All Black fought the government and won
KKevin Meates
evin Meates was a true West Coaster with a fierce spirit that took him to the All Blacks, but also to take on the government and win.
Meates, who was born in Greymouth, took his internationally renowned plastic and timber business to the West Coast to bring economic development to the region.
When the government of the day, previously led by his friend Norm Kirk, failed to provide promised subsidies, the business went into receivership.
So, at the age of 50, Meates went to law school, took the government to court and won in a landmark ruling that is still cited in negligence cases against the government.
Meates was not only a businessman, legal expert, miner and sportsman, he was also an ardent family man.
He was born one of seven children and grew up on Greymouth’s ‘‘Murray Street block’’, a small neighbourhood that produced 32 New Zealand representatives in a wide range of sports.
He attended the Marist Brothers school in Greymouth before moving to St Bede’s College in Christchurch as a boarder in the sixth form.
Meates was a gifted student but, from an athletic perspective, he had difficulty following in the footsteps of his talented older brother Bill, the 1945-46 Kiwi Army and 1949-50 All Black wing three-quarter.
He initially made the fourth XV at St Bede’s, but by the end of his final year had secured a starting position in the first XV as a prop.
He subsequently attended Canterbury University and earned a BSc in physics. He continued playing rugby, turning out for the Marist Club, and went on to make his Canterbury debut in 1951 as a loose forward and lock. He was recognised by the All Blacks selectors the following year, when he played two tests against the touring Wallabies.
At only 22, Meates was the youngest member of the All Blacks and was tipped to become a long-term national representative.
However, he was hampered by injuries, including a career-ending broken leg when he represented
Canterbury in 1957 in their win over the All Blacks. He appeared in 52 first-class matches, 44 of which were for Canterbury.
According to the New Zealand Rugby Museum, Meates was a ‘‘tallish, lean loose forward who showed such distinct promise’’.
He played regularly as a lock in the Canterbury side during the 1954-55 seasons, though the museum notes: ‘‘At 1.88m and around 95kg, he was not a big man for a lock by modern standards.’’
During his time at St Bede’s, Meates was a capable debater and won the Brodie Gold Medal for Religious Education. Those debating skills proved helpful when he befriended Norm Kirk in the mid-1960s, around the time Kirk became Labour leader.
He went on to manage Labour’s election campaigns in 1969 and 1972 and was also Kirk’s speechwriter during those years.
At the time, Meates was also running a successful Auckland-based plastics and toy manufacturing business, Regents Plastics, which had developed Torro Toys, an international brand sold in Toys ‘‘R’’ Us stores in the United States.
When Kirk became prime minister in 1972, he offered Meates the job of high commissioner to London but, with nine children at the time, he declined the opportunity.
Believing strongly in the regional development focus that Labour had promoted during the campaign, Meates agreed to move his Regent Plastics business to the West Coast, where it became Matai Industries and included a timber business.
Meates put $1 million of his own money into the enterprise and National Party MPRobert Muldoon, then in opposition, sat on the board.
Son Mark said that, with Kirk’s sudden death in 1974, the regional development focus of the government was reduced and the much-needed and promised freight subsidies to operate from the West Coast were not available. The company was ultimately put into receivership and the assets sold, leaving a profit of $300,000.
‘‘This was a difficult period for him as he felt that we had not been well treated by the government.
‘‘He wanted to take action against the government, but did not get much traction from legal advisers. So at age 50, he decided to go back to university and study law.’’
He was a straight-A student and graduated in the top two of his class in 1982, the same year as Mark. Meates went on to sue the government in 1983 for breach of promise and won, reclaiming the right to the $300,000. It is a case still taught in law school and known as Meates v Attorney-General.
When government officials wanted to appeal, Muldoon – by then prime minister and a great supporter of Matai – said no, Mark Meates said.
Whatever endeavour his father took on, he gave it 100%, not necessarily because he wanted to but because he felt it was the right thing to do.
Meates helped many people with legal issues and made four trips to the Privy Council, taking on some of New Zealand’s biggest companies along the way.
With his continued loyalty to his West Coast roots, he became involved in in gold mining in the early 2000s with his brother and nephews. They held several mining licences around Kumara and, for the last 20 years of his life, continued to ‘‘dabble’’ in mining projects.
He had a stroke in 2008 which dramatically impacted his mobility, spending the last 10 years of his life in a wheelchair. Undeterred by his immobility and inability to use his right hand, he learned to use voice recognition technology and continued to write several memoirs, one with Neil Cornelius to commemorate 50 years of Cantabrians. He was also a foundation member of the Cantabrians club.
At his core, Meates was a family man, Mark said. He had 10 children, 28 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, along with more than 50 nephews and nieces to whom he was close.
‘‘He enjoyed sport, almost any sport played well. But he particularly liked watching his children and grandchildren play. It didn’t matter what sport they played, as long as they were out there.’’ – By Joanne Naish