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.

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

• Ben Couch at AllBlacks.com

Persondata
Name	Couch, Ben
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 June 1925
Place of birth	Christchurch
Date of death	3 June 1996
Place of death	Masterton