Taine Harvey

Grandparents key to self-motivation

So what is it that has made this youthful high achiever such an impressive member of our community, one where those of his young years frequently receive a bad rap?   

In a nutshell he’s a self-motivator, inspired by the values of the grandparents who raised him.  

He was five and his sister Alexa three when their mum hit a rocky patch.

Her parents John and Sue Harvey stepped up to the challenge of raising a couple of  kids, one a preschooler.  

“I look back on it now and I see it as a gift to be raised by them,” Taine reflects. 

“They gave us a different set of values, a different outlook on the world. They taught us respect, self-responsibility, determination.

“They certainly made me into the person I am today. I think it’s really cool they have instilled values of the older generation that developed me as I was growing up.”          

Despite being his grandparents, the Harvey seniors didn’t mollycoddle Taine or his sister.

“Although we called them Gran and Granpa they applied the same parenting principles they’d applied raising their own children. If we stepped out of line we’d get a good telling off or a whack on the hand. It didn’t do me any harm at all.

“It is quite amazing how much our grandparents sacrificed for us. They still haven’t retired. Granpa is 70 and works as a hydraulics engineer, Gran’s an office manager.”

The family matriarch is his great grandmother long-time Rotorua resident Mary Le Gros.

“She’s in her 90s, fit, healthy and fiercely independent.”

He remains close to his mother Gemma Harvey, who lives in Melbourne. He has three half-brothers there. 

“Mum was recently home for a visit. My dad’s Kopua Palmer. He’s from Ngongotaha but now lives in Perth where he’s a DJ and business man. He’s part German, part Maori. His iwi is Ngati Ngararanui so it’s not very hard for me to become immersed in the culture of Te Arawa.

Multi-cultural connections

“We are so lucky to have this great connection between Maori and Pakeha cemented here [Rotorua] which is so multicultural. 

His father’s bloodline adds to Taine’s personal cultural mix. 

“His whanau descend from the Scottish borders clan Armstrong . . .  I understand they were always fighting.”

While on the topic of his family our conversation turns to his Christian name.

“My parents called me Taine after the All Black Taine Randall.”

 If they had hopes they’d spawned a future rugby star this is one area in his life where this Taine has failed to deliver.

“My name is only as far as my sporting achievements go.

“I was an academic child. At high school [Western Heights, where he was a prefect] I was interested in the humanities, particularly English and history.

“At school being a pilot was the front runner for my future career but I wasn’t quite so strong in the STEM subjects [science, technology, engineering, maths].”

University study in lockdown

There was no gap year for Taine. When he left Heights he went straight on to Massey University, studying extramurally for his BA.   

“I’d just started when Covid and the lockdowns hit. For some students it made studying quite difficult but at undergraduate level it was generally business as usual.

“I think one of the great things about studying on your own is you build up a sense of motivation. You don’t rely on other people and that’s quite rewarding.”

Students weren’t left to wrestle alone with four assignments each semester.

“There were weekly Zoom links for lectures and where we came together as students to discuss topics. We submitted work through an online classroom.  Massey’s lecturers gave us fantastic feedback that allowed us to build our skills.”

Taine graduated with his BA at the end of last year. He launched immediately into his MA. 

It’s self-directed learning with a 40,000 word thesis to complete in the second year. Taine’s will be an insight into military history.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“I find military history fascinating. As one of our professors said it’s the nexus of family, social culture and history.

“It’s hard to find anybody in New Zealand not affected by the 20th century world wars. Fascinating stories have come out of these wars.”

Seeking Maori airmen 

“I am particularly interested in the contribution made by Maori airmen in the European and Pacific theatres. 

“We know there was a contingent in the RAF but what Maori flyers did has almost been written out, glazed over.       

“It’s one of those mysteries of modern history. 

“Hopefully it can be found in squadron and battle records but it will require a lot of research.

“Some professional historians have tried. They have looked down rabbit holes and found a Pandora’s box that has yet to be opened.”

With plans for a military history-based thesis for his PhD it could be Taine Harvey who opens that box.

“It won’t be easy. It’s a matter of encouraging descendants to come forward.”

 His research into aerial warfare isn’t eclipsed by conflicts on the ground.

 Last month he was responsible for organising a service commemorating the Battle of Crete in which a significant number of Maori Battalion B and C company members lost their lives or were taken prisoner.

It wasn’t a low-key affair. As well as local dignitaries and iwi members it drew the   Cretans Association of New Zealand national president and representatives from the British and Australian high commissions and the New Zealand Defence Force.

Becoming a Christian

We suggest that surely his interest in war and involvement with church ministry is an oxymoron – the philosophy of one contradicting that of the other?

He assures us that for him the two co-exist in relative harmony. 

“I have been a Christian since I was 15. I went along to the youth group at Elim [Pentecostal church] with friends. I always had this sense of something that was there but it took the youth group to light that fuse. 

“It was not so much a Road to Damascus experience as a revelation of faith. That is something really special and something I value a lot.” 

Looking for a church with a more traditional approach, he joined the congregation at St Luke’s Anglican church. 

“I enjoyed it but it wasn’t too different from the Pentecostal approach.

One Sunday I sat in on a service at St Faith’s and loved it. I loved the preaching and the people. I loved the Maori side of Anglicanism. I have been here ever since.” 

Serving at St Faith’s  

St Faith’s with its traditional carvings and weavings was the setting he chose to chat with In Profile.  

At St Luke’s he’d begun to study to become a liturgist, continuing the role at St Faith’s. 

As he explains it a liturgist is someone who comes from the congregation and bridges the gap between those in the pews and the priest at the altar.  

He helps deliver services and wears vestments not dissimilar from those worn by fully fledged clergy.

“That was Tom’s call.” 

Tom is the Rev Tom Poata, St Faith’s  long-serving vicar.

Taine was drawn to his relaxed style.

“He’s someone who brings services to life.  He’s witty, he brings humanity to this place. He doesn’t preach, he chats in a way that’s the absolute opposite of traditional sermons which can tend to be boring, dull and repetitive. He makes the Christian faith so relatable to everyone. He’s a role model.

“I am one of the youngest in this church by at least a generation. These days church isn’t a cool thing for young people.”

Has this prompted his peers to take the mickey out of him for his beliefs?

“Let’s just say many of my peers aren’t Christians. Faith is deeply personal. It is something I need and find very rewarding.”

And no, it wasn’t at his grandparents urging that he became a Christian.

“It isn’t their thing at all.”

Bagpipes, violin  

 Nor are his grandparents musical, but they encouraged him when he was eleven and  wanted to play the bagpipes.

“There was an ad in the paper saying ‘Come along and learn the bagpipes’. Gran took me to the pipe band hall. She and Granpa have supported me ever since. 

“Playing in the City of Rotorua Highland Pipe Band is a team sport. You lock in as a team and learn to be part of a team. That’s so cool.

“We compete in regional competitions and the national championships every year and  have experienced some good successes. 

“That’s given us a great sense of achievement. You develop friendships that are life-long. They are not just with your band mates but with other players throughout the country.”

Taine added the violin to his musical repertoire when he joined the Rotorua Music School while at Western Heights High where the music school’s based.

 Surely these two instruments couldn’t be more poles apart?

Not so, he says.

“Bagpipes gave me a fantastic grounding in the areas of rhythm and sheet music and I already had the sense of being a musician.

“A lot of what I play is self-taught. Unfortunately there’s no youth orchestra for us to play in here. That’s a terrible shame. It means I only play as a hobby.”

Coalface politics 

As the National Party’s Rotorua branch secretary Taine was at the coalface of last month’s general election,  

Throughout the lead up he was knee-deep in campaigning, strategizing, talking tactics  and organising volunteers, many considerably older than himself.

It was, he says, his university background in humanities which drew him to National. He joined the Young Nats shortly before the 2020 election. With the group thin on the ground locally he moved into the main electorate fold.

“I think National appeals to me because we advocate for hard work. 

“At the end of the day we reward hard work with encouragement.

“That’s a simplistic overview. I believe younger people can bring something to the party that encourages it to be forward-looking.

“I quite often get asked if I enjoy being in the background. My answer is I enjoy being involved in driving the force of change.”     

Career options open 

Could this mean he can see himself as a politician of the future or alternatively a lobbyist in the corridors of power?

It’s but one of the career options his diverse 21 years presents him with.

With such rich pickings his options remain open.

“Maybe a background in parliament could be interesting.  I’m also considering teaching military history or being in a military and defence environment.

He hasn’t given up on his ambition to be a pilot.  

“I look skywards all the time. I plan to get my private pilot’s licence and have applied to the air force.” 

Nor is a future within the church beyond the realms of possibility. 

“Whether I become a priest I am unsure yet.

“I have always had a plan for a plan for a plan for job options but at the same time I’m open to any avenues.” 

For someone who speaks so eloquently on such wide-ranging subjects when it comes to defining himself he’s stumped.

We suggest maybe that’s because for a person of his age he’s more complex than the majority of his contemporaries.

“Do I find myself a complex person?

“I find myself a person with a complex range of interests.”