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EAST GRINSTEAD RFC / Supplied
Sergeant Matt Ratana was a “born leader”, according to cousin Adrian Rurawhe, a deputy from Te Tai Hauāuru.
Despite having spent almost 30 years abroad, the recent death in the UK of Kiwi police officer Matiu ‘Matt’ Ratana has had a major impact on these shores.
Ratana’s first cousin, Te Tai Hauāuru MP, Adrian Rurawhe said the family was devastated by the news.
Since the messages began to arrive on Saturday morning, Ratana’s whānau had been absorbing the loss and accepting what had happened.
“We are all devastated to have lost our cousin, but also to learn how they killed him.
“He was amazing, very outgoing and a born leader. Some people have to learn to be leaders, but it came naturally to him. “
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Rurawhe recalled when the family caught up in Rātana Pā in the 1970s and 1980s as a special time when everyone got together.
“In everything he did, he really got involved, there were no half measures with him.”
SIMON O’CONNOR / Things
Te Tai Hauāuru Labor MP Adrian Rurawhe said the family was devastated upon learning of Ratana’s loss. (File photo)
Ratana went to school at Palmerston North Boys’ High School and Principal David Bovey said he was a “standout boy” who was fondly remembered.
Ratana returned to Boys’ High in 2017 for a visit when he returned to New Zealand to meet friends and family in Manawatū.
“He came in and walked around the school and he was really interested in what was going on. He was one of those guys who loved his time at school and wanted to see how it went. “
Police were Ratana’s passion and his death at the front made everyone see that there was always an element of danger, even if everything is done by the rules.
“He would go out of his way to make sure he did everything with the correct procedure … that’s the kind of person he was.”
Bovey said the school still had current staff members who were teaching in the 1980s when Ratana was a student.
“They talked about him being a very kind and enthusiastic young man. One of those guys who could easily relate to his staff and his peers. His personality was such that he was generally considered a really positive good guy. “
Interestingly, although Ratana was an avid rugby player and coach in the UK, it was not a sport he played at PNBHS.
Supplied
Later in life, Matt Ratana was known for his rugby game and training, but as a teenager at Palmerston North Boys’ High School, he was a great tennis player. In the photo, at a school fashion show to raise funds. (Supplied by David Bovey)
He was a high-level tennis player and great footballer during his college years and fell into rugby when he went abroad, Bovey said.
“When Matt was in school, he was the senior tennis champion and he was in the first football team XI.”
He also enjoyed cycling, basketball and debates, Bovey said.
ROSA WOODS / Things
Police Minister Stuart Nash described Ratana’s death as an “absolute tragedy.”
Police Minister Stuart Nash said no matter what country it happened in, it was “an absolute tragedy when a police officer is shot in the line of duty.”
“Men and women in police services around the world risk their lives to keep people safe.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern posted a message of condolence on her Facebook page for Ratana’s death.
“Sergeant Ratana worked in Auckland City and Manukau Counties until 2008, before returning to the UK. For all Matiu whānau around the world, we share his pain and he has all our condolences. “
Ratana is survived by his son, Luke, who is in his twenties.
Ratana’s father was married three times and had nine children. Matt also had a brother, who now lives in Woodville.
“They were very close, even though they were half a world away,” Rurawhe said.
