William Balch (17 October 1871 – 4 April 1949) was a New Zealand teacher who lived and taught in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

and the surrounding

Canterbury province The Canterbury Province was a Provinces of New Zealand, province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Assoc ...

. Balch played

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 ...

, including for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

in 1894, his position of choice was wing three-quarter.

Early life, family and teaching career

Born in

Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River. It is con ...

on 17 October 1871, Balch was the son of Enoch and Maria Balch. He was educated in Kaiapoi and served as a

pupil-teacher Pupil teacher was a training program in wide use before the twentieth century, as an apprentice system for teachers. With the emergence in the beginning of the nineteenth century of education for the masses, demand for teachers increased. By 1840, ...

there for five years. After two years' training at

Christchurch Normal School Cranmer Court, the former Christchurch Normal School, was one of the most significant heritage buildings in Christchurch, New Zealand. Its demolition, due to some damage in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, was controversial. History The Canter ...

, he did relief teaching for a few months, and then was an assistant teacher at Warwick House in

. He then worked for 18 months as assistant master at Papanui and then became headmaster at McKenzie Public School at Cheviot in January 1895. Balch married Janet Campbell Simson in December 1899. He later graduated from

Canterbury University College The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1912. He went on to become headmaster of Shirley School, and later was a school inspector. He also wrote an English textbook, ''Sentence structure and hints on composition'', that was used in New Zealand primary schools.

Rugby union

A wing three-quarter, Balch represented the University club in Christchurch between 1890 and 1892. He then transferred to the Kaiapoi club in 1894. Balch represented between 1890 and 1899, although he did not make any provincial appearances in the 1895, 1896 or 1897 seasons. Balch played one game for the New Zealand national team, a match against the touring New South Wales team at

Lancaster Park Lancaster Park, also known as Jade Stadium and AMI Stadium for sponsorship reasons, was a sports stadium in Waltham, a suburb of Christchurch in New Zealand. The stadium was closed permanently due to damage sustained in the February 2011 eart ...

, Christchurch, in 1894. Balch, known as an excellent goal-kicker, was assigned the kicking duties in this game, but he was unable to convert either of New Zealand's two tries, which was a factor in the 8–6 loss, and he was never selected for the national side again. Balch also turned out for Canterbury side that defeated New South Wales by 11 points to 3, scoring a try and conversion. Balch did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first full international until 1903. Also well known as an athlete Balch was described as "a great three-quarter, a flyer on both the track and field". He was also a noted authority on growing daffodils.

Death

Balch died in Christchurch on 4 April 1949.

References

External links

All Blacks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balch, William 1871 births 1949 deaths People from Kaiapoi University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Rugby union wings New Zealand schoolteachers New Zealand gardeners Rugby union players from Canterbury, New Zealand