Former golf tournament organiser dies at 76

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 38186, 28 March 1973, Page 26

Former golf tournament organiser dies at 76

Mir W. E. Coates, the secre-; tary of the Christchurch Golf; Club at: Shirley from 1953 until 1967, died recently, in Christchurch. He was 76. Mr Coates was born in; ; Greytmouth and educated; i the re] until 1910, when he; I went 1 to Christ’s College.' He I became a member; ; of title first Christ’s College; ;! four, (when rowing was intro-; 'ducedt in 1914. He then ■ ; joinedl the Eastern Extension Australasia and China Tele-' ;i graph i Company at Nelson.; !He overseas with the; ■' company, which later became' Cable land Wireless, Ltd, ini i 1920, land spent 19 years! . overseas, at Singapore, in , : French (Indb-China, on Cocos Island, I and in the Nether- ■ lands East Indies. Mr Coates was in New Zea-i land whim war broke out and he returned to the Far East; , in charge of the cable station |at Baajoewangi until Java . was ocounied hv the Japan-

; ese in March, 1942. The ; cable staff did not receive 1 orders to leave until two days after the surrender of the ; country, and he was captured. I When he was released in .; September, 1945, his wife and ; family had not heard of him ' for three years and a half. After the war. he returned i to the cable office in Singa ; pore, where he later became I manager of the company’s | installation for the whole of I the Straits Settlements. Mr Coates retired in 1953. ; and became secretary of the 'Christchurch Golf Club, a i position he held until resignation because of ill-health in 1967. During this period he managed several important tournaments. For several years he was a I sidesman at the Christchurch Cathedral. At the time of his : death he was honorary secretary of the Association of Friends of Christchurch Col-