Sports turf pioneer leaves world-class Hagley Oval cricket pitch as his legacy

Steve Mexted was a man who loved the sight of a muddy rugby field. Rather than seeing a problem, he would see it as an opportunity to build a worldclass sports venue. Mexted, who has died aged 67, took a Porirua-based agricultural firm started by his father, Wilf, and turned it in to New Zealand’s leading sports turf company. A cousin of highprofile All Black Murray Mexted, he reached the peak of the industry despite battling type-1 diabetes for much of his life. Preparing Hagley Oval in Christchurch for the 2015 Cricket World Cup was his biggest achievement.

Jackie Edkins, who worked with Mexted for 30 years, described him as a man who set high standards and expected others to work equally hard.

He attended Pā uatahanui School, near Porirua, and had a happy childhood. His secondary schooling was at Feilding Agricultural College, where he was a boarder. As a young man, his interests were yachting, rugby, skiing and doing anything mechanical.

His father ran the family farm, and an agricultural contracting business on the side. Mexted did a building apprenticeship, and at weekends would help his father by jumping on a bulldozer or a tractor working around Pā uatahanui, doing earthworks, putting in tracks or planting crops for local farmers.

This was during the early days of the development of the Porirua suburbs of Whitby and Camborne, and WJ Mexteds was involved in creating sections and developing the Whitby golf course.

After completing his apprenticeship, Mexted spent a few years as a builder, before working with his father for several years and then travelling overseas. He returned after a year as Wilf’s health began to fail. When his father died, Mexted stepped up and took over the company on behalf of his mother, Judith.

Edkins describes him as someone who was never happy with the status quo. ‘‘He was always researching, thinking ahead, making inquiries and taking calculated risks on new directions for the business.’’

One of those risks was getting involved in sports turf management. It was the steady work from Wellington and Porirua city councils – renovating their playing fields – that led him to specialise in that area.

Mexteds Sports Turf won contracts all over the country, working for schools, councils, stadiums and other high-profile venues.

Highlights included the redevelopment of Hagley Oval ahead of the Cricket World Cup in 2015, building wickets and outfields at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, the perimeter track around Zealandia, and regular work at Wellington’s Sky Stadium.

Hagley Oval was undoubtedly his greatest achievement. Faced with an impossibly tight deadline after the Christchurch earthquakes, he was given the task of building a world-class cricket oval from scratch. Consultants told the council it could not be done.

Christchurch City Council parks manager Andrew Rutledge worked with Mexted and says he not only beat the deadline but created a cricket ground that ranks with the best in the world.

Mexted enjoyed tinkering with machinery and, with staff member Chris Parkinson, he designed and built a goalpost lifter, based on a forklift hoist attached to a tractor. In 2016, he won an award at the Westpac Porirua Business Awards for his outstanding contribution to the local business community.

Despite his commitment to the job, life was not always easy for him. Diagnosed with type-1 diabetes at 21, he always looked after himself and never let it stop him enjoying his hobbies, particularly skiing.

He was diagnosed with cancer of one kidney in 2005, and had the kidney removed. In 2014, specialists confirmed his remaining kidney was deteriorating, and that regular dialysis was just a matter of time.

On the list for an organ donation, his family recognised it could be a long wait and stepped up to find a donor. His wife of 32 years, Sue, went through the process to be considered, but was not compatible. One of their three sons, Guy, was a good match, and after an extensive process he underwent surgery to donate in 2015.

The transplant was a success, but tragically, while Mexted was being transported to recovery, the blood supply to the kidney failed, resulting in the organ dying. He had barely woken up before he was whisked back into theatre to have it removed.

In 2016, he told Stuff he was again on the waiting list for a new kidney, but was never able to get the transplant he needed. Sue underwent training to administer dialysis, which he had three times a week for six hours.

The cancer returned in 2019 and Sue says he never gave up, and always remained positive despite the grim prognosis. ‘‘From Steve’s point of view, he never thought of himself as a sick man.’’

In April, doctors said his body could no longer take dialysis and he died two days later. Fittingly, his memorial service was held in the Sky Stadium.

He is survived by Sue and sons Cam, Guy and Luke. –

Sources: Sue Mexted, Andrew Rutledge, Jackie Edkins and Stuff Archives.