Mervyn Charles Smith (11 March 1933 – 24 September 2018) was a New Zealand radio broadcaster and railway aficionado.

Early life and family

Smith was born in Piopio on 11 March 1933, the son of George Adlow Smith and Adelaide Edith "Nuki" Smith (née Bunting).

Broadcasting career

Described as one of the pillars of New Zealand broadcasting,Radio legend, former ZB breakfast host Merv Smith dies
, ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

''. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018. Smith was breakfast show host on Auckland

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

station 1ZB from 1961 until a format change in 1986, when he moved to Radio i. He held the country's top ratings for almost the entirety of his career. Smith was also a regular voice artist, narrating nearly 200 books for the blind, and featuring on commercials on both radio and television.

Later life and death

After retirement, Smith pursued his lifelong passion of railways and

railway modelling Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

, opening a model and hobby shop in Auckland. Smith had previously written of his interest in model railways in his 1977 book ''Little Trains of Thought'' (Whitcoulls Publishers, Christchurch; co-written with Ches Livingstone), which detailed his creation of a model

HOn30 HOn30 (also called HOn2½, HO9 and H0e) gauge is the modelling of narrow-gauge railways in HO on N () gauge track in 1:87 scale ratio. Definitions The term HOn30 (and sometimes HOn2½) is generally used when modelling American prototypes while ...

-scale layout based on a fictional New Zealand

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

line. Smith also built the "North Island Main Trunk" layout in Sn3.5 scale at the

Museum of Transport and Technology The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) is a science and technology museum located in Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located close to the Western Springs Stadium, Auckland Zoo and the Western Springs Park. The museum has ...

in Auckland. Smith was admitted to

Auckland Hospital Auckland City Hospital is a public hospital located in Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest hospital in New Zealand,Largest hospital in New Zealand...' - News-Medical.Net, Tuesday 29 June 2004 as well as one of the oldest medical fac ...

on 21 September 2018, and died there three days later.

Honours and awards

In 1976, Smith received the

Benny Award The Benny Award is bestowed on a New Zealand variety entertainer. It is presented annually by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand, a non-for-profit organisation and showbusiness club, founded in 1966 and awarded to a variety performer who ha ...

from the

Variety Artists Club of New Zealand The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc (VAC) is a non-for-profit organisation and show business club. It was founded in 1966 and became an incorporated society in 1972. The VAC was formed to promote goodwill within the New Zealand enterta ...

, the highest honour for a New Zealand entertainer. In the 1985 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The Queen's Service Medal is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office. It was established in 1975 and is related to ...

for community service.

References

External links

* Lush, M.,
Marcus Lush: Merv Smith has the right to be called a legend
(audio transcript), ''

'' 24 September 2018. 1933 births 2018 deaths New Zealand radio presenters Rail transport modellers Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal People from Waikato {{NewZealand-radio-bio-stub