Thomas Henry Pearce (4 June 1913 – 10 November 1976) was a New Zealand politician,

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 ...

player and businessman. He was chairman of the

Auckland Regional Authority The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The ARC ...

for 8 years. A controversial figure, he was known for his blunt, often fiery personality speaking forthrightly and not standing on ceremony.

Biography

Early life

Pearce was born 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 ...

in 1913. He was educated at

Mount Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in ...

before attending

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 ...

. A physically large man, he was an active athlete and enjoyed swimming, rugby and wrestling. He was also active in

surf lifesaving Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, inc ...

and in 1934 he became a member of the

Piha Surf Life Saving Club Piha Surf Life Saving Club (sometimes called Piha Lifeguard Service) is a surf lifesaving club for the southern section of Piha, on the west coast of Auckland Region, Auckland, New Zealand, some 45 km from the Auckland CBD, Auckland City cen ...

, remaining a member until 1961. At one time or another he held every office in the club and was made a life member of the club. He cared for the state and condition of Auckland's beaches and was opposed to the proposed sewage dumping scheme (the Browns Island plan) that would have discharged untreated effluent into

Waitematā Harbour Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and easter ...

. He was a member of the Auckland Metropolitan Drainage Board which opposed, and eventually cancelled the plan. In 1938 he married Doris Margaret Morgan with whom he had two daughters. He was secretary of the Auckland Transport Licensing Authority for seven years. He then founded his own transportation firm of City Haulage Ltd. In 1968 he was made general manager of the New Zealand Co-operative Wool Marketing Association.

Rugby career

He played rugby competitively and became a representative player for the Manukau club and later for the Grafton club, of which he later become a life member. In 1934 he was first selected to play for

as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

. He represented Auckland again from 1936 to 1939, in 1942 and from 1945 to 1946. He was also selected to play for the North Island team in the annual Interisland match in 1937 and 1938. His career peaked when he was a reserve for the

All Blacks 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 ...

in three test matches against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

during the 1937 tour, some felt he should have been a starting player however. Following his retirement as a player he turned his involvement to administration. He was a selector for the North Island team in 1948 and was later a selector for Auckland from 1951 to 1953. He was chairman of the

Auckland Rugby Union The Auckland Rugby Union is a New Zealand provincial rugby union. The union was established in 1883 and was originally responsible for the administration of the sport in most of the former Auckland Province, although its boundaries have since ...

from 1955 to 1961 and was its president from 1963 to 1966. As chairman of the Auckland Rugby Union, Pearce had led a delegation to the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

in July 1962 and was aghast at the constant bickering between mayor

Dove-Myer Robinson Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (15 June 1901 – 14 August 1989) was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office. He was a colourful character and became affectionately known across New ...

and councillor Charlie Passmore during their discussions and took exception to their behaviour. Pearce was also a member of the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

council from 1955 to 1966 and was president of the union from 1965 to 1966. Pearce was manager of the New Zealand team for three tours; the 1959 British Lions tour, the 1960 tour of South Africa and the 1961 French tour. In 1965 he was signally honoured as a life honorary vice-president of the

South African Rugby Board The South African Rugby Board was the rugby union governing body of white South Africans between 1889 and 1992. The governing of white and coloured rugby union was handled separately during South Africa under Apartheid. On the 23 March 1992 the no ...

. He staunchly defended retaining sporting contacts with South Africa.

Political career

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

he stood on the

Citizens & Ratepayers Communities and Residents (C&R) is a Right-wing politics, right-leaning Local government, local body Ticket (election), ticket in Auckland, New Zealand. It was formed in 1938 as Citizens & Ratepayers, with a view to controlling the Auckland Cit ...

ticket for the

and was elected a member. He held a seat on the council for six years before he decided not to stand for re-election in 1968. In 1963 he was disqualified from the council on a technicality, breaching the Local Authorities (Members Contracts) Act according to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, but was re-elected in April that year in the subsequent by-election. Once elected, Pearce was quick to clash with mayor Robinson, which was ironic given his previous criticism of the behavior of council members. Undoubtedly the major factor of the friction was Robinson's long history as patron and supporter of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

, rival to rugby union which Pearce supported. Pearce showed himself as very old fashioned and notably objected to Robinson's plans to hold an official civic reception for

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

during their 1964 tour of New Zealand, describing it as pandering to a group of "long hairs". He was elected a member of the

(ARA) in 1965. He was elected chairman of the ARA (in preference to the deputy chairman Leo Manning) in 1968 and was re-elected chairman in 1971 and 1974. As chairman he persistently opposed Robinson's proposed plans for a rapid transit system in Auckland concerned with the astronomical cost and the potential of rebellion from the many Auckland boroughs which would not benefit from the scheme.

Later life and death

Pearce died on 10 November 1976, aged 63. He was survived by his wife and two daughters. He was buried at Waikumete Cemetery. His death necessitated a by-election for the ARA which was won by

Jim Anderton James Patrick Anderton (born Byrne; 21 January 1938 – 7 January 2018) was a New Zealand politician who led a succession of left-wing parties after leaving the Labour Party in 1989. Anderton's political career began when he was elected to th ...

. His daughter Sandra would later become a regional councillor from 2001 to 2010.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Thomas Henry 1913 births 1976 deaths People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School University of Auckland alumni Rugby union players from Auckland New Zealand Rugby Football Union officials Auckland City Councillors Auckland regional councillors 20th-century New Zealand politicians Burials at Waikumete Cemetery New Zealand sportsperson-politicians