Gordon Hezlam Jolly (25 May 1913 – 26 October 1986) was a lawn bowls competitor for New Zealand.

Early life and family

Born in

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

on 25 May 1913, Jolly was the son of Ernest Jolly, who served as mayor of Cromwell, and Gabrielle Hezlam Jolly (née Dunne). His brothers included

Noel Jolly Noel Ernest Jolly (23 December 1908 – 23 April 1969) was a New Zealand lawn bowls player. At the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, he won the men's fours bronze medal alongside teammates Arthur Engebretsen, Fred Russell and Pete Skoglund ...

, who was also a noted lawn bowler, and Ian Jolly, who played representative

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 its m ...

for . On 7 September 1940, Jolly married Molly Margaret Hungerford at Sacred Heart Church,

North East Valley North East Valley (sometimes spelt Northeast Valley, and often abbreviated to NEV) is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. Geography North East Valley sits in the valley of the Lindsay Creek, a tributary of the Water of Leith and on t ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

Lawn bowls

Jolly began playing bowls in

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...

at the Meadowbank Bowling Club. Joining the Leith Bowling Club in Dunedin in 1946, he went on to win 18 Dunedin centre bowls titles. At the

1966 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1966 Men's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Kyeemagh, New South Wales, Australia, from 10 to 23 October 1966. David Bryant won the singles which was held in a round robin format. The pairs and triples gold went to Australia whi ...

in Sydney, Jolly represented New Zealand in the men's triples and men's fours, winning the latter title along with Norm Lash,

Ron Buchan Maurice Ronald Buchan (6 December 1907 – 30 January 2003) was a New Zealand international lawn bowler. Bowls career He competed in the first World Bowls Championship in Kyeemagh, New South Wales, Australia in 1966 and won a gold medal in th ...

and Bill O'Neill. Jolly won the 1970 fours title at the

New Zealand National Bowls Championships The New Zealand National Bowls Championships is organised by Bowls New Zealand. Bowls was introduced in New Zealand in 1861 but the first national championships were not held until 1914. Men's singles champions Men's pairs champions Men's fou ...

, alongside J. W. Walls, A. J. Robinson and Peter Jolly, representing the Leith Bowling Club. The same year, at the

1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first tim ...

, he was part of the New Zealand men's four that placed 11th. At the

1974 British 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 ...

, he won the men's fours gold medal, partnering David Baldwin,

Kerry Clark Peter Kerry Clark (born 30 June 1949) is New Zealand lawn bowls player and administrator. Early life and family Born in Cromwell on 30 June 1949, Clark was educated at Cromwell District High School from 1961 to 1965. He married his wife, Suz ...

and John Somerville. A life member of Bowls New Zealand, Jolly served as a national selector and secretary–treasurer, and was president in 1968.

Honours

In the

1977 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1977 are appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1977. The awards were announced on 30 December 1976 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: Australia,Australia: Ne ...

, Jolly was appointed an

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 bowls. He was an inaugural inductee into the Bowls New Zealand Hall of Fame in 2013.

Death

Jolly died at Dunedin on 26 October 1986, and he was buried at

Andersons Bay Cemetery Andersons Bay Cemetery is a major cemetery in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located to the southeast of the city centre, on a rocky outcrop which forms the inland part of Lawyers Head, a promontory which juts into the Pacific Ocean. The ...

. His wife, Molly, died the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jolly, Gordon 1913 births 1986 deaths People from Cromwell, New Zealand New Zealand male bowls players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Bowls players at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Bowls players at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand referees and umpires Burials at Andersons Bay Cemetery Sportspeople from Oamaru Sportspeople from Dunedin Commonwealth Games medallists in lawn bowls Bowls World Champions 20th-century New Zealand people Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games