The passing of an active conservationist who once guarded the Queen, and whose family farm became Duder Regional Park, has been acknowledged by Franklin Local Board.
Ian Duder died in February a few hours after turning 87, and his funeral at Clevedon’s All Soul’s Anglican Church was one of the largest in recent memory.
Board chair and Clevedon resident Angela Fulljames says the Duder name is synonymous with the area, and Ian was well-known in the district as an active conservationist who loved the land he so wanted shared with the wider community.
"Our condolences go to the family. Ian was a fine man and when the family farm became Duder Regional Park in 1995 it created a lasting legacy that benefits all Aucklanders."
Mr Duder grew up in the family cottage at Duder’s Beach, helping on his grandparent’s farm while at Clevedon North School, and later at Otahuhu College, where he met Mary Jones, the Clevedon girl he would go on to marry and have four children with.
Drafted into the army, he was selected to be part of the guard at Queen Elizabeth’s 1953 Coronation.
In 2013 Queen's Birthday weekend marked 60 years since the coronation, a special day for All Souls, which commemorated the Queen becoming head of the Anglican Church.
Mr Duder, then 81, told church members about local headmaster John Lounsborough, who while travelling to England in 1951 collected acorns from oak trees at Windsor Castle.
Border security was less intense than it is today, and the oak seedlings he started survive today at Clevedon Primary and outside All Souls, where one was planted to mark the coronation, a plinth now commemorating the event.
Mr Duder was also involved in many local service organisations including schools, Scouts, Federated Farmers, and the A&P show.
