Boxing Above Our Weight, CARICATURES BY ALASTAIR CARTHEW

There’s a joke about New Zealanders that we tell against ourselves. Because we are so small and isolated, any kiwi abroad meeting another NZer will immediately ask: “oh do you know such and such from somewhere.” Of course, half the time, the Kiwi WILL no “such and such from somewhere.”

If that person happens to be one of the famous New Zealanders known WORLDWIDE and not just in some rural town, then this is worth talking about.

The only two famous Kiwis depicted here I have met and had bragging rights over are Jonah Lomu and Sir Edmund Hillary. Each immediately struck me how humble and unassuming they both were.

I met the late, great Jonah Lomu, the giant All Black who made even Americans sit up and take notice because he was so awesome at a reception (along with dozens of other people) where he was standing quietly with other All Blacks humbling shaking hands with well-wishers.

I shook that hand. It was like being enveloped by a giant boxing glove. Jonah was polite (“Oh, yet another adoring fan.”), and, I’m certain, would have quickly forgotten the incident. Not me. The hand remained unwashed for (about) two days.

I met Sir Edmund, the conqueror of Mount Everest in 1953, at a television reception. This man, arguably our most extraordinary New Zealander, with his wife, not seeking attention. Many people, like me, were in awe of him sitting there quietly with his crooked, toothy grin and unassuming manner. I just quickly shook his hand and moved on—a great honour.

This gallery includes a few more Kiwis who boxed above their weight over the decades.

Sir Edmund, the first man to climb Everest, Richie McCaw, arguably the greatest rugby player of all time; Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, our world-class opera singer; Sir Peter Jackson, the iconic movie director of Lord of the Rings movies, Jonah; Sir Ernest Rutherford, the first man to split the atom; Lorde, modern-day pop diva; Lydia Ko, world-class golfer; Rachel Hunter, supermodel and Rod Stewart’s ex; Flight of the Conchords, comedians who made it big in America and, Phar Lap, Australasia’s greatest racehorse.

There are many others to make a country of five million people at the bottom of the world (next stop Antarctica) proud. In sailing, equestrian events, entertainment, literature and pretty well any other field of endeavour, you will find a Kiwi or two leading the way.