To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:GARRATT, Mr Richard Patrick

For services to tennis and Māori sport

Mr Richard Garratt (Ngāi Tūhoe) has been an advocate for tennis and Māori sport for more than 50 years.

Mr Garratt was President of the Kiwi Tennis Club for five years from age 22, Mangere Central Tennis Club for 37 years, Aotearoa Māori Tennis Association, Tennis Seniors South Auckland Association, and of Tennis Auckland in 2006. Through Aotearoa Māori Tennis Association, he has organised coaching camps for Māori rangatahi, assisted elite juniors to United States tennis scholarships, and fundraised for groups of players to play in the Queensland Seniors Tournament for the last decade. He was instrumental in assisting Dame Ruia Morrison’s return to Wimbledon in 2013. He is the Chief Executive of Te Tohu Taakaro o Aotearoa Charitable Trust (Aotearoa Māori Sports Awards) and was instrumental in compiling a history of Māori tennis ‘He Hītori o te Tēnehi Māori’. He holds various national titles and represented New Zealand Seniors in two World Championships. He was a committee member of Manukau Rovers Rugby Football Club, former trustee of Tu Toa Charitable Trust and Counties Manukau Sport Foundation. He is a Life Member of Mangere Central Tennis Club, Manukau Rovers Rugby Football Club and the Aotearoa Māori Tennis Association. Mr Garratt was awarded the role of Honorary Vice President of Tennis New Zealand in 2022.

AWARDS

New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards, Sir Eion and Lady Jan Edgar Lifetime Achievement Award, 2021