Ben Couch

Ben Couch

Manuera Benjamin Riwai Couch or, as he was generally known, Ben Couch (27 June 1925 – 3 June 1996), was a New Zealand politician and rugby union player and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a member of the All Blacks and the New Zealand Māori rugby union team in the 1940s.

Contents

Early life

Couch was born in 1925 in Christchurch and he grew up on Banks Peninsula. Couch's parents were Methodists but he was largely raised by his grandmother who belong to the Salvation Army. He attended Christchurch Technical School. He married Bessie, his childhood sweetheart who was a member of the LDS Church. Couch was in the Royal New Zealand Airforce at the end of World War II but was never sent into battle. At the age of 24 Couch joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He moved to the Wairarapa in the mid 1940s.[1]

Rugby Union

Ben Couch
Full name Manuera Ben Riwai Couch
Date of birth June 27, 1925(1925-06-27)
Place of birth Christchurch
Date of death June 3, 1996(1996-06-03) (aged 70)
Place of death Masterton
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight 81 kg (180 lb)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position First five-eighth
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1947-1949
1948-1950
 New Zealand
Maori
7
20
(3)

Couch played seven games for the All Blacks in the late 1940s. He played 20 matches for the Māori rugby union team between 1948 and 1950.[1]

Political career

Parliament of New Zealand
Years Term Electorate Party
1975–78 National
1978–81 39th Wairarapa National
1981–84 40th Wairarapa National

In the 1975 general election, he was elected to Parliament as the National Party MP for the Wairarapa electorate,[2] thus becoming (with Rex Austin) only the second and third Māori (after Sir James Carroll) to win a general electorate (as opposed to a Māori electorate)[citation needed].

He served as Minister of Māori Affairs and Minister of Police in the third National Government, but lost his seat in 1984 to Labour's Reg Boorman.[2] While Minister of Police, he called for the birch to be introduced for violent offenders and allowed the police to use longer batons. He created some controversy by wearing a Springbok rugby team blazer at the time of their 1981 tour of New Zealand as well as attending a public meeting organised by the League of Rights. This despite his having been denied entry to South Africa as part of the All Blacks rugby team in the 1940s because of his race.

In the 1990s he was involved in various Māori organisations.

Death

He died in 1996 in Masterton.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Ben Couch". All Blacks. http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=184. Retrieved 14 September 2010. 
  2. ^ a b Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840-1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Couch Fest Films — is an international festival of short films hosted in various private homes all in one day. The annual festival, which began in 2008, originated in Seattle. Contents 1 …   Wikipedia

  • Ben Hecht — Infobox Actor name = Ben Hecht caption = Ben Hecht, 1948 birthdate = birth date|1894|2|28 birthplace = New York City, New York deathdate = death date and age|1964|4|18|1894|2|28 deathplace = New York City, New York spouse = Mary Armstrong (1916… …   Wikipedia

  • Ben Henrickson — Infobox character colour = #AA0000 colour text = white name = Benjamin Henrickson series = Big Love caption = first = Pilot last = cause = creator = Mark V. Olsen portrayer = Douglas Smith episode = nickname = Ben alias = species = gender = Male… …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand general election, 1984 — 1984 general election 1981 ← 14 July 1984 → 1987 …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand general election, 1981 — 1978 ← November 28, 1981 (1981 11 28) …   Wikipedia

  • Māori politics — New Zealand This article is part of the series: Politics and government of New Zealand Constitution …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand Māori rugby union team — New Zealand Māori Union New Zealand Rugby Union Coach(es) …   Wikipedia

  • Social Credit Party (New Zealand) — One of the several logos used during the history of the Social Credit Party The New Zealand Social Credit Party (sometimes called Socred ) was a political party which served as the country s third party from the 1950s through into the 1980s. The… …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand general election, 1975 — 1972 ← November 29, 1975 (1975 11 29) …   Wikipedia

  • Minister of Māori Affairs — New Zealand This article is part of the series: Politics and government of New Zealand Constitution …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”