Arthur Tunstall (22 February 1922 – 11 February 2016) was an Australian and international sport administrator, particularly in relation to boxing and the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. His Sport Australia Hall of Fame citation read that he was a "pioneer voluntary Australian sports administrator and the key person in amateur boxing and the Australian Commonwealth Games movement across the second half of last century."

Personal

Tunstall was born in 1922 in Australia. He left school at the age of 14 and by the age of 16, he was working as a scale-making apprentice. At 25, he purchased a sandwich shop. After 19 years, he moved into insurance, which he sold for 14 years. He met his wife Peggy at Redleaf Pool, Double Bay and they were married for 67 years until her death in January 2013. Peggy's support for her husband's work resulted in her being made a life member of the

Australian Commonwealth Games Association Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) is the Commonwealth Games Association for Australia, and is responsible for representing and promoting the Commonwealth Sport movement in the country, and organises the participation of Australia at the Commonwe ...

and being awarded the Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

. He lived in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of Double Bay for most of his life.

Sport administration

Boxing

Tunstall became involved in boxing through the (now long-defunct) recreation centre in Double Bay. It was where he met Les Duff, the president of the NSW Amateur Boxing Association (NSWABA), who suggested that he should apply for the association's upcoming secretary position. As Tunstall commented: "I got that job and held it for 60 bloody years!". Tunstall was a Member of the NSWABA for 59 years and the Honorary Secretary for 46 years. During these years he has attended hundreds of boxing tournaments acting as referee, judge, coach, and arena manager. For 46 years from 1953, he was Honorary Secretary/Treasurer of the Amateur Boxing Union of Australia (ABUA). Tunstall held several high level positions in regional boxing associations. In 1968, he was the inaugural Honorary Secretary of the Oceania Amateur Boxing Association (OABA) and in 1989 became its President. In 1978, when the Commonwealth Amateur Boxing Association was established, he was appointed Honorary Secretary. In 1989, he was elected to the position of Vice-President of the Oceania Bureau by the

International Amateur Boxing Association The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is an independent sport organization that sanctions amateur (Olympic-style) boxing matches and awards world and subordinate cha ...

(AIBA), and was appointed as the Chairman of the Technical and Rules Commission. He was appointed as Technical Delegate at three

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

– 1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona, and 1996 Atlanta. No other person on the International Association has been chosen for this position three times. He was also Technical Delegate at World Championships, Junior World Championships twice and the Commonwealth Games. In 1991, he was Chairman of the 6th

World Amateur Boxing Championships The IBA World Boxing Championships, and the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships (previously known as AIBA), are biennial amateur boxing competitions organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which is the sport governing body. A ...

in Sydney. Tunstall's contribution to boxing was wide-ranging, from being manager of numerous Australian teams to Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and World Championships, senior management positions in Australian amateur boxing associations to refereeing and judging. The Arthur Tunstall Trophy is presented to the best boxer at each Australian Amateur Boxing Championships. In 2013, AIBA awarded Tunstall the AIBA Order of Merit, only the second person to receive this award.

Australian Commonwealth Games Association

In 1969, Tunstall became secretary and treasurer of the

and he held the position for 30 years until 1998. This position involved preparing and sending the Australian team to the

. He was the Australian delegate on the

Commonwealth Games Federation The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as Commonwealth Sport, is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is governing body of the ...

(CGF) from 1972 to 1998. In 1994, he was elected Vice-President for Oceania on the CGF for a four-year term. He held significant positions including

chef de mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, perman ...

, general manager, Assistant general manager, and transport officer on eight Australian teams to Commonwealth Games. His first Games were the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth. In 2013, Tunstall resigned as chairman/president of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association NSW Division (ACGA NSW), a position he had held for 24 years. He was on the ACGA NSW Division Executive Committee for 48 years.

Controversy

Tunstall was one ab outspoken and controversial sport administrators. During the later part of his sport administration career, there were several decisions and comments that resulted in adverse public comment. At the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games, he suggested New Zealand be considered the seventh and eighth states of Australia. Four years later at the 1994 Victoria, Canada Commonwealth Games, he threatened to send

Cathy Freeman Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman (born 16 February 1973) is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set ...

home for carrying both the Australian and Aboriginal flags during her 200 m victory lap. Several years later, Tunstall and Freeman appeared together in a television commercial promoting tea. At the 1994 Games, athletes with a disability participated for the first time but Tunstall stated that they should have their own separate games after the able bodied Games. In 2009, Tunstall was accused of discrimination and racism against indigenous boxers in the meeting to disband Boxing NSW. George Ptolemy claimed that, when he suggested a young Aboriginal boxer be sent to the Olympics, Tunstall replied: "We need people who know how to use a knife and fork." Tunstall responded to the allegations by stating: "There have been several indigenous boys that I've taken in for weeks and fed. To say I'm a racist is totally untrue. The real story is they oxing Australiacouldn't handle me telling it straight. They've wanted me out for ages and now they've finally succeeded."

Death

Tunstall died at his son's residence on the

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

on 11 February 2016.

Recognition

Tunstall was recognised for his work, receiving several awards including: *

Australian Olympic Committee Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Life Member *1979 –

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for services to boxing *1998 –

NSW Life Member *2000 – Australian Sports MedalIt's an Honour: Australian Sports Medal
/ref> *2005 – Sport Australia Hall of Fame Inductee *2013 –

AIBA The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is an independent sport organization that sanctions amateur (Olympic-style) boxing matches and awards world and subordinate cha ...

Order of Merit award The Arthur Tunstall Trophy is presented to the best boxer of the tournament at each Australian Championships.

References

External links

*
Interview with Arthur Tunstall OBE, Commonwealth Games Sports Administrator, by Neil Bennetts, National Library of Australia Oral History, 1990
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunstall, Arthur 1922 births 2016 deaths Australian sports executives and administrators Commonwealth Games Australia officials Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Australian people of English descent Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees