John Graham (All Black)
Encyclopedia
Sir David John Graham, KNZM
, CBE
, ED
(born 9 January 1935, in Stratford, New Zealand
) previous president of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and a former All Black loose forward
he played 22 Tests between 1958 and 1964, including 3 as captain. He was headmaster of Auckland Grammar School
from 1973 to 1993, New Zealand cricket team
manager from 1997 to 1999, the University of Auckland
Chancellor
from 1999 to 2004, and was elected president of the NZRFU in April 2005.
with his brothers where he received his secondary education, playing in the first XV for two years mainly at first five-eighths. He attended Auckland University for three years, graduating with a MA
(Hons) in History
and playing for the Auckland provincial team in that time. He represented Auckland against the 1956 Springboks at Eden Park
in just his fourth match for Auckland.
and took up a permanent teaching position at Christchurch Boys High School. He joined the Christchurch High School Old Boys
club rugby team and was immediately made captain, remaining so for the rest of his time there. The same year he was selected for the All Blacks for the first two tests against Australia
, making his debut on 23 August in Wellington
and helping his team to a 25-3 victory. In 1959 Graham withdrew from the All Black trials, but in 1960 was selected to tour South Africa
. He played 10 of the 26 matches, including the second and third tests, and captained the team on a number of occasions.
Graham was an intelligent player with a great turn of speed, and became one of the most intelligent and fastest loose forwards in the All Black side.http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=330 When Wilson Whineray
retired after the tour of Great Britain
in 1964, Graham took over the All Black captaincy, a position he held until retiring from rugby in 1965. He'd played a total of 31 games for the All Blacks (7 as captain), and a total of 22 tests (3 as captain). He scored 11 tries for the All Blacks, 2 of which were test match tries.
at Christchurch Boys High School which he held until 1970. He went from there to Linwood High School
before being appointed Head-Master of Auckland Grammar in 1973, a position he held for 21 years.
Graham has been outspoken about rugby, its organisation and its place in New Zealand culture. After touring South Africa with the All Blacks in 1960, he said that "if we had any conscience and feeling for humanity, we should not have been touring South Africa". Along with Wilson Whineray he declined to attend the matches of the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand. Graham has also criticised the presence of advertising on the All Black jersey; "I may be a dinosaur in this respect, but I don't think anything should go on the All Black jersey other than the silver fern".http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=330
Graham believes New Zealanders focus excessively on the sport of rugby, stating, "I don't think rugby union is anywhere near as important in this country as solving the problems of poverty and unemployment. We're happy, aren't we, when our rugby team goes well, yet we're prepared to let some aspects of our nation go almost ignored."http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=330
Having spent decades working in education and experience, and with experience as chairman of the New Zealand Education Scholarship Trust, Graham is renowned for his expertise in this area. He is critical of much of what is produced by today's educationalists, believing that "To assume, as so many teachers do today, that the knowledge has to come from the children and all they have to do is pull it out, is educational nonsense."http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=330
in 1994 for services to education and the community. He managed the New Zealand cricket team from 1997–1999, and was appointed Chancellor of the University of Auckland in 1999 until retiring from the position in 2004. In the business world, Mr Graham held a number of directorships including The University Bookshop Ltd where he was Chair, IT distributor Renaissance Corporation, and transportation company Owens Group Ltd. Mr Graham retains a directorship of the Auckland based private education provider, Academic Colleges Group
.
In 1999 John Graham was named 'New Zealander of the Year' by North & South magazine
, the cover article of the January 2000 edition running under the heading, "John Graham, the man who set standards". The break-out quote described him as:
"All Black captain, for 21 years headmaster of Auckland Grammar School, rugby coach, company director, businessman, commissioner of the troubled Nga Tapawae College, manager of the New Zealand cricket team. Renaissance man
and Chancellor of the University of Auckland."
Graham was elected president of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 2005, and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Auckland the same year.
In the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Graham was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
for services to education and sports.
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, ED
Efficiency Decoration
The Efficiency Decoration is a defunct medal of Britain and the Commonwealth awarded for long service in the Territorial Army of the UK, the Indian Volunteer Forces and Colonial Auxiliary Forces....
(born 9 January 1935, in Stratford, New Zealand
Stratford, New Zealand
Stratford is the only town in the central Taranaki district of Stratford District, New Zealand. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, approximately half-way between New Plymouth and Hawera, near the geographic centre of the Taranaki region. The town has a population of...
) previous president of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and a former All Black loose forward
Loose forward
Loose forward may refer to playing positions in both rugby football sports:* Rugby league positions, in rugby league football* Rugby union positions, in rugby union football...
he played 22 Tests between 1958 and 1964, including 3 as captain. He was headmaster of Auckland Grammar School
Auckland Grammar School
Auckland Grammar School is a state secondary school for years 9 to 13 boys in Auckland, New Zealand. It had a roll of 2,483 in 2008, including a number of boarders who live in nearby Tibbs' House, making it one of the largest schools in New Zealand...
from 1973 to 1993, New Zealand cricket team
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
manager from 1997 to 1999, the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
Chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
from 1999 to 2004, and was elected president of the NZRFU in April 2005.
Early life
Graham boarded at New Plymouth Boys' High SchoolNew Plymouth Boys' High School
New Plymouth Boys' High School is a single-sex boys' state secondary school in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. It was founded in 1882 and celebrated its 125th Jubilee in 2007....
with his brothers where he received his secondary education, playing in the first XV for two years mainly at first five-eighths. He attended Auckland University for three years, graduating with a MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(Hons) in History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and playing for the Auckland provincial team in that time. He represented Auckland against the 1956 Springboks at Eden Park
Eden Park
Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
in just his fourth match for Auckland.
Rugby career
Upon completing his tertiary education in 1958 Graham moved to ChristchurchChristchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
and took up a permanent teaching position at Christchurch Boys High School. He joined the Christchurch High School Old Boys
High School Old Boys RFC
High School Old Boys is a Rugby Union Football club based in Christchurch, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1900 by former students of Christchurch Boys' High School. Whilst many current members are former CBHS students, Old Boys is an open club accepting both male and female players of all...
club rugby team and was immediately made captain, remaining so for the rest of his time there. The same year he was selected for the All Blacks for the first two tests against Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, making his debut on 23 August in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and helping his team to a 25-3 victory. In 1959 Graham withdrew from the All Black trials, but in 1960 was selected to tour South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. He played 10 of the 26 matches, including the second and third tests, and captained the team on a number of occasions.
Graham was an intelligent player with a great turn of speed, and became one of the most intelligent and fastest loose forwards in the All Black side.http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=330 When Wilson Whineray
Wilson Whineray
Sir Wilson James Whineray, KNZM, OBE is a former business executive and the longest-serving captain of the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby union team. Rugby writer T.P. McLean considered him the All Blacks' greatest captain.He first played for the All Blacks in 1957...
retired after the tour of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in 1964, Graham took over the All Black captaincy, a position he held until retiring from rugby in 1965. He'd played a total of 31 games for the All Blacks (7 as captain), and a total of 22 tests (3 as captain). He scored 11 tries for the All Blacks, 2 of which were test match tries.
Post rugby career
After retiring from rugby Graham returned to teaching, being promoted to Head of Social StudiesSocial studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...
at Christchurch Boys High School which he held until 1970. He went from there to Linwood High School
Linwood College (New Zealand)
Linwood College is a co-educational decile 2 secondary school in Linwood, a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand.-History:Founded in the early 1950s, to cater for the secondary educational needs of a growing population in eastern Christchurch, then Linwood High School became one of New Zealand's...
before being appointed Head-Master of Auckland Grammar in 1973, a position he held for 21 years.
Graham has been outspoken about rugby, its organisation and its place in New Zealand culture. After touring South Africa with the All Blacks in 1960, he said that "if we had any conscience and feeling for humanity, we should not have been touring South Africa". Along with Wilson Whineray he declined to attend the matches of the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand. Graham has also criticised the presence of advertising on the All Black jersey; "I may be a dinosaur in this respect, but I don't think anything should go on the All Black jersey other than the silver fern".http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=330
Graham believes New Zealanders focus excessively on the sport of rugby, stating, "I don't think rugby union is anywhere near as important in this country as solving the problems of poverty and unemployment. We're happy, aren't we, when our rugby team goes well, yet we're prepared to let some aspects of our nation go almost ignored."http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=330
Having spent decades working in education and experience, and with experience as chairman of the New Zealand Education Scholarship Trust, Graham is renowned for his expertise in this area. He is critical of much of what is produced by today's educationalists, believing that "To assume, as so many teachers do today, that the knowledge has to come from the children and all they have to do is pull it out, is educational nonsense."http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=330
Honours
In 1994 Graham was made a CBEOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1994 for services to education and the community. He managed the New Zealand cricket team from 1997–1999, and was appointed Chancellor of the University of Auckland in 1999 until retiring from the position in 2004. In the business world, Mr Graham held a number of directorships including The University Bookshop Ltd where he was Chair, IT distributor Renaissance Corporation, and transportation company Owens Group Ltd. Mr Graham retains a directorship of the Auckland based private education provider, Academic Colleges Group
Academic Colleges Group
Academic Colleges Group is a private company operating independent schools in New Zealand and Asia. The Group comprises a total of 10 schools in three countries with over 5000 students and 500 staff members. ACG's educational services encompass pre-school learning through to university level...
.
In 1999 John Graham was named 'New Zealander of the Year' by North & South magazine
North and South (magazine)
North & South is a monthly magazine published in New Zealand. It was founded in 1986, and famously documented the end of the Lange Labour government in 1989. Its name relates to the two main islands of New Zealand, whilst alluding to the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell...
, the cover article of the January 2000 edition running under the heading, "John Graham, the man who set standards". The break-out quote described him as:
"All Black captain, for 21 years headmaster of Auckland Grammar School, rugby coach, company director, businessman, commissioner of the troubled Nga Tapawae College, manager of the New Zealand cricket team. Renaissance man
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
and Chancellor of the University of Auckland."
Graham was elected president of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 2005, and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Auckland the same year.
In the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Graham was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
for services to education and sports.