OBITUARY Mr T. H. Richards Oils Prominent Golfer

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31319, 15 March 1967, Page 14

OBITUARY Mr T. H. Richards Oils Prominent Golfer

Canterbury golf lost one oft its greatest characters and! staunchest supporters with the i death last week of Mr T. H. A.! Richards, of Hororata. He was 72. Mr Richards, his wife and family played a prominent part in the fortunes of the Hororata Golf Club and it will be in the nature of a tribute to Mr Richards’s memory that his family will continue to work for the establishment of the club’s new course at Glentunnel. Mr Richards was a skilled golfer, playing to a handicap of two at the height of his career. He first played golf at Snowdon before the First World War and later joined the Christchurch and Hororata clubs. Members at Shirley still play for a cup donated by Mr Richards, for the intermediate championship.

In 1924 Mr Richards was one of the foundation members of the Harewood club, and played a part in its early development. At the Hororata club he was men’s champion in 1925

and 1934, to start a remarkable run of family successes. His wife won the women's title four times, their daughter. Miss F. M Richards, was successful on three occasions, and two sons, Messrs A. M. and E. H. M. Richards, dominated the men’s title for a decade. The oldest son, Mr T. M. Richards, served the club splendidly as secretary. I Mr Richards ended his playing days about 1950. Last year he told “The Press" that he gave up golf at this stage because his youngest son, E. H. M. Richards—now No. 1 in the Canterbury Freyberg Rose Bowl team—had started to beat him. Mr Richards zas born at Valetta, near Ashburton. He was educated at the Ashburton High School and served with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade in the First World War, returning to Hororata to take up farming at “Laindon" in 1921. He had lived on the property since that time, becoming very well known in the district and to golfer over a wide area.