KEY POINTS:
Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton has paid tribute to his political friend Rod MacDiarmid, a pioneer of the kiwifruit industry.
Mr MacDiarmid's funeral was held on Saturday at Kerikeri.
Mr Anderton said many of Mr MacDiarmid's lifelong habits and attitudes were forged by the Great Depression of the 1930s. That was from being part of a family that was up against hard times, when so many were afflicted by economic circumstances beyond their control.
But his achievements - and those of his brother Alan MacDiarmid, who received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2000 for the discovery and development of conductive polymers - showed no one needed to be held back by circumstances.
For his services to horticulture and the community, Mr MacDiarmid was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. He was also honoured last year at the centennial gala dinner for the kiwifruit industry in Mt Maunganui.
Mr Anderton said Mr MacDiarmid was quiet, understated, modest and had a gentle sense of humour.
"He was practical but an intellectual. He embodied Kiwi egalitarianism but at the same time encouraged high achievement.
"As an example, he was so proud of his granddaughter, Olympic yachtswoman Sharon Ferris," Mr Anderton said.
"That was not only because of her world-class achievements in yacht racing but also because of the fact that she was always prepared to speak to young people about setting their dreams high and inspiring them to go for it."
Mr MacDiarmid had been a foundation member of the NewLabour Party, which Mr Anderton left the Labour Party to lead.
- NZPA
