Rod and Valentine

Rod McLeay was born in a maternity hospital on Roberton Rd in 1944. He was raised on Highbury St, and in 1967 he bought the house next door to his childhood home, which was the same year Valentine, his wife of 26 years, moved to NZ from the UK. That means he was literally born and raised in Avondale and has lived on the same street for 8 decades!

Rod’s father passed on a love for gardening and now, after 70 years of gardening himself, Rod has a garden overflowing with different fruit and vegetables including parsnips, carrots, green beans, peaches, apples, feijoas and so much more. They regularly donate any excess produce they have to Kai Avondale that is put in the food parcels we distribute weekly or in the meals served at Feed the Streets fortnightly.

While Rod is an avid gardener, he has also had an illustrious career in music. Not only was he a music teacher for most of his life but he was also an integral part of the Auckland Primary Principal’s Association (APPA) annual music festival at the Auckland Town Hall for decades and the conductor of the Auckland Youth Symphonic Band for over 40 years.

In 2019 he received a Queen’s Service Medal for his service to music and education.