Edwin Smith (also known as Ted; 17 September 1922 – 15 January 1997) was a New Zealand

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is di ...

from

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 ...

Early life

Smith was born in

, New Zealand, on 17 September 1922. He went to Rose Road Primary School in

Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of the ...

and later Richmond Road School. He entered into a four and a half year Contract of Apprenticeship on 20 April 1938 as an Apprentice Fitter and Turner with Hubert Samual Tanner,

New North Road New North Road may refer to: * New North Road, Islington, a road in London * New North Road, New Zealand, a road in Auckland {{geodis ...

, Auckland, Trailer Manufacture. In his youth he sailed ''Huia'' a mullet boat with the Thomson brothers as far north as 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 ...

, prior to and after the war he sailed with Ken Brown on Ghost a Bermudian sloop-rigged 28 foot yacht designed and built by Woollacott. Ted later sailed with D'Arcy Whiting.

Military service

Sergeant Edwin Smith (No 632850) served with the New Zealand 24th Battalion in Italy and Egypt. On 28 November 1938 at the age of 16 years 2 months, he attested for service in New Zealand in the Territorials and was given regimental number 4905. He had previously spent one year with the S.M.T.C Cadets. He was posted to the A Company, 1st Auckland Battalion on 7 February 1939 as a private. He attested for service again on 14 June 1940 and entered training camp on 1 July. He attested for temporary service again on 8 August 1941, was given regimental number 5/1/1612 and posted to Instructor Area 3 – Whangarei. He was promoted to Sergeant 16 January 1942 and served in New Zealand until 10 May 1943 when he was given indefinite leave without pay. He attested for service in Time of War, Within and Beyond New Zealand in December 1943 and was given Army Service Number 632852. By this stage, he had spent five years in the Territorials, mainly serving at Narrow Neck Training Camp,

. He was called up with the 12th Reinforcements as a Private on 20 April 1944 and became an instructor in C Company at the Papakura training camp where his nickname was "Smicko". He was promoted to Sergeant on 28 June 1944 and embarked 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 ...

on board the ''Highland Princess'' for

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

on 29 June 1944. After arrival in the Middle East on 8 August 1944, further training occurred at

Maadi Maadi ( ar, المعادي / transliterated: ) is a leafy suburban district south of Cairo, Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile about upriver from downtown Cairo. The Nile at Maadi is parallelled by the Corniche, a waterfront promenade a ...

Camp near Cairo. While in the Mediterranean he grew a moustache. He was shipped from

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

to Taranto in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. On 24 December 1944, he became an Intelligence Sergeant for Major Ray Boord and reverted to the ranks on 29 March 1945 at his own request. He eventually reached Trieste for rest and recreation at the end of the war in Europe, 8 May 1945. In July 1945 he was shipped back to

to do training and instruction. From 10 to 24 October 1945 he got a leave pass for a trip to Baghdad, via Syria and Lebanon. While based at

Camp in Egypt, he competed in regattas on the Nile against local Egyptian rowing clubs. He was part of the winning crew of the Open Fours at a regatta hosted by the Cairo River Club on 9 December 1945. He returned to New Zealand on the ''Orion'', boarding at Port Said on 14 January 1946 and arriving in New Zealand 10 February 1946. He was discharged from the NZ Army on 14 May 1946. War medals in recognition of service: 1939–45 Star,

Italy Star The Italy Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British Commonwealth forces who served in the Italian Campaign from 1943 to 1945, during the Second World War. The Second World War Stars On ...

War Medal 1939-45 War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

New Zealand War Service Medal __NOTOC__ The New Zealand War Service Medal (NZWSM) was a New Zealand campaign medal for service in World War II. Award Criteria The NZWSM was approved in 1946, and was awarded to members of the New Zealand armed forces, the National Military R ...

Rowing in New Zealand

He became a member of the West End Rowing Club, joining the December 1948 eight crew as bow. In 1949 this crew became Red Coats by winning the New Zealand Premier Eight Championships at Karapiro. The crew became the New Zealand

Empire 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 ...

Eight and underwent strenuous training on the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

at Mercer and Ngāruawāhia and on lake Karapiro. The boat to be used at the Empire Games was the tried and true Charles G. Herdman, a one piece Towns Skiff owned by West End Rowing Club. New Ayling oars with larger "spoons" were acquired. At the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

he won a silver medal rowing in the bow as part of the men's eight alongside crew members Donald Adam,

Kerry Ashby Kerry Ayling Ashby (4 September 1928 – 3 March 2015) was a New Zealand rower. Early life and family Ashby was born in Devonport on Auckland's North Shore in 1928, the son of Catherine Adele (née Gozar) and Edward Ashby, and the older broth ...

, Murray Ashby, Bruce Culpan, Thomas Engel, Grahame Jarratt,

Don Rowlands Sir Donald David Rowlands (17 June 1926 – 18 March 2015) was a New Zealand rower and businessman. Early life and family Rowlands was born in 1926, the third child of Ruby Winifred (née Harrison) and Horace Edward Rowlands, and was raised ...

and Bill Tinnock. He later served as a coach for West End Rowing Club, on the club's executive committee and as a starter for rowing regattas. In honour of his services he became an elected honorary member of the rowing club and later a vice-president.

General

On 9 March 1948 at the age of 24 Ted married Lois Margaret Rutledge the 21-year-old daughter of

Donald Rutledge Donald William Rutledge, OBE JP, 7 August 1891 – 1956, was an ANZAC who served for New Zealand during World War I in Samoa, Gallipoli and France. He was born in Dunedin, eldest son of Barret Rutledge (born Lyttelton, of Irish descent) ...

and May Rutledge (née Gatland) at St Peters, Grey Lynn, Auckland. The wedding reception was at the Grey Lynn Returned Services Club hall, Francis Street, Auckland. He built his first house in Rose Road, Grey Lynn. For a few years in the '60s he played football for Metro Soccer Club He was a Sheetmetal Worker by trade and ran his own business
Broadway Sheetmetals
Limited based in Patiki Road, Avondale specialising in dust extraction and heating & ventilation.Pat Whiting (1999), ''150 Years in New Zealand – The Gatland, Buckton and Cadman Families''. He was admitted as an Associate Member of The New Zealand Institute of Heating & Ventilating Engineers on 11 July 1973. He sol
Broadway Sheetmetals
Ltd to Chenery Holdings Ltd in 1981. He built a batch at

Mangawhai Mangawhai is a locality in Northland, New Zealand around the Mangawhai Harbour. The township of Mangawhai is at the south west extent of the harbour, and the township of Mangawhai Heads is 5 km north east. Kaiwaka is 13 km south west, ...

Heads. He was Club Captain and a foundation member of th
Mangawhai Surf Life Saving Club
He later sold the batch at Mangawhai and acquired "Tijuana" a 32-foot yacht (Catharine Anne – Woollacott design) which he berthed at

Westhaven Marina Westhaven Marina in Auckland, New Zealand, is the largest yacht marina in the Southern Hemisphere. The marina has nearly two thousand berths and swing moorings, and tends to be continually booked. Auckland, known as 'City of Sails', is gen ...

. In his 50s Ted crewed on the "Red Feather" in a yacht race to Suva, Fiji and on the "Shenandoah" to New Caledonia. In his retirement he grew orchards and made copper-work goods for friends and family. Edwin (Ted) Smith died in the North Shore Public Hospital in Takapuna on 15 January 1997 at an age of 74. The Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum located on the Auckland waterfront has an exhibition called "The Immigrants". This exhibition re-lives the stories of immigrants to New Zealand from the 1950s through to the 1960s, as they leave their homes, families, and possession for a life on the other side of the world. In this exhibition there are feature walls and artefact display cases showing the life of Ted Smith's father Edwin Henry Mason Smith – Jeweller.

References

External links

Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Edwin 1922 births 1997 deaths New Zealand male rowers Rowers at the 1950 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand New Zealand military personnel of World War II Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing Rowers from Auckland Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games