Sir William Henry Cooper (2 October 1909 – 4 September 1990) was a New Zealand educator who served as headmaster of

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

from 1954 to 1972, and later as chancellor of the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. He was also a noted sportsman, playing representative

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

and

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

for Auckland teams.

Early life and education

Born in Leam, Derbyshire, Cooper was raised in New Zealand, on a farm at

Waiuku Waiuku is a rural town in the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the Waiuku River, which is an estuarial arm of the Manukau Harbour, and lies on the isthmus of the Āwhitu Peninsula, wh ...

. He attended Auckland Grammar School on a Rawlings Scholarship and went on to

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, then part of the

University of New Zealand The University of New Zealand was New Zealand's sole degree-granting university from 1874 to 1961. It was a collegiate university embracing several constituent institutions at various locations around New Zealand. After it was dissolved in 196 ...

, from where he graduated

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 second-class honours in 1933.

Cricket career

A right-handed middle-order

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

, Cooper played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

for

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

during wartime, when interprovincial matches were played but the

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octob ...

was not contested. On debut against

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 ...

in February 1942, he came in fourth in the batting order, after Auckland's captain,

Herb Pearson Herbert Taylor Pearson (5 August 1910, in Palmerston North – 15 June 2006, in Auckland) was a New Zealand cricketer who played for Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island ...

, and scored 28 runs in Auckland's only innings. Cooper's final two matches at first-class level came two seasons later, in December 1943 and January 1944. In the first of those matches, again against Wellington, he scored 52 runs in Auckland's first innings of 438/7 declared, his only half-century. He was less successful while batting in his final first-class match, against

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 ...

, but took his only first-class wicket, having Francis O'Brien caught by

Ces Burke Cecil "Ces" Burke (27 March 1914 – 4 August 1997) was a New Zealand cricketer who played for Auckland and, once, for New Zealand. He was born in Ellerslie, New Zealand and died in Auckland, New Zealand.

Education career

Cooper began teaching at Ponsonby School in 1929, alongside another new graduate, Marjory Adams, who was later headmistress of

Epsom Girls' Grammar School , motto_translation = ''Through difficulties to greatness.'' , coordinates = , type = State Single Sex Girls Secondary (Year 9–13) with Boarding Facilities , established = 12 February 1917 , MOE = 64 , principal = Lorraine Pound , colo ...

. He began at Auckland Grammar in 1935, and in 1954 was appointed headmaster. He maintained a keen interest in sport, "read ngthe sports results in full" at school assemblies, and also finding time to manage the New Zealand national cricket team's inaugural 1955–56 tour of India. Cooper retired as headmaster in 1972, and was replaced by John Graham, a former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

. He was then named pro-chancellor, and later chancellor, of the University of Auckland, having been a longstanding member of its council.

Honours and awards

In the

1965 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1965 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lond ...

, Cooper was appointed a

Commander 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 ...

, for services to education. and he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

, for services to education and the community, in the

1985 New Year Honours The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. In 1974, he was awarded an honorary LLD by the University of Auckland.

Death and legacy

Cooper died in Auckland in September 1990. His life was the subject of a 2005 biography by Andrew Mason, with a review of the book praising Cooper as a "profound meritocrat" whose "unremitting application of personal standards took him from farm boy to the best-known educationalist of his time".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Henry 1909 births 1990 deaths People from Derbyshire Dales (district) English emigrants to New Zealand People from Waiuku People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of Auckland alumni Auckland cricketers New Zealand cricketers New Zealand male field hockey players New Zealand cricket administrators Heads of schools in New Zealand New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Knights Bachelor Chancellors of the University of Auckland Cricket players and officials awarded knighthoods 20th-century New Zealand educators