Purvis on time, one last time

STRAIGHT UP: Matt Purvis, who died last week at 69, was the former owner of Taupo freight company Total Transport -- a good man and a generous community benefactor

Matt Purvis didn't stand for any bull. He called it like he saw it, he was honest, he believed in hard work and good service. He never held a grudge, but he didn't suffer fools.

But there were other sides to Matt, who died last week at the age of 69, that some people never got to see. He might have been known as "Snapper" or "The Fuhrer" to workmates and friends, but he was "the best dad ever", according to daughter Jennifer. He was incredibly smart, he was caring and he was generous, she said.

The Taupo community has been, on many different occasions, the recipient of Matt's generosity. He and wife Heather, well-known for their freight company Total Transport, were the quiet benefactors behind a range of different community causes.

Total Transport was a major supporter of the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge, transporting the bikes around the lake and supplying trucks for stages.

Taupo and Rotorua's rescue helicopter services benefited every year from a donation in the order of $10,000 each, plus the use of a Taupo vehicle.

The Life Education Trust was the recipient of a Fuso truck to pull its mobile classroom, with Total Transport meeting the truck's fuel and running costs for many years.

Matt and Heather gave a vehicle to the Taupo SPCA and made numerous donations to other deserving causes.

Matt and Heather's latest gift to the community - one which cost them nearly $250,000 - was a concrete pathway along the lakefront at Five Mile Bay where they lived.

Matt was keen to share the lakefront with other locals and, in late 2013, he and Heather presented the Taupo District Council with what Matt termed "a one-time offer". It was to continue the newly-extended lakefront path from Wharewaka to Five Mile Bay along the bay, and the Purvises offered to foot the bill on the condition the council make a yes-or-no decision on the spot.

The footpath went ahead, although not without upsetting some of the other lakefront property owners.

It was an instant success and although Matt's health began to deteriorate from the end of 2014, he derived great joy from sitting by his window and watching people use it.

"It's really opened the bay up to everybody and it's achieved what we wanted, which was to have people enjoy Five Mile Bay," says Heather. "He used to get great satisfaction sitting there in his chair watching everybody go by."

None of Matt and Heather's charitable projects would have been possible without Total Transport and although the company weathered a few economic storms, Matt worked night and day to ensure it was successful.

With Matt at the helm and Heather running the administration, they went from being the co-founders of a two-truck owner-driver company in 1977 to 100 per cent ownership of a Taupo company that employed almost 100 people and had 70 trucks. Total Transport's motto was "on time, every time" and Matt set high standards to live up to it.

Born in 1946, Matt grew up on a farm near Dannevirke. A clever but not academic boy, he was always interested in heavy machinery and, after leaving school, he became a truck driver, meeting Heather one day carting metal on her father's farm and inviting her for a ride in his truck.

In the late 1960s, Matt became a despatcher/manager at the Taupo branch of Nationwide Transport and, in 1977, he and Heather partnered with Paddy Collins to found Total Transport.

Matt and Heather bought Paddy's share three years later and sold the company in 2002 but continued to run it for several more years before Matt retired in 2006 due to ill health.

Jennifer says her father was the best dad ever and the greatest gift he passed on was his work ethic.

"Working hard is something I saw every day of my life and that's what I do too, and I'm really proud of that.

"And he was straight up. You knew where you stood but he never held a grudge, that's what engendered the loyalty of people towards him. He might fire up but it was short-lived ... half an hour later he would sit down and have a cup of tea with you."

After he retired, Matt spent time listening to his favourite country music artists and devouring current affairs, history and geography programmes.

Ultimately, it was a smoking-related illness that claimed him on Tuesday, August 4. His funeral last Sunday was attended by some 500 people. Truckies organised a convoy along the lakefront to honour the man they said had touched the lives of many.

Matt is survived by wife Heather, children Michael and Jennifer, and six grandchildren.