Walter Denison (10 November 1870 – 2 October 1954) was a New Zealand

lawn bowls 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 ...

player who won a gold medal in the men's pair at the

1938 British Empire Games The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 ye ...

Early life

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 ...

on 10 November 1870, Denison was the son of Mary and William Denison. As a young man, he was active as a swimmer, rower, wrestler and boxer, and in later life he was a timekeeper for the Auckland Wrestling Association for 20 years. On 14 October 1896, Denison married Frances Mitcham, and the couple had eight children.

Career

A member of the Balmoral Bowling Club in Auckland, Denison served as the club president from 1925 to 1926. He represented New Zealand in the men's pairs at the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, winning the gold medal alongside

Lance Macey Leslie Lancelot Macey (4 August 1881 – 28 September 1950) was a New Zealand lawn bowls player who won a gold medal at the New Zealand at the 1938 British Empire Games, 1938 British Empire Games. Early life and family Born in Blenheim, New Ze ...

. At the same games, Denison's son,

Oswald Oswald may refer to: People * Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name *Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbu ...

, won a bronze medal representing New Zealand in the men's rowing eight. Outside of bowls, Denison was a jeweller. With William Brackenbury Kirkman, he founded the retail and manufacturing firm of Kirkman and Denison Jewellers in the 1890s, and he continued the business by himself after Kirkman's retirement. He served as vice-commodore of the Waitemata Boating Club and the Manukau Cruising Club at various times. Denison died in Auckland on 2 October 1954, and was survived by his wife. His ashes were buried at

Waikumete Cemetery Waikumete Cemetery, originally Waikomiti Cemetery, is New Zealand's largest cemetery. It occupies a site of 108 hectares in Glen Eden, New Zealand, Glen Eden, Auckland, and also contains a crematorium in the south-west corner of the cemetery. His ...

References

1870 births 1954 deaths Sportspeople from Auckland New Zealand male bowls players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Bowls players at the 1938 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games medallists in lawn bowls Burials at Waikumete Cemetery 19th-century New Zealand people 20th-century New Zealand people Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games {{NewZealand-bowls-bio-stub