Allan Douglas Hunter (23 September 1922 – 12 July 2017) was a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player and schoolteacher. He played provincial rugby for , and was principal of both

Upper Hutt College Upper Hutt College is a state school, state Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school located in Trentham, New Zealand, Trentham in the city of Upper Hutt, New Zealand. The school opened in 1962 as the city's second state secondary sc ...

and

Burnside High School Burnside High School ( mi, Te Kura o Waimairi-iri) is a state co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Burnside in Christchurch, New Zealand. With a roll of students, it is the largest school in New Zealand outside Auckland, and ...

Early life and family

Born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

on 23 September 1922, Hunter was educated at

Timaru Boys' High School Timaru Boys' High School (also known as TBHS), established in 1880, is a single sex state (public) secondary school located in the port city of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. TBHS caters for years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 19 years). At th ...

from 1936 to 1940. He then studied at

Canterbury University College The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

, graduating

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

with third-class honours in 1948. Hunter's university studies were interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was called up in July 1941, but he was allowed to defer army training until after examinations at the end of that year. He served with the First Battalion, Canterbury Regiment, which was tasked with defending the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

coast against attack by the Japanese. He later travelled to Britain where he joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

and was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant, and served in HMS ''Rutherford'' from 1944 to 1945. Hunter married Joan Esme Tyler, and the couple went on to have three children.

Rugby union

While at Timaru Boys' High School, Hunter played for the school's 1st XV rugby team. He then played for the Canterbury University College club team alongside Bob Stuart, Larry Savage, and Jack Kelly. After moving to Napier in 1949, Hunter was selected for the Hawke's Bay provincial team, playing as a

first five-eighth In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

Teaching career

Hunter taught at

Napier Boys' High School Napier Boys' High School is a secondary boys' school in, Napier, New Zealand. It currently has a school roll of approximately pupils. The school provides education from Year 9 to Year 13. Notable alumni Business * Rod Drury – chief execu ...

from 1949, and

Kuranui College Kuranui College is a State school, state Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school for the South Wairarapa located in Greytown, New Zealand. The college opened in February 1960 to replace the four district high schools in Greytown, F ...

, before being appointed principal of

in 1962. He remained in that position until 1969, when he moved to

in Christchurch, serving as principal until his retirement in 1980.

Later life and death

In retirement, Hunter was active in community organisations, and was the inaugural president of the Burnside Men's Probus club. In 1995, he wrote a history of the Bishopdale–Burnside Rotary club, having been an inaugural member of the club in 1974 and its president from 1981 to 1982. He also wrote an account of the First Battalion Canterbury Regiment's coastal defence duties during World War II, published in 2000 and titled ''The Young Defenders''. In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours, Hunter was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to education and the community. Hunter's wife, Joan, died in 2002. Hunter himself died in Christchurch on 12 July 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Allan 1922 births 2017 deaths People from Christchurch People educated at Timaru Boys' High School New Zealand military personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand rugby union players Hawke's Bay rugby union players Heads of schools in New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand historians Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Rugby union players from Christchurch