Mervyn Charles Smith QSM (11 March 1933 – 24 September 2018) was a New Zealand radio broadcaster and railway aficionado.
Merv Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mervyn Charles Smith 11 March 1933 Piopio, New Zealand |
| Died | 24 September 2018 (aged 85) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Broadcaster |
| Known for | 1ZB breakfast host |
Early life and family
editSmith was born in Piopio on 11 March 1933, the son of George Adlow Smith and Adelaide Edith "Nuki" Smith (née Bunting).[1][2][3]
Broadcasting career
editDescribed as one of the pillars of New Zealand broadcasting,[4] Smith was breakfast show host on Auckland Radio New Zealand 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.[4] Smith was also a regular voice artist, narrating nearly 200 books for the blind, and featuring on commercials on both radio and television.[4]
Later life and death
editAfter retirement, Smith pursued his lifelong passion of railways and railway modelling, 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-scale layout based on a fictional New Zealand West Coast narrow-gauge line.[5] Smith also built the "North Island Main Trunk" layout in Sn3.5 scale at the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland.[6]
Smith was admitted to Auckland Hospital on 21 September 2018, and died there three days later.[4]
Honours and awards
editIn 1976, Smith received the Benny Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand, the highest honour for a New Zealand entertainer. In the 1985 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for community service.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Death search: registration number 2018/26773". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ "Births". Auckland Star. 11 March 1933. p. 1. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ "In memoriam". Auckland Star. 8 June 1940. p. 1. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Radio legend, former ZB breakfast host Merv Smith dies", The New Zealand Herald. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ "Little Trains of Thought", abebooks.com. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ "Merv Smith Obituary". New Zealand Model Railway Journal. New Zealand Model Railway Guild: 22–23. December 2018.
- ^ "No. 50155". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 15 June 1985. p. 3.
External links
edit- Lush, M., "Marcus Lush: Merv Smith has the right to be called a legend" (audio transcript), Radio New Zealand 24 September 2018.
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