Wiremu Rika Heke (3 October 1894 – 30 November 1989) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. A loose forward, Heke represented

North Auckland The Northland Peninsula, called the North Auckland Peninsula in earlier times, is in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is joined to the rest of the island by the Auckland isthmus, a narrow piece of land between the Waitematā ...

at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

, on their 1929 tour of Australia. He played six matches for the All Blacks including three internationals. Following the death of Beethoven Algar two days before his own death, Heke briefly held the distinction of being the oldest living All Black.

References

1894 births 1989 deaths People from the Northland Region New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Northland rugby union players Rugby union flankers Māori All Blacks players Rugby union players from Rotorua {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1890s-stub