Ken Ring, the self-styled “Moon Man” whose lunar-based forecasts made him one of New Zealand’s most recognisable and controversial public figures, has died after a short illness.
His family announced his death in a Facebook post, describing Ring as a “much-loved father and grandfather”.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ken (dad), following a short illness,” the post said on Ring’s own Facebook page.
“Ken was a much-loved father and grandfather who will be greatly missed by us all.
“Ken you were one of a kind and inspired us to think outside the box and believe that anything was possible.
“Rest easy dad.”
The Heraldhas contacted Ring’s family to seek further comment.
For decades, Ring built a loyal following through weather forecasts, fishing calendars and earthquake risk predictions based on his belief that the moon influenced natural events on Earth.
Until 10 years ago, his forecasts were even a regular feature in the Herald’s The Country section, where he delivered monthly “Moon Man” outlooks on weather conditions around the country.
To supporters, Ring challenged conventional thinking and encouraged people to look more closely at patterns in nature. To critics, his theories lacked scientific foundation and spread misinformation.
The divide made him one of the most polarising weather commentators New Zealand has seen.
Although best known nationally as the “Moon Man”, Ring’s interests stretched far beyond forecasting. A former teacher, mathematics enthusiast, magician, performer and author, he spent much of his life pursuing unconventional ideas.
Magician Alan Watson, who knew Ring for decades, once described him as “a very giving person”.
Watson said he had known Ring since the forecaster worked as a magician called Mr Goodtimes in the 1970s.
Ring was former president of the now-defunct New Zealand Society of Magicians.
He is also co-author of Pawmistry: How to Read Your Cat’s Paws, which teaches ways to read a cat’s mood and “explores the psychic influences that numerology and the zodiac have on your cat”.
“He makes kids happy and is a very giving person,” Watson told the Herald on Sunday in 2011.
“He’s always had a great love of maths.”
Ring said his fascination with lunar cycles began nearly 40 years earlier while living a largely self-sufficient lifestyle with his wife and children in Ōpōtiki.
“We were fishing, camping and hunting.
“One of the first things I noticed was that a storm occurred at the same time as the highest tides of the month.”
That observation sparked decades of study and eventually a business producing forecasts for farmers, fishermen and followers around New Zealand.
“What I’m doing is science,” Ring said.
“I’ve never done a horoscope for anyone in my life, so no one can level the word astrology at me.”
His most devoted supporters believed he was on to something.
Among them was veteran angling writer John Moran, who said Ring’s fishing forecasts consistently matched his own observations gathered over decades on the water.
“The months turned into years and over this time I became totally awestruck over the accuracy of Ken Ring’s predictions,” Moran wrote.
“This page of Ken’s in the magazine became my fishing bible.
“The man is a bloody marvel.”
Yet Ring’s public profile also brought fierce criticism.
He became a national talking point following the Canterbury earthquakes, when predictions he made about periods of heightened earthquake risk attracted widespread attention and sparked backlash from sceptics and scientists.
At the time, Ring insisted he was not predicting earthquakes to an exact day.
“We try to help people where we can but we don’t predict anything to the date,” he told the Herald on Sundayin 2013.
“Nobody can do that.”
The controversy took a personal toll.
“The main thing that was upsetting is it hurt my family and grandkids,” Ring said.
Despite the criticism, Ring maintained he was motivated by a desire to help people.
Although he received hate mail, he said he was also flooded with messages of support from people who believed his forecasts had benefited them.
“I’m just somebody who enjoys helping people,” he said.
As his family reflected this week, he was “one of a kind”.