It’s a sad day for Wellingtonian as the most famous vagrant has died the other day at the Wellington Regional Hospital of unknown causes.
Mr. Ben Hana or Blanket Man was a homeless man who wandered the inner city streets of Wellington particularly in Courtney place and Cuba Street.
Hana is considering a Wellington Icon and a local celebrity as evidenced by the number of media that present him as a subject of interest. In 2007, Victoria University of Wellington Sociology Lecturer Mike Llyod and PhD student Brownyn McGovern delivered a presentation titled “World Famous in Wellington: Blanket Man as contemporary celebrity” to the New Zealand Folklore Symposium.
A documentary film about Blanket Man was made by Errol Wright and Abi King-Jones and Tom Hunt from Dominion Post wrote a story “The man behind the Blanket”.
I’ve been in Wellington for 6 years now and every time I pass by between Courtney Place and Tory Street I always see Mr. Hana on the foothpath sleeping or smoking.
I went to Courtney Place yesterday to pay tribute to Mr. Hana on a street memorial beside a fast food chain, where he spent most of his days.
Lots of people flocked the area and some added their own tribute on the wall such as “You will be missed Ben Hana forever on this corner. RIP” or posted a note saying “Miss You Ben “
Indeed, he is a Wellington Icon that every Wellingtonian will going to miss forever. Rest in Peace Ben Hana. More photos, check out the Captured Snapshots or the video from TheSidestrip
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