Pump pioneer and philanthropist dies in Tauranga

The funeral service tribute table to Ken Hogg featuring a photo of Mr Hogg and wife Barbara, his book and a photo of his last Jaguar. Photo/supplied

Kenneth Alan Hogg 1930 to 2016

The book has closed on the life of a self-made man who carved out an international reputation for manufacturing after-market fuel pumps from a modest factory in the Karangahake Gorge.

Ken Hogg died at Althorp on December 28, just nine days short of his 87th birthday.
His farewell yesterday at the Pyes Pa Memorial Park Chapel celebrated the life of a man who shunned publicity and valued discretion.

Mr Hogg's love of motor cars was the only element of his life that occasionally bubbled to the surface of public attention, particularly the decision in 2004 to auction 75 cars that comprised the bulk of his Woodland Park Transport Museum, located 20 minutes from his factory in Waikino.

He took a leading role in the formation of the Bay of Plenty Jaguar Drivers' Club, becoming its first patron. Members of the club formed their Jaguars into a guard of honour when a Jaguar hearse took Mr Hogg on his final drive yesterday.

The service and guard of honour perfectly summed up the life of a man who was born in London in 1930 and was twice evacuated to the safety of the countryside to escape Nazi bombs.

Mr Hogg's death has coincided with the publication of a book that finally puts on record a remarkable life in which he emigrated to New Zealand in 1951. He crated up a new Triumph Thunderbird and with $200 in his pocket embarked on a new life.

Typically, he paid his own way rather than being an assisted immigrant, fitting what was to become his lifelong philosophy of getting on and doing things himself - neatly summed up in the title of the book 'Waiting for No One'.

Cars remained a focus of his life, starting from his first job after leaving school as an apprentice auto electrician. He accumulated a lot of knowledge in a few short years and secured a job with an auto electrical company in Auckland before the entrepreneurial spirit of Mr Hogg saw him seize on a gap in the market. He began reconditioning second-hand fuel pumps.

It progressed to manufacturing some of the replacement components for the reconditioned pumps. From starting business in Waikino in little more than a shed, in 1968 he build a 2000 sq ft purpose-built factory of concrete blocks and corrugated iron.

''No fancy buildings for me, I didn't even paint the outside,'' he said in the family-published book.

Eventually he ended up making completely new fuel pumps for a cheaper price than cost of reconditioning them. He hit on the idea of making the components from injected moulded engineering plastics.

The greatest achievement of the plastic pump was the replacement of the complex stainless steel spring with a world-first plastic spring.

During this time he was gradually building up a car collection that eventually became the Woodland Park Transport Museum. It sometimes opened to the public for charity fundraising.

Part of his pump manufacturing process was out-sourced to the Cook Islands, leading to the formation of a trust that financed the ear health screening of all residents, with the focus on helping children. Those with chronic ear problems were flown to Rarotonga for specialist clinics.

His philanthropy in later years extended to the trust funding the installation of water filtration units in the main southern islands of the Cook group and providing school teaching resources.

The last phase of his life before moving to Tauranga in 2009 was setting up Woodland Park Lodge, aiming at the mid to high end of the market. It particularly appealed to motor enthusiasts who were given a personal tour of the museum.

Mr Hogg is survived by his second wife Barbara, stepchildren and grandchildren.