Arthur Herbert Carman (2 August 1902 – 28 November 1982) was a New Zealand sports journalist and writer, bookseller, publisher,

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

, local politician, and local historian.

Life and career

Carman was born and died in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand. The oldest of five children, all boys, of Walter and Gertrude Carman, Arthur was born in Paparangi, Johnsonville. He attended local schools before gaining his Certificate of Proficiency in 1915, which gave him the final two years of his education at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

in central Wellington, commuting by train each day. He began work with the Government Audit Office in Wellington in 1919. He studied accountancy at night, and began contributing on cricket and rugby for the Wellington newspaper '' The Evening Post''. In 1924, at the age of 21, he took leave without pay from the Audit Office to be the only New Zealand reporter accompanying the New Zealand rugby union tour of Britain. In 1926, while working for the Audit Office in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, he led his first church service, at the Russell Methodist Church in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its ...

. In 1932 Carman moved to Ranui in Tawa with his new wife, Edith Clark; they lived at No 7 Iti Street, Linden. Arthur had worked in the Audit Department but, hankering for a bureaucracy-free life, decided to become a

Lambton Quay Lambton Quay (once known as The Beach) is the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the foreshore, and sometimes the sea would roll ...

bookseller. The couple liked the countryside, although Ranui had barely-formed metal roads and it was quicker for Edith to push the pram along the rail tracks to Tawa, picking up lumps of coal en route. Arthur caught the morning train to the shop. He started the agitation for a station at Linden to avoid having to pull the emergency cord to alight at Linden. He was a bookseller and publisher (as Wright and Carman, founded by his father); his

bookshop served as a landmark and meeting place for thirty years. Arthur Carman Street in Paparangi is named after him. Carman served on several local bodies: the

Wellington Hospital Board Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, the Tawa Borough Council and the Hutt Valley Power and Gas Board. He stood unsuccessfully as an independent for the

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

and

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

, and also for

Wellington North Wellington North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1953. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act, 1867 which divided the County of Well ...

in the 1943 general election – his only avenue to debate pacifism legally in wartime New Zealand. He published sports books as Arthur Carman (''The New Zealand Rugby Almanack'', ''The New Zealand Cricket Almanack''; both annuals which he co-founded) and local-history books as A. H. Carman or Arthur H. Carman. These included ''The Birth of a City: Wellington 1840-1843'' and ''Tawa Flat and the Old

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

Road'', which went into three editions (1956, 1970, 1982). Carman became a noted

Christian pacifist Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Chri ...

, and spent some months in Mt Crawford prison in Wellington in 1941 for "subversion" when he attempted to publicly espouse the Christian pacifist view. His viewpoint had changed from traditional

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

toward Quakerism following a 1925 visit to the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

battlefields (he had been touring the United Kingdom as the sole press-correspondent travelling with the "Invincibles" All Black rugby team), although he remained a Methodist local preacher for the whole of his life. Carman died in Wellington on 28 November 1982, survived by Edith, three sons and two daughters. A biography based on his papers was compiled by members of his family and published in 1994 under the title ''A Full Life: Three Score Years and Ten, One Man's Life''. Bruce Murray and David Wood published a biography of Carman in 2011: ''Arthur Carman's Suitcase: The Life and Times of Arthur Herbert Carman''. A selection of the Papers of Arthur Carman are held at the New Zealand Cricket Museum in four boxes of his notes, scrapbooks and correspondence.

Works

* ''Rugby Almanack of New Zealand'' (1935–) with Arthur Swan * ''W. N. Carson: Footballer and Cricketer'' (1947) * ''The New Zealand Cricket Almanack'' (1948–1982) Tawa: Sporting Publications * ''Tawa Flat and the Old Porirua Road'' (1956, 1970, 1982) * ''The Golden Jubilee of the Ngaio School, 1908–1958'' (1958) * ''The Birth of a City: Wellington 1840–1843'' (1970) * ''New Zealand International Cricket 1894–1974'' (1974) Tawa: Sporting Publications * ''Wellington Cricket Centenary 1875–1975'' (1975) * ''Maori Rugby, 1884–1979'' (1980) * ''They Played for New Zealand: A Complete Record of New Zealand Rugby Representatives 1884–1981 and Their Matches'' (1981) * ''A Full Life: Three Score Years and Ten, One Man's Life'' (1994)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carman, Arthur Herbert 1902 births 1982 deaths 20th-century New Zealand historians New Zealand publishers (people) New Zealand pacifists New Zealand Methodists New Zealand Quakers Local politicians in New Zealand New Zealand sports historians New Zealand sportswriters 20th-century New Zealand politicians 20th-century New Zealand male writers Writers from Wellington City Cricket statisticians Cricket historians and writers New Zealand booksellers Unsuccessful candidates in the 1943 New Zealand general election Wellington Hospital Board members 20th-century New Zealand journalists 20th-century Quakers