Charles John Monro (5 April 1851 – 9 April 1933), sometimes also referred to as Charles Munro in accordance with his clan name, is credited with introducing

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 ...

to New Zealand.

Early life

Monro was born on 5 April 1851 in Waimea West, near Nelson, New Zealand. He was the fourth son of politician Sir

David Monro Sir David Monro (27 March 1813 – 15 February 1877) was a New Zealand politician. He served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1861 to 1870. Early life Monro was born in Edinburgh. His father was Alexander Monro, ...

and his wife Dinah. His father would later become the second

Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

. His sister, Maria Georgiana Monro, would marry the Scottish geologist, naturalist, and surgeon

James Hector Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employe ...

. Monro attended

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

from 1863 to 1865.''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition He became familiar with the sport of

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

at Christ's College in Finchley near London, which he attended from 1867 to 1869, playing in its 2nd XV.

Rugby

Monro introduced the game under the 1868 rules of rugby and with the new Gilbert oval ball to the

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Football club in

1870 Events January–March * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the ...

. The first game was played between

"The Gown" and Monro's club "The Town" at the Botanics ground at 2pm on 14 May 1870. Four months later Monro's commitment to establishing rugby in New Zealand was such that he organised, selected, and coached a

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 metr ...

team, played for a Nelson team, and refereed the first game in the North Island at

Petone Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in P ...

on 12 September 1870.

Family life

Monro's life was unsettled, and he lived in England and on the

continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas t ...

for some time. In 1885, he married Helena Beatrice Macdonald in New Zealand; his wife was known as Lena and was the daughter of Donald MacDonald from Nelson. In 1889, Monro purchased land in Fitzherbert, on the opposite site of the Manawatu River from

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. He named their house Craiglockhart, and the Monros had five children. Monro was from a long line of doctors, the Munro of Auchinbowie family, and his three sons all became medical professionals. He died in Palmerston North in 1933, and was buried at Kelvin Grove Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and their five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monro, Charles John 1851 births 1933 deaths Burials at Kelvin Grove Cemetery Charles New Zealand people of Scottish descent New Zealand rugby union players People educated at Nelson College People from Brightwater Rugby union players from the Tasman District

Early life

Rugby

Family life

See also

References