Alec Wilson died on Friday at the age of 92. Photo / Supplied
On and off the rugby field, Alec Wilson was considered the engine room, a tough task master and the one who went straight “up the guts” to get the job done.
The respected Te Arawa and Ngāti Whakaue workhorse, who was behind some of Rotorua’s biggest land and property developments over 30 years, died on Friday at the age of 92.
Wilson was a Māori All Black in the 1950s and was an instrumental leader for his beloved Waikite Rugby and Sports Club.
Wilson wore many hats, including being a founding member of the Ngāti Whakaue Education Endowment Trust, and the founding chairman of Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust from 1981.
In education, he was a staunch advocate for the trades and fulfilling funding for education.
With Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust, he led the development of major city projects on Ngāti Whakaue land.
Despite his age, he never retired from iwi and governance work.
While described as “no-nonsense” and “black-and-white” in the boardroom, when it came to family, he was loving and supportive.
He is survived by his wife, Dolly (Waipae), and was a father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
He was educated in Rotorua and played in the Tai Mitchell Shield matches in his early schooling years, captaining the side and notching two shield wins.
He was a natural pick for the First XV at Rotorua High School, moving from fullback to wing.
Leaving school at 16, he was selected for Rotorua’s Prince of Wales Cup team, vied for by Māori from various regions.
Selection for the Māori All Blacks followed and he was in the side in 1954, 1956 and 1957. A broken leg, suffered while playing rugby, kept him out of the 1955 squad.
In a 2016 Rotorua Daily Post Our People profile, Wilson said he would have been in the mid-1950s All Black tour of South Africa had it not been discovered he had Māori blood.
Apartheid was rife, and Wilson said “Ōhinemutu boys” like him didn’t have a chance of entering the country.
He is a patron of the Waikite Rugby and Sports Club following years of dedication, including helping to set up the club’s JAB teams and later coaching the senior side.
His grandson, Rawiri Waru, said Wilson spent most of his working life as a surveyor, while also being the “engine room” for many trusts and boards.
“He had the ability to get things done and didn’t mind having a battle to get there.
“A lot of people saw him as a hard man, [a] no mucking around, up-the-guts type of person. As a koro, we saw the other side that not a lot of people saw.”
After retiring from his surveying role, he continued to work on his farm at Ngongotahā and in his varying iwi roles until he died.
Waru said his koro was still on many trusts and boards and worked as a consultant for people on business, development and cultural matters.
“On the day before he died, I went around to see him to prepare for an AGM we had the next day.”
Ngāti Whakaue Endowment Trust chairman Malcolm Short said Wilson was a “truly humble man” and his death was a sad day for Ngāti Whakaue.
He described him as a dedicated family man who was led by his lifelong ambition to see his Te Arawa iwi and Ngāti Whakaue hāpu prosper through education academically and via the trades.
Short said Wilson was Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust’s original chairman when it formed in 1981 and remained at the helm until his duties as Te Arawa Trust Board chairman became too great.
He remained an active trustee until his retirement four years ago. With the trust board, he oversaw the Government’s PEP (Public Employment Programmes) schemes.
Wilson told the Rotorua Daily Post in 2016 it was a sad day when the government schemes were scrapped, saying it got many men into a trade for their working lives as opposed to being on the dole.
Short said Wilson had a “black-and-white” attitude at the negotiating table and made a compelling difference with governments, councils or tenants.
Short said he was a key member of the team that brought about the return of Ngāti Whakaue’s Rotorua railway lands and the development of Rotorua Central, Trade Central on Pukuatua St and finally Wai Ariki Spa at the Lakefront.
Short said Wilson’s long-standing role with the endowment trust meant he was part of the team who, through legislation, administered 94 commercial premises in Rotorua.
“This fulfilled his dream of seeing funding for education become a reality.”
He was at a sub-committee meeting of this trust the day before he died, Short said.
He described Wilson as a man of “great conviction and insight”.
“I thank him for being beside me over the past 40 years.”
Wilson’s tangi began on Saturday at Te Arawa’s paramount marae, Te Papaiouru, before his funeral service at the marae and burial at Kauae Urupā yesterday.
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.