2 December 2025
A special thank you was in order for one of the New Zealand Automobile Association’s most loyal Members – over 70 years of AA Membership.
What started as a general query from 97-year-old Ken Harvey to the AA’s customer support team, turned into a road trip to Hamilton where a crew of AA employees visited Ken, thanking him for his seven decades in the club.
Waikato AA Roadservice Officer, Wayne Collins - who had previously met some of Ken’s family from their own breakdowns - stopped by for a visit with his ute, just a touch more modernised from the vehicles in the days Ken joined.
It was 1954 when Ken got his AA Membership for the peace-of-mind of roadside breakdown support. A keen driver in his personal and professional life, it was a necessity.
He recalls a handful of breakdowns he sought the AA’s help during his 71 years of Membership.
“Once I was in Taupō when the cold weather upset the battery so the car wouldn’t start. Another time I accidentally locked my keys in.
“I’ve never regretted one minute of my AA Membership,” he says. “They are there for me when I need support, and even when I don’t, they are still there just in case.”
AA Chief Executive Nadine Tereora was delighted to acknowledge Ken for his Membership loyalty.
“One of our greatest strengths is our founding notion to provide a quality service to Members. The growth in AA Membership over the years is testament to the trust New Zealanders have in the organisation and everyday value they get from belonging to the AA.
“Without AA Members like Ken, our wonderful 120-year heritage wouldn’t exist,” she says.
Ken was born in Auckland’s Papakura and spent his youth moving around New Zealand. His father worked for the Post Office and was often transferred to new cities; Taupō, Palmerston North, Whanganui and Blenheim to name a few.
It was in Blenheim where Ken met his late wife Lola; they started a family and ran businesses together, including a bookstore and their own car workshop. He later joined Fairview Motors, a dealership based in Hamilton delivering cars around the North Island where he worked until he was 85 – “I could have kept going!” he quips.
He also enjoyed a great deal of time out on the water in his yacht or up in the air, having taken flying lessons and gaining his Private Pilot Licence in the late 1960s. He loves his rugby, following along the Black Ferns and their Rugby World Cup campaign earlier this year.
Now happily living in the Linda Jones Retirement Village in Hamilton, Ken, his daughter Janet and her husband Paul were overjoyed with the special visit from the AA and what turned into a heap of cake leftovers for Ken’s retirement village.
“I’ll be popular at afternoon teatime,” he jests.
