget what he did and the statue is a way of saying thank you.”