Māori rugby and tennis legend Dinny Mohi died on Saturday aged 85. Photo / Ben Fraser
He was a star representative rugby and tennis player, a husband, father, kaumātua and friend. Dinny Mohi was a legend.
The 85-year-old’s remarkable life was cut short on Saturday morning in a crash near Ngongotahā on his way to the Ōhinemutu dawn parade in Rotorua to honour the Anzacs.
Mohi, whose full name is Dinny Ratema Mohi, was a former Māori All Blacks captain and member of the team for more than a decade.
Starting his rugby at Old Boys in Rotorua, the talented prop represented Bay of Plenty from 1961 to 1977, playing 156 matches.
After hanging up his boots, he picked up a tennis racket and became a familiar face at the Aotearoa Māori Tennis Championships.
His contribution was formally recognised when he was made a Life Member of Māori Tennis by the Kīngitanga at Ngāruawāhia.
Outside of sport, he was a respected kaumātua of Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Ngāti Tūwharetoa, husband of 65 years to Val, and father to Dean Mohi, Wendy Mohi and Huia Mohi-Kearney. He had eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren and was the late Mita Mohi’s brother.
Wendy Mohi told the Rotorua Daily Post today she was driving her father to the Anzac dawn service about 5.30am on Saturday.
They approached a bend on SH36 near Leonard Rd, 10km north of Rotorua. A car was coming the other way.
The last thing she knew, they collided.
She said the driver of the other car was killed instantly, as well as her father.
Wendy Mohi said she suffered two broken ribs and a broken sternum but “the crash took my papa”.
“It’s nowhere near the mamae I feel for losing my papa. He was a legend in so many ways but to us he was Papa and we loved him with all of our hearts. We will carry him with us forever.”
She praised emergency services for the compassionate way they dealt with the devastating scene and ensured her father was not alone as they tended to her injuries.
She described him as a hard but loving father.
“We grew up in a different generation and he taught us amazing values and that has come down to us and his moko, who have grown to be really good, kind people who are out there doing the dos.”
She said their father was a funny man who had nicknames for everyone.
“Half of our whānau from the marae, he named all of them and we don’t know their full names to this day.”
She said the whānau was determined to navigate through the loss using her father’s teachings.
“We will not let him down.”
Nephew Ngahihi Bidois said: “Uncle Dinny was a legend.”
“His constant smile was as big as his hard-working hands and he always had something encouraging to say. He was one of my role models and mentors, and I will miss him and the korero we used to have.”
Close friend and fellow former rugby player John Crean told the Rotorua Daily Post Mohi’s loss was a massive shock to those who knew him.
“He was an absolute legend of this place.”
Crean, who owned timber company John Crean & Company, said the two struck up a friendship not only through rugby but also with their backgrounds in the timber trade, as Mohi worked most of his life in the sawmills.
“He was a top miller and had a great history of sawmilling.”
He recalled a certain former All Blacks captain commenting about Mohi’s abilities following an All Blacks loss to the Lions.
“He said at the time, ‘If we had Dinny in the front row, we would never have lost’.”
A police spokesperson said today they were not yet in a position to release names. They confirmed the other man was also from Rotorua.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.