Iain Watson Gallaway (26 December 192218 April 2021) was a New Zealand broadcaster, lawyer and cricketer. He was a commentator on the radio station

Radio Sport Radio Sport (previously Sports Roundup) was a New Zealand sports radio radio network, network and the talk radio, talkback sister network of Newstalk ZB. It held commentary rights for most cricket matches, international and domestic rugby uni ...

, and a

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 officiall ...

er. Between January 2021 and his death, Gallaway was New Zealand's oldest living first-class cricketer.

Early life

Gallaway was born in

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 ...

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, on 26 December 1922. He attended

Christ's College, Christchurch Christ's College, Canterbury is an independent Anglican secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand. Founded in 1850 by Reverend Henry Jacobs in Lyttelton as a school for early settlers, ...

, and the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

. His first job was as a cadet reporter for the ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

''. Gallaway served in the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, patrolling the Atlantic and the North Sea on a D-class cruiser. After his stint in the navy, he studied law at 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 ...

in Dunedin and worked as a lawyer in the Dunedin firm that is now Gallaway Cook Allan. He went on to become an officer of the Otago Law Society and the

New Zealand Law Society The New Zealand Law Society ( mi, Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa) is the parent body for barristers and solicitors in New Zealand. It was established in 1869, and regulates all lawyers practising in New Zealand. Membership of the society is voluntary, ...

Career

Gallaway played three

matches for

between 1946 and 1948 as a right-handed lower-order batsman and wicketkeeper. In his first match 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 me ...

he took six catches. He also acted as an international

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 ...

referee, officiating a

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1949, and

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

against the British Lions the following year. In a radio commentary career that extended from 1953 to 1992, Gallaway broadcast about 500 rugby matches and numerous cricket matches, mostly from the

Carisbrook Carisbrook (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Carisbrook Stadium) was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it was also used for other sports such as cricket, football, ...

ground in Dunedin. He retired after the

1992 Cricket World Cup The 1992 Cricket World Cup (officially the Benson & Hedges World Cup 1992) was the fifth staging of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in Australia and New Zealand from 22 February to 25 Mar ...

, concerned that his declining eyesight would cause him to make incorrect calls. The final match he broadcast was

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's victory over

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the round-robin stage. Gallaway's book ''Not a Cloud in the Sky: The Autobiography of Iain Gallaway'' was published five years later in 1997. He was the official patron of the Otago Cricket Association until his death.

Honours and recognition

Gallaway was appointed a

Member 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 ...

in the 1978 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to rugby and cricket. In the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was made a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for community service, specifically for his work as chancellor of the

Anglican Diocese of Dunedin The Diocese of Dunedin is one of the thirteen dioceses and ''hui amorangi'' (Māori bishoprics) of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese covers the same area as the provinces of Otago and Southland in the South Is ...

over a quarter of a century. He received a

Halberg Award The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand former middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award ...

for services to sport in 1999. Gallaway was awarded life membership of

New Zealand Cricket New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New Z ...

in 2010. Upon the death of

Alan Burgess Alan Burgess (1 February 1915 – 10 April 1998) was an English Royal Air Force pilot and author who wrote several biographical and non-fiction books between the 1950s and the 1970s. He wrote biographies of Gladys Aylward, and Flora Sandes, and ...

on 6 January 2021, Gallaway became the oldest living New Zealand first-class cricketer. When Gallaway died, that honour passed to Peter Arnold.

Personal life

Gallaway was married to his wife, Virginia, until her death. Together, they had four children, Sarah, Annie, Garth, and Alice. Garth has worked as a cricket commentator on Radio Sport and as a lawyer in Christchurch, and is Chair of the

Arts Foundation of New Zealand 'The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The concept ...

. Gallaway died on 18 April 2021, at the age of 98.

References

External links

Iain Gallaway on air
at '' Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallaway, Iain 1922 births 2021 deaths People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch University of New Zealand alumni Royal New Zealand Navy personnel of World War II New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers Cricketers from Dunedin New Zealand broadcasters New Zealand cricket commentators New Zealand rugby union commentators 20th-century New Zealand lawyers Companions of the Queen's Service Order New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand autobiographers Wicket-keepers