Walter Argus

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Walter Argus
Birth name Walter Garland Argus
Date of birth(1921-05-29)29 May 1921
Place of birth Auckland, New Zealand
Date of death 21 October 2016(2016-10-21) (aged 95)
Place of death Christchurch, New Zealand
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 85 kg (187 lb)
School Pleasant Point District High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
All Black No. 450
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1941–42, 46–49 Linwood ()
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1941–42, 46–49 Canterbury ()
National team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1946–47 New Zealand 4 (12)

Walter Garland "Wally" Argus (29 May 1921 – 21 October 2016) was a New Zealand rugby union player who played 10 matches including four tests for the national team. From 16 November 2012 until his death he was the oldest living All Black.

Rugby union Team sport, code of rugby football

Rugby union, commonly known in most of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts at each end.

New Zealand national rugby union team mens rugby union team of New Zealand

The New Zealand national rugby union team, called the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's rugby union, which is known as the country's national sport. The team has won the last two Rugby World Cups, in 2011 and 2015 as well as the inaugural tournament in 1987.

Contents

Early life and family

Argus was born in Auckland on 29 May 1921, [1] [2] the son of Ernest Edward Argus, a railway worker, and his second wife, Margaret Elizabeth Argus (née Olsen). [3] [4] He was educated at Albury School [4] and Pleasant Point District High School in South Canterbury. [2]

Auckland Metropolitan area in North Island, New Zealand

Auckland is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. Auckland is the largest urban area in the country, with an urban population of around 1,628,900. It is located in the Auckland Region—the area governed by Auckland Council—which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, resulting in a total population of 1,695,900. A diverse and multicultural city, Auckland is home to the largest Polynesian population in the world. The Māori-language name for Auckland is Tāmaki or Tāmaki-makau-rau, meaning "Tāmaki with a hundred lovers", in reference to the desirability of its fertile land at the hub of waterways in all directions.

Albury, New Zealand Village in New Zealand

Albury is a small village in the southern part of the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is inland from Timaru and located on State Highway 8 between Pleasant Point and Fairlie. It is in the Mackenzie Country.

Pleasant Point, New Zealand Place in Canterbury, New Zealand

Pleasant Point is a small country town in southern Canterbury, New Zealand, some 19 km inland from Timaru, on State Highway 8. It is a service town for the surrounding farming district. One of its main attractions is the heritage railway, the Pleasant Point Museum and Railway, which operates steam locomotives and one of only two Model T Ford railcar replicas in the world. It attracts about 10,000 people a year. For almost one hundred years, the Fairlie branch line railway passed through the town. It closed on 2 March 1968, and the heritage line utilises 2.5 km of track along the branch's old route.

Early rugby career

A wing three-quarter, Argus began playing senior club rugby for the Southern Football Club in 1938, and the same year made his representative debut for the Mackenzie sub-union. Following the outbreak of World War II, he moved to Christchurch, where he played for the Linwood club, and made the Canterbury provincial team in 1941 and 1942. From 1942, Argus served with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) in North Africa and Italy. [4]

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Christchurch Metropolitan area in South Island, New Zealand

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. The Christchurch urban area lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula. It is home to 404,500 residents, making it New Zealand's third-most populous city behind Auckland and Wellington. The Avon River flows through the centre of the city, with an urban park located along its banks.

Canterbury Rugby Football Union

The Canterbury Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in a portion of the Canterbury Region of New Zealand. Its colours are red and black in a hooped design. The CRFU govern the running of the Canterbury representative team which have won New Zealand's first-tier domestic competition National Provincial Championship 14 times including a "six-peat" from 2008 to 2013 – with five in the National Provincial Championship, two in the Air New Zealand Cup, five in the ITM Cup and one in the Mitre 10 Cup. Their most recent victory was the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup. Canterbury also acts as a primary feeder to the Crusaders, who play in the Super Rugby competition.

Post-war rugby career

After the end of the war, Argus was selected for the 2NZEF rugby team, known as the "Kiwis", that toured Britain and France. [4] In his 12 matches for the team he scored 17 tries. [2]

Back in New Zealand, Argus continued to play for Canterbury, and in 1946 he was selected for the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks. He made his international debut against the touring Australian side in the first test at Carisbrook in Dunedin. Argus scored two tries in the 31–8 win, and appeared again two weeks later in the second test at Eden Park, Auckland. The following year, Argus toured Australia with the national side, playing in eight of the nine matches on tour, including both of the test matches. [2]

The 1946 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand was a collection of rugby union games undertaken by the Australia team in New Zealand against invitational and national teams of New Zealand. It was the first rugby union international tour after the Second World War.

Carisbrook

Carisbrook was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it was also used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. Carisbrook also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game concerts before rugby matches in the 1990s. In 2011 Carisbrook was closed, and was replaced as a rugby ground by Forsyth Barr Stadium at University Plaza in North Dunedin, and as a cricket ground by University Oval in Logan Park.

Dunedin City in Otago, New Zealand

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.

He was also selected for the 1949 tour to South Africa, but withdrew for business reasons and did not tour; he had just bought a market garden in Heathcote Valley, Christchurch. He also missed the opportunity to play Australia at home in 1949 because of injury. [4] [5] In all, Argus played 10 matches for the All Blacks, and scored 14 tries, [2] including tries in three of the four test matches that he played in. [5]

1949 saw the second full tour of South Africa by a representative New Zealand rugby union team. The All Blacks achieved a record of 13 wins, 7 losses and 4 draws, and they lost the test series 4–0.

Heathcote Valley Suburb

Heathcote Valley is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is named after Sir William Heathcote, who was secretary of the Canterbury Association.

Later life

Argus lived in retirement in Christchurch. After the death of Bob Scott in 2012, he was the oldest living All Black. [4]

Argus died in Christchurch on 21 October 2016 after battling a short illness. [6] [7]

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References

  1. ↑ "Richie McCaw meets oldest living All Black Wally Argus". Timaru Herald. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Luxford, Bob. "Wally Argus". New Zealand Rugby Union. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Descendants of Thomas Argus" (PDF). Argus family history. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sutherland, Jeremy (26 February 2013). "All Black proud of Southern roots". Timaru Herald. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  5. 1 2 Chester, Rod; McMillan, Neville; Palenski, Ron (1987). The Encyclopedia Of New Zealand Rugby. Auckland, New Zealand: Moa Publications. pp. 21–22. ISBN   0-908570-16-3.
  6. ↑ "Rugby: Oldest All Black passes away". New Zealand Herald. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Oldest All Black Wally Argus dies aged 95". Stuff.co.nz. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
Records
Preceded by
Bob Scott 		Oldest living All Black
16 November 2012 – 21 October 2016 		Succeeded by
Ron Elvidge
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