Richard John Dunn (19 May 1908 – 7 August 2001) was a New Zealand

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

coach.

Biography

Dunn was born in the coal-mining town of Millerton on the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

's West Coast. His father was a stone-tunneller who bored into the sides of hills looking for seams of coal. He was trained by an Australian boxer and when Dunn was 18 he moved into training for himself. In 1929 he moved his gymnasium from

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 ...

to the Hutt Valley and eventually set up in Moera’s Railway Workshops, starting off training 100 boys. The gymnasium was open five nights a week and a local policeman used to bring trouble-making boys there in the hope it would give them an interest and to keep them off the streets. Dick had a simple policy on accepting people. Dunn still found time to compete in the ring and won the Hutt Valley and Wellington lightweight title in 1933, but retired shortly after. In the ring there was none tougher or of more determined mind, but outside the ring Dick made it his life ambition to befriend all who had the time to chat. Champions he coached included

Frank Creagh Frank William Creagh (5 May 1924 – 5 July 1998) was a New Zealand boxer. He won the gold medal in the men's heavyweight division at the 1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now ca ...

, who won heavyweight gold at the 1950 Auckland Empire Games, Wallace Coe, who took out the welterweight gold in Perth in 1962,

Bill Kini William George Kini (9 July 1937 – 30 August 2012) was a New Zealand heavyweight boxer and rugby union prop. He won a gold medal for boxing at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and placed second in the 1962 British Empire and Co ...

, who won the heavyweight gold in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

in 1966, Lyn Philp bantamweight champion (1948–54), and Billy Graham, who won four national titles. Dunn was the manager of the New Zealand boxing team at the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. They were followed by the 1966 Commonwealth P ...

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. He was a selector for the

1974 Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

in Christchurch and coached for the Olympic Solidarity Fund. Dunn’s sporting interests extended to soccer, racing, rugby, rugby league and cricket. He founded a cricket club at the age of 21 and played 52 consecutive seasons of Wellington senior cricket. He also coached men’s and women’s cricket in the Hutt Valley for decades, rising to coach the New Zealand women’s team. Dunn retired to

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

in 1974 and founded the Bulls RSA Amateur Boxing Club. In the

1987 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

, he was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for community service. He and his wife Myra (Chum), whom he married in Petone in 1940, moved to Wairarapa in 1985. Dunn died in

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

, aged 93.

Memberships

Dunn was a life member of: *The New Zealand Boxing Association *New Zealand Boxing Coaches Association *Riverside Petone Cricket Club *Stop Out Soccer Clu

*Wellington and Hutt Valley Boxing Trainers Association

References

External links

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 May 1998, NZ boxing great puts making friends first
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Dick (boxer) New Zealand boxing trainers New Zealand referees and umpires People from the West Coast, New Zealand Sportspeople from Lower Hutt 1908 births 2001 deaths Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal New Zealand male boxers