Last Friday night saw us induct ten more first-class athletes into our Sports Hall of Fame. Sitting there listening to their sporting achievements was mind-blowing. Congratulations to all ten of our Old Boys inducted for 2023.

Thank you to Hamish Mckay who was MC for the evening.  His sporting knowledge and humour, along with his loyalty to PNBHS, all played a huge part in the overall success of this evening. It was a great occasion to be part of. Thank you to everyone who came along to The Silks Lounge and shared this evening with us.  We hope you all enjoyed the occasion. 

Five of our inductees were with us for the evening and we enjoyed a Q and A session with them, led by Hamish, after their induction. The other five were all represented by family members and we appreciated the effort that was made to gather family members and bring them along to support our evening. 19 family members from Arthur Law's family, that is a huge effort - thank you.

Enjoy some photos of the inductees and then a link to all the photos taken on the night.

Arthur Law - Rugby

PNBHS 1919-1921. Phoenix.

Arthur was an excellent all-round sportsman at Boys’ High. He was in the 2nd XI cricket team as a third former and made his debut for the 1st XI the same year. He also made the 2nd XV and won the 120 yards hurdles senior open race, and won the high jump, beating Buz Sutherland’s record set nine years earlier.

In 1920 Arthur was “still weak on the off but strong on leg, according to the 1st XI coach Mr Anderson. He played for the 1st XV who won through to the first final of the Moascar Cup, only to lose 1-0 in the final in atrocious conditions in Wellington. The one point was used as a tie breaker and was for a forced touchdown, which would be a five metre scrum these days. He again excelled at athletics and was also a member of the Phoenix swimming team and the school’s shooting team that won the Goldingham Cup.

In his last year at school Arthur was a school prefect, secretary of the games committee, a company sergeant in the cadets and club captain of Phoenix. 1st XI coach Mr Anderson would have been impressed that Arthur was now “a forceful bat all round the wicket”. He scored 177 vs Waitaki Boys’ High and won the batting cup for the 1st XI that year. He was considered so promising a young cricketer that he, along with P Harrison, N Leet and Keith Hodder selected to play for Manawatu against the touring Australian cricket team. Arthur scored 34 not out in the first innings and did not bat in the second.

He again played well for the 1st XV for whom “he was a powerful runner; solid tackler; and a better wing than a centre, runs very straight”.

Arthur joined the Old Boys club in 1924 after a stint in the South Island, where he had played for the Maniototo Sub-Union team, and was selected for Manawatu and the Manawatu-Horowhenua combined team – Manawhenua as a 20 year-old. At 5 foot 11 and 12 stone 10 pounds he was considered big for an outside back in the 1920s, and the New Zealand Rugby Union All Blacks biography describes him as “a very fast and powerful runner, and also a good defender.”

Arthur’s form in 1924 was such that he came close to selection for the 1924/25 tour of the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and Canada, a team that would come to be known as the Invincibles after they won all 32 matches.

Arthur’s good form continued in 1925 and he was selected for the All Blacks tour of Australia, where all the matches were in New South Wales. Arthur played in four of the six matches, playing in two of the three unofficial ‘tests’ against New South Wales team. He scored a try in the 11-3 win in the third match of the series.

He continued to play for Manawatu and Manawhenua in 1926 but in 1927 he ventured south again, returning to his ancestral roots to play for Otago Country Districts. During this time, he worked in Maniatoto and met his future wife. Early in 1928 they returned to the North Island and purchased a farm at Mangatoro near Dannevirke. He played a number of games for Hawke’s Bay that season and that was the end of his representative career, although he continued playing rugby in Dannevirke for several seasons.

Arthur holds a special place in the sporting history of Palmerston North Boys’ High School as our first All Black, and it is a nice coincidence that on the alphabetical list of All Blacks he is immediately preceded by Ngani Laumape, our 14th All Black.

The family very kindly donated Arthur’s 1925 All Black jersey to the school in 2012 and it is a real privilege to be able to share that with you tonight. As Mr Bovey says to the Year 9s that come through his office, there wouldn’t be too many schools in the country that would have their very first All Black’s jersey of this vintage.

It is also fantastic that Arthur’s son, also Arthur, is able to be here tonight along with a good number of family members, and it gives me great pleasure to make the presentation tonight to Arthur…

Murray Loudon - Hockey

PNBHS 1945-49. Kia Ora.

Murray made his debut for the 1st XI hockey team in 1946 at inside right, but it was at left half that he really made his mark, where the following year he was noted as “a great worker, very keen”.

In 1948 he was in the inter-school tennis team with Noel Kensington and Bruce Turner which won the Bennett Cup. He was vice-captain of the 1st XI that year and was, the Palmerstonian tells us, he was “the season’s best player”. He was awarded his hockey ‘blue’ in 1947, 48 and 49.

In 1949 he won the senior tennis championship; he was a School Prefect, was first in Chemistry and he was awarded a Dental Bursary.

After leaving Boys’ High, Murray went to Otago University where he would graduate with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery with commendation in 1954. He played for the University Hockey Club and in 1951 he was selected for the Otago team. He was then picked for the South Island representative team and the New Zealand Universities team to tour Australia the same year.

After a good trial performance in 1954, Murray was selected for the New Zealand team to tour Australia. It was to prove a very successful tour, the team playing 22 matches for 20 wins, one draw and just the one loss. Team manager Clarrie Holland commented after the tour that he “had seen many New Zealand hockey teams play in the past 20 years but that he had seen no better half-line than B. Turner, J. Tynan and M. Loudon”. B. Turner was of course Bruce Turner, another Palmy Old Boy and a fellow member of the School’s Sports Hall of Fame. The team beat Australia 3-1 in the test match, which meant they were assured of a place at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

In 1955, Murray was selected for the second test against the touring Indian team at Eden Park, and he featured in New Zealand’s first ever win over an Indian team. The following year, Murray was involved in many trials before the Olympic team was selected, and he made the team, much to his delight. Alongside him in the team was Bruce Turner, and a third Palmy Old Boy, Brian Johnston whose brother Trevor you met earlier this evening. In his book, Filling the Gaps, Murray said: “It was at Palmerston North Boys’ High that Bruce, Brian and I first set our sights on going to the Olympics. It had all started in 1948…and we learned that the 1956 Olympics would be held in Melbourne”, and here they were, three Palmy boys, off to the Olympics.

The team was kitted out and given a tin of Kiwi boot polish, a tin of Ovaltine and 10 shillings a day for expenses. The team ended up finishing sixth, much to Murray and the team’s disappointment. They felt that they were the third best team there; not bad for a first Olympic appearance.

The Olympics were to be the swansong of Murray’s international career, although he did continue playing club hockey in Palmerston North and for Manawatu. He then settled in to a long and successful career as a dentist.

It is a pleasure to have members of the Loudon family here with us this evening, and I would like to invite Murray’s son Simon forward to accept the award on Murray’s behalf.

Derek Stirling - Cricket

PNBHS 1975-79. Phoenix.

In 1975 Derek’s third form form teacher was his father, Ian. He was in the Junior Football team which won 19 out of 19 games, and he made the Manawatu Under 14 team. He was captain of the Third Form Specials cricket team.

In 1976 he made the 1st XI as a fourth former, where he “immediately made his presence felt…much more will be heard of him”, said coach Nobby Anderson. He had switched to rugby in 1976 and made the 2nd XV coached by Mr Brookie. He won the intermediate long jump and triple jump in 1977 and played well again for the 1st XI, winning the bowling cup.

In Derek’s sixth form year he made the 1st XV, captained by Paul Jensen, as a “long striding winger with evasive skills”. Mr Meuli, coach of the 1st XI said his runs and wickets tally were indicative of a sterling performance.”. Well done Mr Meuli.

His final year at school was a successful one: a number of athletics championship victories, winner of the Batting and all-rounder cup for the 1st XI, selected for the Central Districts rugby team that played England Schools and he won the Dux Ludorum award for top sportsman.

Derek burst onto the first-class scene for Central Districts, taking 6-75 against Northern Districts on his debut. Also in that team were Palmy Old Boys Ian Smith and David O’Sullivan. Such was the impression that Derek made, that he was selected to play for The Rest against a New Zealand side just three weeks after his first first-class match.

He continued to impress for Central Districts over the next two seasons and was chosen for the New Zealand team to tour Sri Lanka in 1984. After playing in a couple of tour matches, Derek made his international debut against the Sri Lankans in a one-day international in Moratuwa. He took the wicket of Brendan Kurruppu, the only batsman in international cricket to make Geoffrey Boycott look carefree, and top scored for the Kiwis with 13 not out in their dismal total of 116.

In 1984 he toured Zimbabwe with a Young New Zealand team, where he enjoyed a successful time with the bat, averaging 34 in first class matches, while his form in the limited overs series was excellent – nine wickets at just 13 and a good economy rate. These performances saw him selected for the New Zealand tour to Sri Lanka and Pakistan where he would make his test debut, acquitting himself well on what were trying pitches for quick bowlers.

In his first test in Lahore he took the wickets of Mudassar Nazar and Salim Malik in the first innings; he tended to get good players out, and in the third test he took his best test figures of 4-88, including Mudassar Nazar again, and the great Zaheer Abbas. In the second innings he got Mudassar, who was fast becoming his bunny, for a duck.

Derek was selected for the 1985 tour to the West Indies, against a team in the middle of a dominant period in international cricket. He was second in the bowling averages on the tour with 13 wickets at 23. In his one test on the tour, he took two wickets on a quick track in Barbados.

He took 28 wickets on the tour of England the following year where he played in the second and third tests of New Zealand’s first-ever series win in England. His last taste of international cricket was for a President’s XI against the touring West Indians in 1987 at Hamilton. Coming in at 93/7, Derek and Erv McSweeney put on 139 for the eighth wicket, with Derek hitting a career best 75 off just 89 balls, hitting four sixes and five fours off an attack that included Courtney Walsh, Michael Holding and Tony Gray. He then dismissed Desmond Haynes, Richie Richardson and Jeff Dujon, scored 25 not out and nicked off Larry Gomes in the Windies’ second innings as the game finished in a draw. Perhaps Derek’s finest– all-round game.

Derek played domestically for several seasons after that and retired in 1993. In all Derek took 50 wickets for New Zealand in first-class matches, 19 in internationals. He took 206 first-class wickets and 90 in limited overs matches. He scored over two thousand runs in his career, including 1651 at an average of 21.72 in first class cricket.

Derek returned to cricket in a coaching capacity in recent years, which he really enjoyed. He found helping and guiding young players rewarding and said that so many youngsters had potential that needed developing to give them a chance to play at a higher level. He said, “If a lanky, skinny kid from Takaro Primary School in Palmerston North can play at Lord’s or play for New Zealand, anyone can”.

Derek is unwell currently and isn’t able to make it this evening, so here tonight to accept the award on Derek’s behalf is his good friend Mr Rolf Leenards…

Ernest ‘Buz’ Sutherland - Athletics

PNBHS 1908-1910. No school club – the Shand Shield hadn’t started yet!

A good athlete during his school years, in 1910 he broke his own school record in the high jump, leaping 5 feet and one inch. He also won the cricket ball throw, the 120 yards hurdles for the second time, was in the relay-winning team and was third in the long jump.

Buz also played hockey and cricket at school, and he took 4 for 25 against Napier Boys’ in the 1st XI Challenge Shield match.

Upon leaving school Buz joined the Civil Service and was transferred to Wellington in 1913. In 1915 he won the first of his championship, the New Zealand Hop, Step, and Jump title. Then the war intervened, and he embarked for Suez in October 1915 before traveling to his base near Cairo. On 18 December orders were received to leave for the Western Frontier Force at Mersa Matruh as part of the 1st Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. On 23 January, 1916 Buz was wounded with shrapnel, severe wounds to the left thigh. After his recovery he left Port Said headed for France. In October 1918 he received another injury, this time to his shoulder, but was discharged in May 1919 after close to four years’ service. He received the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Buz’s World War One experience made his subsequent achievements in athletics all the more remarkable. It wasn’t until 1920, at the age of 26, that he returned to the athletics field, winning three national titles, as well as a second place in the pole vault. That year he was selected to represent New Zealand at the Australasian Championships in Sydney, but he was unable to make the trip. In 1921 he defended his national high jump title, was second in the hop, step and jump, and was also second in the 120-yards hurdles. The following year he captured three national titles, including a javelin title won with his home-made javelin. He subsequently represented New Zealand at the Australasian Championships, where he injured himself but not before he had come second in the pole vault and javelin.

Then he headed for South Africa, where he got a job as a policeman in Ladysmith, traveling over with the Springbok Athletics team that had toured New Zealand. En route he won several field events at the Tasmanian, South Australian and New South Wales state championships.

In the 1922 South African Championships he set a national record after clearing six feet in the high jump, and more success followed in other events, as it did at the national champs the following year.

But it was 1924 that was Buz’s best year. He cleared six feet and ¾ of an inch in the high jump and in the Olympic trials he distinguished himself in seven events, four of which he won.

As a result, he was chosen to represent South Africa in the decathlon at the Paris Olympic games. It was the first time he had entered this event at any level. He finished fifth out of the 49 competitors, and with it he was described as “probably the finest all-round athlete the Empire has produced” and “the most remarkable athlete ever seen in South Africa”.

Following the Olympics he remained for a time in the UK where it is thought he represented Scotland at an international event after winning numerous titles there. He returned to New Zealand where between 1927 and 1929 he won four further New Zealand titles, before retiring from athletics in 1930.

Six years later, Buz was to die as the result of a tragic accident. He had been cycling to work when, feeling unwell, he decided to return home. It appeared that the gladstone bag he was carrying was caught in his bicycle and he was thrown over the handlebars, landing on his head at the intersection of Featherston and Pirie Streets. He was awarded a full police and semi-military funeral at St Andrew’s Church. It was a terrible way for an incredibly storied and interesting life and career to end.

It is a real privilege to have Buz’s grandson, Mr Steve Potts, here this evening, to accept our presentation on behalf of the family.

Ross Taylor – Cricket

PNBHS 2000/01. Murray.

Ross joined Palmy Boys from Wairarapa College for his 6th form year. Paul Gibbs noted in the Palmerstonian that “Ross has made a spectacular and authoritative start to his 1st XI career”. He also mentions that Ross is an exceptional slip fielder, which is a rare talent at his age. Ross made the Central Districts and New Zealand Under 17 teams.

Ross was also in the 1st XI hockey team, for whom he scored 33 goals in his first season. He was “deceptively fast with good skills”.

In 2001 Ross was a school and College House prefect, he was third in the senior triple jump and for the second year in a row was awarded an honours tie for cricket. For the 1st XI he was “a dominant top order batsman who hits the ball long and hard…a true match winner”. In the final Premier One game Ross scored a hundred in each innings against Marist, a first for a PNBHS player.

Ross was selected for the Manawatu Under 18 hockey team, a young man with “raw talent and skill”.

Now, much has been written about Ross’s career with his retirement from international cricket last year. Where do we start? He is without a doubt one of the greatest cricketers this country has ever produced, as simple as that. And it isn’t just in the numbers, but they are worth looking at:

· 450 matches for New Zealand. 450.

· 18,199 runs for New Zealand with 40 centuries and 93 half-centuries

· 7683 test runs at an average of 44.66

· 8607 ODI runs at the incredible average of 47.55

· The first man to play 100 international matches in all three formats of the game – tests, ODIs and T20s

· In all top level cricket – 30, 323 runs with 54 hundreds and 172 50s

· 351 catches for New Zealand

· And one that he is particularly proud of – 3 test wickets at an average of 16 and, along with Sir Richard Hadlee, he took a wicket with his last ball in test cricket.

Ross made his first-class debut for Central Districts in the 2003 and on debut he had fellow Old Boys Jamie How, Ian Sandbrook and Bevan Griggs in the side. After success in both forms of the game, he was selected for New Zealand for the first time in an ODI match against the West Indies in 2006. In his third ODI, against Sri Lanka in Napier, he hit his first international century, followed soon after by an impressive 84 against the Aussies.

He made his test debut in Johannesburg in 2007 against a strong South African attack, batting at six. Dale Steyn took ten wickets for the Saffas as the New Zealand team were well beaten. He had a better time of it against England at home in 2008, scoring his maiden test century at Hamilton, coming in after the fall of Mathew Sinclair’s wicket to join Jamie How who was replaced after his dismissal for 92 by Jacob Oram, one of two occasions when Palmy Boys had four Old Boys in the test team. Ross’s 120 cemented his place in the team, and in the second test of the England tour at Old Trafford he scored a superb 154, coming in at the fall of the second wicket to join Jamie again.

He was making his mark in white ball cricket too, and he became an instant hero in India when, at the 2011 World Cup, he scored a brutal century against Pakistan in Pallekele, finishing with 131 not out off 124 balls on his birthday, being particularly harsh on Shoaib Akhtar.

Ross hit a career-best test score at Perth in 2015 when he scored 290 at the WACA, off 374 balls with 43 fours and strangely no sixes. It was the highest innings by a visiting player, beating Tip Foster’s 287 at the MCG in 1903. It was also the highest ‘away’ score in test history – scored by a player playing outside his home country. This 290 came on the back of a delicate injury in Zimbabwe and continuing eye issues.

Ross’s highest score in ODI cricket came after injuring his leg coming back for a quick two, he then unleashed a barrage of his favoured slog-sweeps to score 181* against England in Dunedin, coming in at 2 for 2 chasing 336 and levelling the series at 2-all.

His 74 against India in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup was instrumental in the team’s win, and while the team missed out by what Ian Smith described as the barest of margins on a maiden World Cup title in the dramatic final, said by some to be the greatest ODI match ever played, Ross did have the honour of hitting the winning runs in the inaugural World Test Championship final against India, finishing on 44 not out.

Ross is the equal-first most capped test player in New Zealand test cricket history, second-highest run-scorer, he scored the second highest number of centuries; most ODI runs, most ODI hundreds, most ODI 50s.

Ross isn’t able to be here tonight, he’s currently in India at the World Cup working for the ICC, but we have a quick interview with him on screen followed by some highlights on video, and then Mr Paul Gibbs will accept the award on Ross’s behalf.

Ben Fouhy - Kayaking

PNBHS 1992-94. Murray Club.

Ben was a member of the school’s cycling team in his third form year, managed by none other than Miss Rachel Jensen, now Mrs Wenham. In 1993 he was in the school harriers team and was part of the three-man team that won the New Zealand Under 16 Road Race along with Andrew McGregor and Gerald Joe. He was second in the school cross-country and second in the Road Race, and at the national cross-country championships, the PNBHS team finished first overall.

In 1994 Ben was first in the 5000 metres and third in the 3000. He was again a member of the school cycling team which came third in the North Island Schools time trial. He was part of the team that finished second at the NZ Junior Cross-Country event.

Ben was clearly an excellent runner at school, and it was while training for his multi-sports events after leaving school that Ben discovered he was pretty good in the kayak. In 2002 he began kayaking competitively. It didn’t take him long to make his mark – the following year, in 2003, he won the K1 1000m at the New Zealand Sprint National Championships in Auckland and then took the kayaking world by surprise by winning the world K1 1000 title in Gainesville, Georgia in the US. The media said the world title shocked nearly everyone, especially the world’s other leading paddlers. Ben also teamed up with Steven Ferguson, son of Old Boy Ian Ferguson, to finish fourth in the K2 1000 event.

That World Champion title earned Ben the Halberg Award for Sportsman of the Year, the second Palmy Old Boy in a row after golfer Craig Perks, a fellow member of our Sports Hall of Fame, won the award in 2002.

More success followed: a gold medal at a World Cup regatta in Poland, plus more New Zealand Championship wins, as well as a gold medal at the English National Championships in the build up to the 2004 Athens Olympics.

In Athens Ben won his heat but was pipped for the gold medal in the final by Norwegian Erik Larsen, finishing in second place. He and Ferguson also made the final of the K2 1000.

He continued to rank among the world’s best paddlers following the Olympics. In 2005 he was fourth at the World Championships in Croatia, and he won a bronze medal at the World Marathon Championships in Perth. At the World Championships in Hungary the following year, he was third in the K1 1000 and during the 2006 European season he recorded the fastest ever time for the K1 1000 – 3min 24.495 seconds.

Further top five finishes in World Championship events followed, and in the pre-Olympic regatta prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics Ben finished second in his specialist event, the K1 1000. He again made the Olympic final where he finished fourth.

Ben retired briefly in 2010 but returned to competition in 2011 and qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games, where he made the semi-final.

In between international kayaking competitions Ben also found the time to compete at the 2009 World Ironman Championships at Kona in Hawaii, and in 2005 he was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to kayaking.

He now runs Ben Fouhy Kayaking, coaching and certifying our paddlers for events such as the Coast to Coast.

Jamie How - Cricket

PNBHS 1994-98. Albion Club.

Jamie was first in 3rd form PE and played in the 3rd Form Specials football and cricket teams. The following year he made the 3rd XI cricket team, coached by Phil Gosling, and he also made the 1st XI football team coached by the late Steve Burnley, a team that won the national championship. Jamie’s brother Richard was also in the team.

In 1996 he was third in the Intermediate Pentathlon and performed well for the 1st XI cricket team, where coach Alec Astle noted that Jamie was “a commanding top order batsman. An exciting prospect for the future with considerable promise.” The 1st XI football team had another good year, finishing third at the national tournament.

The following year Jamie captained the Central Districts Under 17 cricket team and was again part of the 1st XI football team who toured California in 1997. He was awarded an Honours Tie for cricket.

In his final year at school Jamie was a school prefect and deputy club captain of Albion. The 1st XI cricket team won the Super Eight title and won the national championship – the Gillette Cup. Paul Gibbs, 1st XI coach, said “Jamie was an actual game winner and that he was “still a capable change bowler”. He made 1556 runs for the 1st XI, and in 135 matches for the football 1st XI he scored 108 goals, 75 in his final season alone. Jamie was selected for the NZ Secondary Schools team that played their Australian counterparts. And he finally won the pentathlon after a third then a second in the preceding years.

Jamie made his first-class debut for Central Districts in the 2000/01 season and after a number of promising seasons for the Stags he was selected for the New Zealand one-day team in December 2005, making his debut against Sri Lanka in Queenstown on New Year’s Eve. It was a good debut – Jamie scored 58 in the Black Caps’ seven-wicket win.

Against the West Indies in 2006, Jamie scored 66 in an opening stand of 136 with Nathan Astle in a comfortable New Zealand win. He made his test debut a couple of weeks later against the West Indies in a 27-run win for the New Zealand team, scoring 11 and 37 and taking three catches.

In March 2008, Jamie scored 92 against England, sharing a good partnership with Old Boy Ross Taylor, who went on to score his first test century in that innings. Prior to the test series, Jamie had scored 201 runs at an average of 50.25 in the 3-1 ODI series win. In the fourth match of that series, in Napier, Jamie won the Man of the Match award for scoring a brilliant 139 off 116 balls, in what would be a tie chasing 340.

A half-century at Lord’s on the 2008 tour of England was followed by a second half-century in the next test at Old Trafford. On both occasions Palmy Old Boys would making hundreds – Jacob Oram at Lord’s and Ross Taylor at Old Trafford.

In all Jamie played 65 times for New Zealand, scoring 1,874 runs, with one century and 11 fifties.

Jamie had a great career with Central Districts. Fourth on the all-time appearances list with 92, third highest run scorer in first-class matches with 5,680; 13 centuries and a highest score of 207* against Otago over a span of 15 seasons.

In white ball cricket Jamie played 177 times for CD – 69 T20 games and 108 List A matches. He was the first, and still the only, New Zealand player to score a double hundred in a domestic competition with his incredible 222 against Northern Districts in Hamilton in the 2012/13 season. Martin Guptill’s 237 against the Windies at the 2015 World Cup is the only other instance of a white-ball double hundred in New Zealand from a Kiwi.

Jamie was also part of a world-record opening stand in T20 cricket in 2012 when he and Peter Ingram became the first openers to put on over 200 for the first wicket in a match against Wellington at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park. His second fifty that day came off just 15 balls as he scored 102, and the partnership was worth 201.

In fact, he and Ingram had form together – they had also put on a then-New Zealand record 428 for the first wicket, again against Wellington, in a first-class game in 2009 when CD chased down the 445 required to win for the loss of just one wicket.

All told, Jamie scored more than 10,000 runs for CD, and in his entire career he scored over 14,000 runs and took 39 wickets.

Trevor Johnston - Squash

PNBHS 1955-58. Phoenix Club.

Trevor played hockey at school and made the 1st XI in 1956 where the coach noted his “good stickwork”. In 1957 he had shown considerable improvement during a successful year for the 1st XI. His Phoenix team lost 4-3 in the final to Kia Ora. He was a “very promising player indeed” in the 1958 1st XI captained by Winston Hoare. Bryan Yuile was also in this team, and the goalie was Gerald Haddon, who is here this evening. Trevor was awarded his hockey blue in 1957 and 58.

But it was to be in squash where Trevor would make his mark. Trevor was one of the three Palmerston North squash players who dominated the national scene in the 1960s and 70s, along with Old Boys and fellow Hall of Fame members Charlie Waugh and Don Burmeister.

Trevor was the player who finally broke Charlie’s stranglehold on New Zealand men’s squash in the 1960s. He then announced himself on the international scene at the Australian Championships when he took the then no.1 amateur in the world, Ken Hiscoe, to 9-6 in the fifth set.

He won three national titles between 1964 and 1975 and represented New Zealand from ’64 – ’75 as well. In 1971 New Zealand hosted the World Teams Championships, with some of the matches played in Palmerston North. Trevor was joined by Don Burmeister and Charlie Waugh, along with the one non-Old Boy Laurie Green and the team finished fifth. Between the three Old Boys there were 11 national championship titles.

In the 1969 World Amateur Championships in the UK, Trevor was seeded eighth, which was, according to one biographer, exclusive territory for a New Zealander at the time.

Trevor played an exhibition match in Palmerston North against the English great Jonah Barrington, a six-time British Open winner, and he beat him. Barrington said, “I’ll get you next year, you bastard”, and he did!

Emosi Koloto – Rugby/Rugby League

PNBHS 1979-83. Gordon and then Murray Club.

Emosi won the junior shot put in 1979 and was in 2nd Grade White rugby. The following year, he broke the intermediate discus record by five metres, and he was second in the shot put to Steve Cumberland. He made the 1st XV as a fourth-former, with coach Ian Colquhoun saying he was “strong and hard, with slithering movements”.

The following year Emosi won the shot put and discus and of his rugby with 1st XV Mr Colquhoun wrote, “much will be written about this player in the future”. He was first in 5th form PE.

In 1982 the Palmerstonian asked “Is he the best rugby player to pass through PNBHS?” He was picked for the NZ Schools team along with 1st XV captain Kirk Dew, and he also made the New Zealand U17 team.

In 1983 he was a school prefect, and he was again selected in the New Zealand Schools team, this time along with Sean Bristow, Nigel Anniss and Duncan Parkes. Emosi was also picked for the NZ U19 team. He completed the year by being named as the Dux Ludorum, the school’s top sporting award.

Emosi played for Manawatu after leaving school, and was selected to play for his home country, Tonga, for four matches in 1985. Returning to New Zealand, he continued playing for Manawatu until 1987, when he gained selection for the NZ Sevens team before heading to Wellington for the 1988 season.

He was in eye-catching form for Wellington, in particular in their win over the touring Wales team: so much so that legendary UK rugby league coach, who had watched the Wales game, got in contact straight away, offering Emosi the chance to switch codes and join him at Widnes, one of the UK’s strongest clubs at the time.

Emosi travelled to Widnes, and after settling in, quickly established himself as a hard-running and hard-tackling second row forward. Widnes won the League Championship in his first season, in 1989/90. Emosi also won two Premiership Trophy finals with Widnes, playing alongside such greats of the game as Martin Offiah, Jonathan Davies and Kiwi Kurt Sorensen.

In 1991 Emosi was selected for the Kiwis team, playing in five tests including the test series against the Australians, where he started in the second row in all three tests. The Kiwis stunned the Australians in the first test, beating them 24-8 in Melbourne, the first time a rugby league test was played in Australia outside of Sydney or Melbourne. He later looked to sign with Manly but was drafted by North Sydney, for whom he didn’t want to play for so he returned to Widnes.

Emosi played for Widnes through until 1995 when a neck injury brought a premature halt to his career. In his time with Widnes, Emosi played 147 games, scoring 27 tries. By the end of his career, he was considered a Widnes legend.

This was confirmed in 2020, when a Widnes All-time XVII was named after a public vote, where over 50,000 supporters named their all-time Widnes team. Emosi was duly selected as one of the second rows and his name now adorns one of the rooms at Widnes’ home stadium as one of their all-time greats.

For Manawatu, Emosi played 31 games, scoring 24 tries, and he also scored 17 tries for Wellington in his 16 games with them. He played for the Central Zone team in 1987 and 88, a bit of a precursor to Super Rugby in terms of a regional selection. 41 tries in 47 first-class matches as a forward is pretty good going – no wonder Emosi caught Dougie Laughton’s attention.

Emosi has been involved in rugby since his return to New Zealand and he recently moved to Christchurch where he is enjoying watching his daughter play for the Mainland Tactix national league netball team.

Craig Symons - Softball

PNBHS 1979-83. Phoenix Club.

Craig won the junior cricket ball throw as a third former in 1979, and he was picked for the 2nd XV in the 4th form, a team managed by Eric White, the Rector. He won the Intermediate discus in 1981 was second in the 60m sprint.

In 1981 Craig was vice-captain of the 2nd XV, for whom he “was reliable and willing to search for the gap”. He made the North Island Under 16 team. In 1982 he made the 1st XV and captained the New Zealand Under 17 team against Australia.

In 1983 he led Phoenix to Shand Shield glory as club captain, was senior middleweight boxing champion, played for the 8th XI cricket team and for the 1st XV “he played some positive football” winning the 1st XV Best Back cup.

But after school it was softball where Craig excelled. Craig made his debut for the Manawatu Senior Men’s softball team at the age of 15, and upon leaving school he moved to Whanganui for employment and continued his softball there. He then moved to Hutt Valley, a real stronghold of New Zealand softball, where he joined the Hutt Valley Cardinals, for whom he would continue to play for 20 years until 2006.

The Cardinals won a national title in 1992 and were always strong contenders for national championships throughout Craig’s time. He played for the Hutt Valley representative team from 1988-2006 and won four national titles in that time.

Craig was selected for the New Zealand team, the Black Sox, in 1996 and he was part of the team that won the World Championships in Michigan in the US. The Black Sox went through the tournament unbeaten, winning all 14 of their matches. In the preliminary round playoffs, a 3-2 win in 10 innings over the home team from the US was followed by a 3-0 win over the US again and a 4-1 win over Canada in play-off games. Canada defeated Japan in the play-off final to earn another crack at the Kiwis in the grand final. A superb performance from the Black Sox saw the team win 4-0 to become world champs for just the second time, and the first time outright after the shared title of 1976.

Craig would go on to play 30 times for New Zealand in his international career. Later he represented the New Zealand team at the World Masters Games in Australia.

Craig was player/coach at the Hutt Valley Cardinals from 2000-2006, and since retiring from playing he has remained very active in softball. He has been the coaching coordinator at the Paremata/Plimmerton Club. He is currently coaching the Hutt Valley Saints in the reserve grade and the Hutt Valley Under 19 girls’ team. He has just returned from a tour of Japan with the Whitby Collegiate School team.

PHOTO link to all photos taken on the night - enjoy:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rAlWJIefKb-h6rrgUx0sObh_P3410nMw?usp=sharing