John Victor Macky (3 September 1887 – 15 September 1951) was a New Zealand

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.

Biography

A wing three-quarter, Macky represented

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 ...

at a provincial level. He played one match for the New Zealand national side, 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 ...

: a test in 1913 against the touring Australian side at

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, ...

in Dunedin. Macky served in France with the

1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

(NZEF) during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, having enlisted December 1916. In January 1919 he was commissioned second lieutenant, temporary captain, as an instructor in the NZEF education scheme. He returned to New Zealand and was discharged in late 1919. His grandfather, Reverend John Macky, was the first moderator of the Presbyterian General Assembly of New Zealand. In 1920 Macky married Edna Graham Allan in Dunedin. Macky was active in civic affairs in Auckland. He served as a member of the Auckland Hospital Board, and chaired that body's finance committee. He also served as vice-chairman of the Auckland Grammar Schools Board, vice-president of the Auckland

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, and chairman of the Auckland Vocational Guidance Advisory Council. In

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

, Macky stood as an independent candidate for the mayoralty of Auckland City. He polled well but finished third, behind the incumbent,

John Allum Sir John Andrew Charles Allum (27 January 1889 – 16 September 1972) was a New Zealand businessman and engineer, and was Mayor of Auckland City from 1941 to 1953. Biography Early life and career Allum was born in London and educated at Goldsm ...

, and Labour MP

Bill Anderton William Theophilus Anderton (16 March 1891 – 20 January 1966) was a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party. He served as Minister of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), Minister of Internal Affairs in the Second Labo ...

. His wife Edna had stood unsuccessfully for the city council in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

. Macky died in Auckland on 15 September 1951, and was buried near his grandfather in the churchyard of St Johns Presbyterian Church in

Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau Central, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe has the unofficial title of Auckland ...

References

1887 births 1951 deaths Rugby union players from Auckland People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of Auckland alumni New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Auckland rugby union players Rugby union wings New Zealand accountants New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand sportsperson-politicians Members of district health boards in New Zealand YMCA leaders {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1880s-stub