| Len Keys | |
| Birth Name: | Leonard John Keys |
| Birth Date: | 3 August 1880 |
| Birth Place: | Patea, New Zealand |
| Death Place: | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation: | Grocer Bus operator |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Sport: | Lawn bowls |
| Club: | Auckland Bowling Club |
| Nationals: | Fours champion (1932) |
Leonard John Keys (3 August 1880 – 1958) was a New Zealand lawn bowls player who competed for his country at the 1934 British Empire Games. However, he is more notable as a businessman and one of the pioneers of passenger bus services in Auckland.
Born in Patea on 3 August 1880, Keys was the son of Harriet Jane Keys (née Watson) and John Edward Keys.[1] He grew up in the Thames area, before serving an apprenticeship as a grocer in Auckland.[2] In 1903, he married Sarah Margery McMaster, and the couple went on to have three children.[1]
Keys was a member of the Auckland Bowling Club team that won the men's fours title at the 1932 national lawn bowls championships, held in Christchurch.[3] He went on to represent New Zealand in the men's singles at the 1934 British Empire Games in London.[4] He lost all nine of his round-robin matches, finishing in tenth, and last, place.[4]
Keys ran a grocery business in the Auckland suburb of Remuera, on the corner of Remuera and Clonbern Roads, between 1907 and 1914.[1] [5] The following year, he established a passenger bus service running between Remuera and Saint Heliers, and in 1923 began a service with three buses from Saint Heliers into central Auckland.[1] In 1925, ferry services from Saint Heliers to the city ceased operation, and Keys expanded his bus service on the route.[1] By 1949, when his business was taken over by the Auckland Transport Board, Keys had a fleet of about 40 buses.[5]
Keys served as a member of the Tamaki West Road Board for nine years, and was a member of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Omnibus Proprietors' Association.[1]
Keys died on 26 January 1958, and his ashes were buried at Purewa Cemetery.[6] His wife, Margery, died in 1969.[7]
Keys Terrace in the Auckland suburb of Saint Heliers is named in Keys' honour. Part of Devore Street in Saint Heliers was renamed Leonard Keys Terrace in 1958, but after five months the street's name was shortened to Keys Terrace.[8]