Farewell to world tennis champion Matemauroa Mose Harvey

Matemauroa Mose Harvey

NGATI Porou world tennis champion Matemauroa Mose Harvey passed away on Sunday at the age of 82.

Mr Harvey was the first New Zealander to win a world singles title when he won the International Tennis Federation World Super Seniors Tennis Championships for the 70-75 years age group in Christchurch in 2008.

Mr Harvey dedicated a lifetime to the sport and was regarded as a legend of the game in the Poverty Bay and Maori tennis communities.

He holds many New Zealand and Australasian titles in singles and doubles, including the New Zealand Maori Tennis singles title, which he has won many times.

Mr Harvey was the top-seeded Poverty Bay tennis player during the 1960s and played in various tournaments including The Wilding Shield, the premier New Zealand inter-association tennis trophy.

He was one of Gisborne’s top professional tennis coaches and organised a number of local tournaments to develop tennis among youth, including the junior tennis tournament of the late 1960s.

He was a prominent figure in inter-marae tennis and was also involved in coaching squash in Gisborne.

From his childhood days in Ruatoria, Mr Harvey was renowned for his sporting prowess in tennis, rugby, cricket and softball. He was a star first five-eighth of the Manutahi Maori District High School first 15 during his school years.

While living in Auckland, Mr Harvey played for the Mangere East Tennis Club.

He played rugby alongside former All Black Waka Nathan for the Otahuhu Rugby Club premiers, a side that won the Auckland Rugby Union’s prized Gallaher Shield three times.

In a Facebook post this week, his daughter Rita Ruth Teneti recalled that her father would say; “I practise and play every day if I can.

“If the weather’s bad, I’ll go for a run.”

Mr Harvey passed away on Sunday and was farewelled at Rongo i te Kai Marae at Ruatoria yesterday.

He is survived by Rita and his many mokopuna.