1963: The Great Ricardo
May 11, 2019
By AHNZ
Rakino Island in the Hauraki Gulf was covered in the ‘Islands of the Gulf‘ documentary on TVNZ (still streaming now (2019.)) It was a pretty great documentary but extra special not only for being a sequel but because the 2019 version was presented by Elisabeth Easther who is the daughter of the 1964 version presenter!
Thus I learned of Dr Maxwell Rickard who owned the whole island 1963-1965 under the mantle of ‘The United People’s Organisation‘.
Known as ‘The Great Ricardo’, the doctor was a clinical psychologist, a hypnotherapist, and Auckland nightclub owner. He appears to have left New Zealand for Australia and elsewhere, still active into the 1980s when he drops off my radar. I think he must have been a showman, a sort of Timothy Leary figure to New Zealand riding a wave of LSD and Radio Hauraki energy with and for young people.
GR tried to set up his own commune on Rakino, indeed his own UN recognised country! Being in international waters, this loophole could have been legally possible the same way Radio Hauraki was able to broadcast outside of State prohibition but of course it’s totally politically naive. So too was GR’s plan advertised in the newspaper for “100 men and women to donate all of their worldly goods for the “benefit of all” and come live on the island. No takers.”
Not such an odd thing to do at the time, quite popular for young people to ‘Reset to Zero’ in their own communes. In 1974 it would even become a state programme under Labour 3.0 but The Great Ricardo was way ahead. His Rakino would have been a bit like a later Auckland commune, Centrepoint, est. 1977, in terms of being a communistic New Age psychotherapeutic cluster-SNAFU. On the other hand, an island-based ‘United People’s Organisation’ may have better withstood the inevitable attack of the State which never suffers independent jurisdictions (Just ask Rua Kenana.)
Not such an odd thing, either, to want to have set up a trauma retreat, international orphanage, or a single mothers’ sanctuary. Islands of the Gulf have long been put to such uses, for example by the Methodists.
—
Refs.
Rakino: Island of broken dreams; stevedickens.blogspot.com
Rakino Island – Former home of the “Great Ricardo” and his utopian dream; thecynicalsailor.blogspot.com
Island image
https://www.rakinoisland.org/about_us
17 thoughts on "1963: The Great Ricardo"
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I met Max Rickard about 40 years ago, and visited his home on Rakino.
A very pleasant man.
I’m not sure about his hypnotherapy credentials though.
I was a bit stunned when he offered to get a hypnotherapy certificate for someone.
Apparently his night club went bankrupt when he was refused a liquor license, an experience that was devastating for him.
He reminded me of an El Greco painting.
Hope he is doing well wherever he is now.
Thanks for that. I would certainly love to talk to the man and learn more about this important part of our history.
I think he would be in his 90’s by now. Hopefully he is still around.
I remember he had a very slender build (hence the similarity to an El Greco portrait), so he might have made it to a good age.
A friendly, softly spoken man.
He would be a pleasure to have some interesting conversations with…
Maxwell Rickard died in 1996 at the age of 70. He went to Australia around the late 60s. He then returned to NZ in the late 80s after the lady he married in Australia died. Im doing family research on him. Would be great to hear from anyone who met him at rakinokev@gmail.com
Thankyou. Fascinating colourful character. Would love to hear his opinions about New Zealand.
Uncle Max ,
was my late mothers half brother her name being Antoinette Rickard from Whangarei Northland . Max’s father and my mothers was Tex Rickard .
My mother used to have many happy memories of going with her friends and my father to stay on Rakino island when she was younger.
I first met Max in Australia ,Queensland. We visited him and his lovely new wife who passed with cancer .
Max did seem like a character, and wasn’t well when he returned to New Zealand . I think he may also have died of cancer.
Years later when I worked at Kimi Ora resort in the South Island as a Beauty Massage therapist . I met the new owners of the Homestead on Rakino Island. The daughter was a striking resemblance of my own daughter and one thing lead to another and I found out that they owned the Homestead on Rakino Island . Since then I did a little research on Max and Rakino Island .
It seems like he had a bit of a name and was a eccentric gentleman , with charm and charisma.
My mother met Max. It was a beautiful island. It took hours to get there from Auckland.
She responded to an ad she saw in a newspaper in Upper Hutt offering counseling. He went to Auckland, she followed. He set up the island and she joined. She handed over her pay packets every week. They had to be unopened. She never bought her own lunch at work. Max’s Australian girlfriend made her lunch, which she relied on. Mum alternated her time on the island with a flat on Liverpool St, Auckland, which was part of the commune property.
Max would get mum out of bed in the middle of the night and do “indecent acts” on her. She told others what he was doing. They didn’t believe her. He confronted her and kicked her. Another time he accused her of spying on her and he beat her with his fists. He had a big ring on his finger which cut her face.
He approached retired people and convinced them to give all their money.
Mum and two boys, about 20 years old, would work and give everything they earned. There was a cook. And a carpenter. Everyone worked for nothing.
“Max pretended he was helping. He promised Jack he’d get a girlfriend but he didn’t. He promised.me he’d help me but all he did was abuse me.”
These are the words from an 85yo woman on 09.10.22, on the sofa, in my living room, I am typing as she recalls.
The commune was not everything some think it was.
Thank you to you and your mother for sharing that. Counselling has come a long way and still has far to go in New Zealand. Love to explore that topic more.
Very happy to have all points of view published so they can be considered by history thinkers.
A very good morning my name is Winston Kirk my half sister was Adrianne my sister was Rosemary I stayed on Rakino Island in December 1964 to Feb 65 I am looking for any photos of my sister’s who lived on this Island ️ when I was staying on the Island I found this guy to be so mysterious my e.mail address is winston_kirk@ yahoocom.au looking forward to hearing back from you soon kindest regards Winston
Best of luck. Something may come of it.
No people in these photos..
https://digitalnz.org/records?text=%20Rakino%20Island%20&i%5Bdecade%5D=1960&tab=Images
I am very glad to read these posts. I was a member of UPO. I worked in the Australia Lounge and Gallery coffee lounge on the corner of Liverpool Street and Karahape Road in Auckland Central for about three years. Every day from
nine am until after three am, with few rests on Rakino Island.
I was there when Antionnet and her Greek husband stayed, and When Winston was about 12 years old on holiday, and I saw Max strike Margaret. I was surprised to see Margaret one day with Amanda about 1998. Margaret told me about Max’s sexual advances. I gradually lost my faith in him. It took a long time to fully accept that he had a hidden side to his persona. I search for Margaret about two years ago. I had.moved away 135km.
I am now almost 83 years old.
I have authored book: ‘Mystical Experiences’ available on Amazon.
The first chapters are briefly describing my years with UPO. The majority is about my spiritual quest that I had thought that I was on with UPO. Then I began to have a genuine spiritual awakening.
I would be pleased to hear from the people that I have mentioned There is more to the story that I could have included.
David Wattam.
testerdavey@yhoo.co.nz
Thanks for that. All of these ‘Awakening’ instances interest me, including Centrepoint and Full Gospel Mission.
Are you still in New Zealand? I’ll write you an email. Maybe you wouldn’t mind putting down an audio interview about these times for the sake of history.
Please note corrections to my name and
Please note corrections to my name and email address. I will make notes and comments that I did not include in my book. I am willing to have an audio discussion with you. I need about one week to compile some extra recollections together. I hope to have some contact with the other readers mentioned in you blog. I did not know about Dr Rickard’s death but I had guessed that he had died by now, although his mother was probably about 92 when she passed. I don’t remember when I heard that.
Have written you an email but if it doesn’t come through just write me one and we’ll set something up
I have started to compile a list of extra experiences. I struggle to competently type a list if remembrances. I did have professional advice and editing after completing my manuscript. Part One is necessarily brief because the intention I had originally for writing my memoir was to provide guidance to genuine spiritual seekers. I did explain briefly but carefully steps that I took that yielded obvious results. Results aren’t obtainable without sustained effort, willpower and integrity. It is a process that will continue for many years, not a weekend course.
I have been asked by Kevin, a responder, who is an author compiling information about Dr Rickard, to include in a biography.
I have a very scrambled list of memories that I hope he can sssemble and put in an orderly fashion. I am now in my fading away years and have faint brainfade. An MRI scan revealed evidence of a past mild stroke. I am low on physical energy but capable of having a good discussion whenever I can.
I live in Mt Eden, Auckland, and available for chats.
Oh. Well in that case I’m happy to come to you rather than try to get remote tech to work. I have written you an email that you can reply to in order to set things up.
No pressure to be sharp-witted. I’d be very respectful and attending to whatever you can pass on.