Possum Bourne Memorial Statue (Massey Lane)

Peter “Possum” Bourne was a widely celebrated Pukekohe-born rally car driver who won the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship three times and the Australian Rally Championship seven consecutive times. He earned his nickname after he crashed his mother’s car while trying to avoid a possum. Bourne died on 30 April 2003 outside Wanaka while testing a new racetrack.

This life-sized bronze statue of Bourne was created by Queenstown sculptor Minhal Al Halabi in 2004 and placed above the Race to the Sky track, upon which Bourne had died. The last race was held in 2007 and by 2012 there were concerns that the statue was not receiving sufficient exposure. The decision was made to relocate it to Pukekohe, Bourne’s hometown. It was installed in April 2013 at the northern end of Massey Lane. The former plinth for the statue still stands above Cardrona Valley, with a new plate noting that the statue has been moved.

The short walkway between King Street and Roulston Lane has been a small greenspace in Pukekohe for several decades, with a brick path passing between well-kept trees and shrubbery. In 2020, local artists Charles and Janine Williams painted a mural of two tuī on the west wall of the walkway, giving Massey Lane a renewed vibrancy.

Cross King Street at the crosswalk and turn right. Continue walking along King Street and then turn left and continue along Stadium Drive. Cross Stadium Drive at the protected crossing near Fruit World and then proceed into the park.