Nikola Unkovich (15 January 1923 – 21 July 2005), generally known as Nick Unkovich, was a New Zealand international

lawn bowler Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

Early life and family

Unkovich was born in 1923 on the island of

Korčula Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after K ...

in present-day Croatia, and migrated to New Zealand with his parents in 1932, settling in Northland. In 1951, he married Joy Auld in

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 ...

, and the couple went on to have two children.

Bowls career

Unkovich started bowling at the

Matamata Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which takes ...

Bowling Club, after moving to nearly

Waharoa Waharoa is a rural community in the Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hami ...

to establish a grocery business. He played for the Okahu Bay Bowling Club in Auckland from the mid 1970s, and then the Rawhiti Club in

Remuera Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" sub ...

in later years. He won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

at the

1980 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1980 Men's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at the City of Frankston Bowling Club in Frankston, Melbourne, Australia, from 17 January to 2 February 1980. The Australian government would not allow the South African team to compete ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. He won ten

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 ...

titles, one singles (1979), one pairs (1991) with Ross Haresnape and eight fours titles between 1971 and 1986.

References

1923 births 2005 deaths People from Korčula Sportspeople from Dubrovnik-Neretva County Croatian emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand male bowls players 20th-century New Zealand people 21st-century New Zealand people {{NewZealand-bowls-bio-stub