Mr Lou Davis

Te Ao Hou, March 1962, Page 64

Mr Lou Davis Mr Louis Henry Davis, well known throughout Northland and much of New Zealand as a champion of sport for youth and for the well-being of the Maori race, died at his home at Whakapara aged 78. Born at Taumarere, near Kawakawa, Mr Davis spent practically his whole life in Northland. Mr Davis took up farming at Whakapara when he settled back permanently in the Whangarei district in 1909. From 1912 he was a member of the Whangarei Rugby Union and he was connected with the North Auckland Rugby Union since its formation nearly 40 years ago. Mr Davis played rugby for Whakapara in the early days and in 1912 organised the first Northland Maori rugby team. After initiating the first Maori-Pakeha match in the north, Mr Davis became a Tai Tokerau selector in 1929, and he chose the team which lifted the Prince of Wales Cup that year. In recent years he was a member of the Hukerenui club and has served on the NARU Maori Advisory Board as well as the WRU management committee. Apart from rugby Mr Davis's main sporting interests were tennis and table tennis.