OBITUARY

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14110, 18 April 1939, Page 3

OBITUARY

MR R. C. TENNENT, OF WOODVILLE. A FOUNDER OF RUGBY IN N.Z. The death of Mr Robert Collings Tennent at the age of 90 years in Woodville recently removes one of the oldest, if not the oldest of personalities associated with banking in New Zealand. Joining the service of the Bank of New South Wales in Nelson in 1868, Mr Tennent on his retirement in 1918 had completed 50 years' serviee as an officer of the bank, for 40 years of which he had acted as manager at various branches, including Auckland. Wellington, Blenheim, Nelson and Invercargill. Born at Rio de Janeiro, Mr Tennent was educated at Guernsey College. With his mother and four brothers he came to New Zealand as a lad. the family settling in Nelson. In his younger days he was a wellknown athlete and Rugby footballer and he captained the Nelson team in the first interprovincial Rugby match played in New Zealand against Wellington in the Hutt in IB 1 2. In that match Mr Tennent was lesponsible for the only score of the 1 game, a penalty goal. He was also a splendid middle-distance runner, winning many trophies for half-mile and mile events. After his retirement in 1918 he lived in Napier but eight or . nine years ago’ rehoved to Woodville. FOUNDER OF RUGBY IN NEW ZEALAND. Mr Tennent oould claim to be one of the founders of Rugby football in New Zealand. He was instrumental in forming a football club in Nelson in 1868. and at the first meeting was elected secretary and treasurer. The first practice was heTd in Victoria. Square under soccer rules, and then the Victorian rules were tried. After a few practices Mr C. J. Monro, son of Sir David Monro, returned from England, and persuaded the Nelson club to try Rugby rules. The club did so, and preferred Rugby to the other two codes tried.

In 1871 Nelson sent a team to Wellington to play the first representative Rugby match in New Zealand, which Nelson won by three points to nil. Next year Wellington returned the visit, and Nelson was again successful. The third match was played in Wellington in 1873 and on this occasion Mr Tennent captained the Nelson team. The game was played on the Basin Reserve, in the presence of the Governor and a crowd of some thousands. The game was so strenuous that one Nelson player received concussion of the brain and a Wellington man had a leg broken. The match resulted in a draw. neither side scoring. Mr Tennent left Nelson for Pa tea in 1874, and captained the Patea Football Club for five years, after which he retired from the game. An all-round athlete. Mr Tennent was also a keen golfer, and for some years was. treasurer of the Invercargill Golf Club. A LUCKY ESCAPE.

His fifteenth year was probably luckiest of Mr Tennent’s long career. At that time he was emploved in a Nelson bank, which had £90.000 in bullion to ship to Australia. The Maungatapu murderers, Burgess, Kelly and Sullivan, after their dastardly act, descended on Nelson, and intended to rob the bank of the bullion. Their practice was to sandbag the officers of the banks they attacked, and they had planned their attack for the day on which they were arrested, otherwise Mr Tennent might never have been heard of as a Rugby football player or a bank He is survived by a widow, five sons and two daughters. The sons are Messrs L. C. Tennent. South Africa, who recently visited New Zealand after an absence of 39 years: Mr H. I). Tennent, Dunedin; Mr H. C. Tennent, Honolulu: Mr K. B. Tennent, Howick. Auckland, who stood for Parliament in the. National Party’s interest at the last general election, and Dr. Allan Tennent. Wellington. The daughters art* Mrs W. Olphert, Lower. Hutt. and Mrs Norman Branson. Te Araroa. East Coast.