Allan Hunter (rugby union)

Allan Douglas Hunter MNZM (23 September 1922 – 12 July 2017) was a New Zealand rugby union player and schoolteacher. He played provincial rugby for Hawke's Bay, and was principal of both Upper Hutt College and Burnside High School.

Allan Hunter

MNZM
Born
Allan Douglas Hunter

(1922-09-23)23 September 1922
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died12 July 2017(2017-07-12) (aged 94)
Christchurch, New Zealand
EducationTimaru Boys' High School
Alma materCanterbury University College
OccupationSchoolteacher
Spouse(s)Joan Esme Tyler (d. 2002)
Rugby career
Rugby union career
Position(s) First five-eighth
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1949 Hawke's Bay ()

Early life and family

Born in Christchurch on 23 September 1922, Hunter was educated at Timaru Boys' High School from 1936 to 1940.[1][2][3] He then studied at Canterbury University College, graduating Master of Arts with third-class honours in 1948.[4]

Hunter's university studies were interrupted by World War II. He was called up in July 1941, but he was allowed to defer army training until after examinations at the end of that year.[5] He served with the First Battalion, Canterbury Regiment, which was tasked with defending the Canterbury coast against attack by the Japanese.[5] He later travelled to Britain where he joined the Royal Navy and was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant,[5][6] and served in HMS Rutherford from 1944 to 1945.[7]

Hunter married Joan Esme Tyler, and the couple went on to have three children.[6][8]

Rugby union

While at Timaru Boys' High School, Hunter played for the school's 1st XV rugby team.[9] He then played for the Canterbury University College club team alongside Bob Stuart, Larry Savage, and Jack Kelly.[10] After moving to Napier in 1949, Hunter was selected for the Hawke's Bay provincial team, playing as a first five-eighth.[10]

Teaching career

Hunter taught at Napier Boys' High School from 1949, and Kuranui College, before being appointed principal of Upper Hutt College in 1962.[2] He remained in that position until 1969, when he moved to Burnside High School in Christchurch, serving as principal until his retirement in 1980.[2][11]

Later life and death

In retirement, Hunter was active in community organisations, and was the inaugural president of the Burnside Men's Probus club.[12] In 1995, he wrote a history of the Bishopdale–Burnside Rotary club, having been an inaugural member of the club in 1974 and its president from 1981 to 1982.[12] He also wrote an account of the First Battalion Canterbury Regiment's coastal defence duties during World War II, published in 2000 and titled The Young Defenders.[5] In the 2005 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Hunter was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to education and the community.[13]

Hunter's wife, Joan, died in 2002.[8] Hunter himself died in Christchurch on 12 July 2017.[6]

References
  1. "Death search: registration number 2017/18931". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  2. Hunter, Allan (2015). "70th anniversary of the Normandy landings". 21st Annual report season 2014/2015 (PDF). The Willows Cricket Club. p. 59. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  3. "Timaru Boys' High School remembers its past with Anzac Day service". Timaru Herald. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  4. "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Hi–Hy". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  5. Crean, Mike (27 May 2000). "Forgotten battalion". The Press. p. 8.
  6. "Allan Hunter death notice". The Press. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  7. Crean, Mike (24 May 2014). "Kiwi recalls greatest seaborne invasion". The Press. p. 9.
  8. "Joan Esme Hunter (Tyler)". BillionGraves. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  9. "Inter-school match". The Press. 27 June 1939. p. 12. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  10. Davis, Hanne (12 September 2015). "Hunter's heart with Hawke's Bay 66 years after regional call up". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  11. Clarkson, David (22 July 2002). "'Search and rescue' part of book sale". The Press. p. 4.
  12. Hunter, Allan (1995). Rotary in Bishopdale–Burnside 1974–1995 (PDF). Christchurch: Rotary Club of Bishopdale–Burnside. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  13. "Queen's Birthday honours list 2005". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 6 June 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
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