Thomas Eyton (c1843 – 14 February 1925) was one of the organisers of the

1888–89 New Zealand Native football team The 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand rugby union team that toured Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889. It mostly comprised players of Māori ancestry, but also included some Pākehā (white N ...

which toured Australia, Britain, and Ireland. He was a

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the M ...

veteran, serving from 1863 to 1869 in the Otahuhu Cavalry, Taranaki Bushrangers and Patea Light Horse. He then worked in the Treasury in Wellington for five years, before entering private business. Born in Essex, England about 1825, he was the son of a Royal Navy lieutenant-commander. Educated in Essex, he was a clerk in Trinity House dealing with lighthouses for two years before deciding on an outdoor life and emigrating to New Zealand in 1862. He died in Auckland, and is buried in Waikaraka Cemetery.

References

*''The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand Rugby'' by Ron Palenski, Rod Chester & Neville McMillan, page 250 (4th edition 2005, Hodder Moa Beckett, Auckland) {{DEFAULTSORT:Eyton, Thomas 1840s births 1925 deaths British emigrants to the Colony of New Zealand Rugby union people in New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand businesspeople 19th-century New Zealand public servants People from Essex (before 1965) People from Auckland