Bernard Hana, a.k.a. "Blanket Man" (1957 – 15 January 2012), was a homeless man who wandered the inner city streets of

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

. He was a local fixture and something of a celebrity and was typically found on the

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...

in the precincts of Cuba Street and Courtenay Place. Hana was a self-proclaimed devotee of the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

sun god Tama-nui-te-rā and claimed that he should wear as few items of clothing as possible, as an act of religious observance. As a result, he would sometimes remove all his clothing, which resulted in the attendance of police officers. His nickname "Blanket Man" was a reference to his usual mode of dress, which was a single blanket, long

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as dreads or locs, are a Hairstyle, hairstyle made of rope-like strands of matted hair. Dreadlocks can form naturally in Hair#Texture, very curly hair, or they can be created with techniques like twisting, Backcombing, ba ...

, and either a loin cloth or

briefs Briefs (or a brief) are a type of short, form-fitting Undergarment, underwear and swimsuit, swimwear, as opposed to styles where material extends down the thighs. Briefs have various different styles, usually with a waistband attached to fabric ...

. His activities and presence provoked a degree of public debate within Wellington. It is believed Hana chose to live on the streets after killing a friend in a drunk-driving incident, as a form of self-penance.

Early life

Hana was born in

Inglewood, New Zealand Inglewood is a town in the Taranaki Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is southeast of New Plymouth on State Highway 3, close to Mount Taranaki, and sits above sea level. The town services a mainly dairy farming region. History The ...

in 1957 to a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

family. In the late 1970s, he associated with the

Black Power Black power is a list of political slogans, political slogan and a name which is given to various associated ideologies which aim to achieve self-determination for black people. It is primarily, but not exclusively, used in the United States b ...

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

, living in Wellington, going by the name "Bugs" and fathering four children.

Judicial hearings and convictions

Hana was arrested and imprisoned several times for offences, including

public nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...

and possession of cannabis. His criminal record reportedly ran 17 pages long. In 1979, he was convicted of drunk driving causing death. Hana visited the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

for the first time in 2010, was arrested, charged, and flown home after being provided with a shower and new

overalls Overalls or bib-and-brace overalls, also called dungarees in British English, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers ...

. In 2010, a judge ordered that Hana be detained under the Mental Health Act 1992, and he was admitted to Wellington Hospital's psychiatric ward Te Whare O Matairangi, where "he will have clean clothes, regular meals, and no access to drink and drugs". In the same year, he was released back onto the streets without any notable change in character. In mid-2011, he was

sectioned Involuntary commitment, civil commitment, or involuntary hospitalization/hospitalisation, or informally in Britain sectioning, being sectioned, commitment, or being committed, is a legal process through which an individual who is deemed by a qual ...

and detained again and subsequently diagnosed as living with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

. He was then discharged from hospital and given daily medication under a community treatment order, which allowed forced medical treatment as an outpatient. He mostly resided at his usual location on the central Wellington street of Courtenay Place until his death.

Local celebrity

With his distinctive look and high visibility location, Hana became something of a local celebrity. In general, he was tolerated by some shopkeepers outside whose premises he sat, and by passers-by, although there were instances of opposition from other shopkeepers. Also, on occasions when he decided to push the boundaries of offensive behaviour, police officers were likely to be in attendance. As someone who departed from the patterns of normal behaviour, Hana had become a figure of amusement, sympathy, disgust, and even some academic interest. During the 2006

Rugby Sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

tournament, one costumed group appeared in dreads and blankets, mimicking his distinctive look.

In media

Hana featured in several works: * ''Te Whanau o Aotearoa — Caretakers of the Land'', a 2003 New Zealand documentary film by Errol Wright and Abi King-Jones * In 2007,

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

sociology lecturer Mike Lloyd and PhD student Bronwyn McGovern delivered a presentation titled "World Famous in Wellington: Blanket Man as contemporary celebrity" to the New Zealand Folklore Symposium. * Tom Hunt – "The man behind the blanket", '' The Dominion Post'' (2010) * The 2012 tribute song "Blanket Man", written by Leon Mitchell, sung by Michael Murphy, recorded and released by ZM radio

Death

Hana, aged 54, died at Wellington Hospital at 3:35 p.m. on 15 January 2012 of suspected viral myocarditis. He was also known to have medical problems stemming from heavy alcohol use and malnutrition. A temporary shrine was created outside the

ANZ Bank The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, commonly known as ANZ Bank, is a multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is Australia's second-largest bank by assets and fo ...

on Courtenay Place, a location where Hana could often be found. Messages were written on the building's facade, and flowers, candles, food, and other items were left in tribute. Among those who paid tribute were Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown and sports athlete

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny William Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in rugby union after first playing for the cou ...

. His funeral was paid for by philanthropist Gareth Morgan.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hana, Ben New Zealand Māori people People from Wellington City People with schizophrenia Homeless people 1957 births 2012 deaths Culture in Wellington