Obituary: Bill Pratney

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

Professional cyclist. Died aged 92.

Bill Pratney believed he was never too old to ride a bike.

At the age of 87, the former New Zealand professional road and track cycling champion was still racing - and winning - on a bike built with his own hands.

But two major strokes forced Pratney to finally hang up his wheels, ending a career in which he was described as "one of the finest Maori sportsmen ever" by sports scribes.

His family believe he was 92 when he died last month, but Pratney had no birth certificate or family records.

An orphaned child, he was found on the side of the road by a missionary and placed in foster care with a Pakeha family. He could speak only Maori and his name, "Wiremu Paratene" - which was altered to Bill Pratney.

Growing up in Maraetai, Pratney showed a passion for sport, and became fascinated with bicycles.

Unwittingly, he shaped his cycling career when he entered a minor professional race in Papakura in 1929. From that day on, he was ruled out of amateur events like the Olympics and Empire games.

"Because I used to win half a crown at those races I was a professional. I could never ride with the lily-white amateurs who raced for teaspoons," he said.

But Pratney shot to the top of New Zealand's professional cycling ranks, dominating local racing on the track and the road for the next 25 years.

Even as a 45-year-old, Pratney won the Timaru-Christchurch classic - at the time the richest road race held in New Zealand. His prize: a canteen of silver cutlery and £150.

Pratney was recognised by his trademark beret, and hand-made bikes. He owned a cycle shop in Ponsonby, where he manufactured his own brand of Wizard cycles - fashioning early models from iron bedsteads.

He was also known for his incredible stamina. In 1954, he rode in a six-day non-stop tour on a track built inside Carlaw Park - at one stage riding for 12 hours straight after his team-mate pulled out injured.

He retired at 47, when he and his wife, Lynn, became more involved in home missionary work, and later moved to Brisbane.

But in 1991, he dug out his bike again to ride in the Australian Masters Games. He returned to New Zealand to train, and won a masters race from riders 40 years his junior. He would have claimed two golds and a bronze at the Masters - but he was ruled ineligible because, at 83, he was well over the age limit.

Pratney was also known in Auckland for his political career. Running on a Christian platform, he was a Manurewa Borough councillor and an inaugural member of the Manukau City Council.

He died in Middlemore Hospital on August 25, but his funeral was held last Saturday to allow family members to return from overseas. He is survived by Lynn, two children and two grandchildren.