In all, some 60 or so bus shelter murals are
adorned with Mr Noakes' distinctive art. He
had favourite themes. Space exploration
featured in many of his designs, and sport
was popular. He liked to match his designs
to their locations. Many of the
harbour side shelters have maritime themes.
He sent his design for the Dublin Bay bus
shelter to the Lord Mayor of Dublin and
received a friendly letter. He was delighted
when Barry Colman, owner of the Careys
Bay pub offered a $5001 reward for the
return of his
painting of the ship John Wickliffe, stolen
from the local bus shelter. Jokingly, he
offered to paint a new one for $5 and claim
the reward.
Painting bus shelters proved ideal for his
talents.
It gave him an outlet for his
imagination as well as a chance to exercise
his sense of humor. It brought him
adulation, which he, enjoyed. For all his self
deprecation John Noakes liked to be
regarded as a working artist.
Painting bus shelters also suited
his temperament. He was a precise
draughtsman and set himself exacting
standards, but was uncomfortable
with bureaucratic oversight. In retrospect, it was perhaps no great surprise that he took offence when the
city council required him to become
an approved contractor under its
revised health, and safety provisions.
He refused to sign a new contract and
was subsequently told his services
were no longer required.
His indignation was widely
reported and he clearly enjoyed the
public fight, portraying himself as a
little guy, an artist, who was impatient
of petty bureaucratic meddling. In the
end, however, he did sign the new
contract - but regretted it immediately
and in November 2002, he
announced that he had painted his
last bus shelter mural.
Artist John Noakes in front of one of his bus shelter designs.
John Noakes was born in London in 1938,
the only child of John and Molly Noakes.
Among his earliest memories was returning
from sheltering in an air raid shelter during a
German raid on London in World War 2, to
find a hole in the ground where the
family home had been and fragments of
furniture on the roof of the shelter at the end
of the street.
At school, he showed. a talent for art,
and from 1955 to 1968 worked as an
exhibition designer at the Earls Court
Exhibition Hall and thereafter as a kitchen
designer and then an interior designer for a large British hotel
group.
When working on a Russian exhibition, he
was delighted to meet Russian cosmonaut
Yuri Gagarin in an elevator. They shook
hands and exchanged greetings in Russian
and English.
It was at this time that John met his future wife, Jennepher,
and they married at the Fulham Town Hall in 1972. Shortly afterwards,
they came to her home town of Dunedin, where they lived at Broad Bay for the next 35 years.
Once in Otago, he worked as a display artist.
He was also briefly employed as a draughtsman by the Otago Catchment Board, and had a
five-year spell with TVNZ as a set
designer, working on shows such as Play
School and Spot On. In 1978, he was
commended for this work in designing a
new desk and set for the regional newsroom.
In 1986, he received his first public
commission, which was to enliven the newly
opened Children's Pavilion at Dunedin
Hospital. He spent 14 months, painting the
194 murals. This work was well received and
several years later he was approached again
by Healthcare Otago to decorate the new
children's emergency department.
He received several awards. In 1990, he was
commended for his work on the bus
shelters, and, as a result of a competition, it
is his logo that greets visitors as they enter
the Maniototo.
Mr Noakes liked a joke and had a ready
smile. In 2005, he spent some time in
hospital and he brought cheer and laughter
to his fellow patients. When it became
apparent that his illness was not treatable,
he bore this news with philosophical calm,
enjoying the company of his family for a last
birthday in December.
He loved the skiffle music of his youth and
requested that several songs by the group
The Vipers be played at his funeral. Among
these was I know the Lord has his hands on
me, but, with typical humour, he asked that
the last tune in the service be Long Tall
Woman in a Black Dress by 1960s British
group The Hollies.
John Noakes, who died on January 5, aged
67, is survived by his wife, Jennepher, and
his son, Neal.
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