Mahurangimatters 1 May 2013 | 17
Obituary
Harry Lewis Bioletti
1913 to 2013
By Alon Shaw, former principal, Mahurangi College
Harry Bioletti was an energetic, rather restless man who was always busy in many different ways. He came to Warkworth as a trained teacher in technical subjects, joining the staff of Warkworth District High School in 1956. Previously, he had been a surf lifesaver, a traveller in Britain and Europe in the latter part of the 1930s, and served in the Pacific War as a Lieutenant in the 29th and 30th Battalions of the 2nd NZEF. On his return to Auckland, Harry trained as a carpenter and the story may be apocryphal but his boss suggested that he was sacked because he was too intelligent. Consequently, Harry became a teacher! When the District High School transformed into Mahurangi College in 1962, Harry had already moved from Percy St to the new site on the corner of Woodcocks Rd. He was an influential teacher in woodwork and technical drawing, and one of his many successful students was America’s Cup yacht designer Bruce Farr, who was designing and building yachts from the age of 13. Harry, in conjunction with his teaching responsibilities and later his Town Council challenges, completed an MA in English with a thesis on the placenames of Kawau Island. However, this modest man had already completed his first journey into writing with The Pacific Kiwis, an account of the 30th Battalion, published in 1947. A reflection of his many-sided talents is the lectern he gifted to Mahurangi College with the Mahurangi Lion
carved into the front. He followed his very successful teaching career with one in local politics. He was for many years the chairman of the Warkworth Town Council and, later, a representative on the Rodney County Council. He would often be found in his writing shed on Percy St, with his typewriter and later his word processor. Many of his books, including one on Warkworth and another on Devonport, were hand printed and accompanied with his outstanding pen sketches. Other books he completed include the exceptional The Yanks
are Coming, an account of the invasion of New Zealand by American service personnel in 1942. He may well have been inspired by the number of American camps in and around Warkworth at the time of World War II. In addition to his Warkworth Roundabout, subtitled “Stories of Warkworth, Kawau Island, the Mahurangi, Puhoi, Matakana, and Leigh”, Harry also wrote Rodney - Coast to Coast, a history of the final years of the Rodney County Council. With his family shift to Devonport, he became closely associated with Takapuna Grammar School where he had been a foundation pupil in 1927. He wrote an account of the school for its 75th anniversary, As Dreams Are Made On: Some Stories of Takapuna Grammar School from the Littlejohn Years. Harry always seemed ageless with his energy, interests, family and friends. The days were never long enough for all the writing that he wished to complete nor for the opportunity to converse with his wife Joan, the family and friends. He will be remembered for his 12 publications, his enquiring mind, his contribution to education and local politics, but more significantly for his outstanding personality. He was characterised by his humanity, his dignity, his friendliness, interest in others and his closeness to his expanded family. Harry died on April 12, aged 99, and is survived by his wife, four children, grandchildren and one great grandchild. An inspiring man who has left a huge legacy.
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