Rugby player
Birth name | John Grey Taiaroa Teone Wiwi Taiaroa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | (1862-09-16)16 September 1862 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Otakou, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 31 December 1907(1907-12-31) (aged 45) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | Otago Harbour, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Otago Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable relative(s) | Hōri Kerei Taiaroa (father) Tini Kerei Taiaroa (mother) Te Matenga Taiaroa (grandfather) Dick Taiaroa (brother) Thomas Ellison (cousin) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation(s) | Lawyer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cricket information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1891/92–1898/99 | Hawke's Bay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First-class debut | 9 January 1892 v Taranaki | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last First-class | 26 December 1898 v Wellington | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 22 January 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John Grey Taiaroa (16 September 1862 – 31 December 1907), of Ngāi Tahu descent, was a New Zealand rugby union player. A halfback, he played nine matches for New Zealand in 1884—the warm-up in Wellington and all eight matches of the tour of New South Wales; New Zealand won all eight games. There were no test matches on the tour, as Australia did not play their first test match until 1899. Taiaroa was the highest try scorer of the tour.
Born in Otakou, the son of Hōri Kerei Taiaroa, a New Zealand Member of Parliament, Taiaroa played school-boy rugby for Otago Boys' High School and then for the Otago provincial side. He went on to set a national record in the long jump and represent Hawke's Bay in first-class cricket during the 1890s as an attacking batsman.
In 1886 Taiaroa hit the headlines after signing his father's name on a promissory note. Despite a warrant being issued for his arrest, it was not served and the charges were later dropped.
He spent most of his working life as a lawyer in Hastings. He was accidentally drowned in Otago Harbour on 31 December 1907 and his body was recovered at Karitane beach two weeks later.
References
- Teone Wiwi ‘Jack’ Taiaroa. maorisportsawards.co.nz
- Sean Fagan (2010). "The Famous Maori Footballer, Jack Taiaroa". JottingsOnRugby.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- Ryan 1993, pp. 23.
- Knight, Lindsay. "John Taiaroa". New Zealand Rugby Museum. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "John Taiaroa | New Zealand Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPNcricinfo. 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- "Cricket". Hawke's Bay Herald. Vol. XXIX, no. 9633. 19 March 1894. p. 4.
- "Papers Past – Star – 5 May 1887 – MAGISTRATE'S COURT". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- "Papers Past – Daily Telegraph – 14 May 1887 – THE CHARGE AGAINST YOUNG TAIAROA DISMISSED". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- "The death of Taiaroa". Bay of Plenty Times. 17 January 1908. p. 3. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- "Recovery of Taiaroa's body". Wanganui Chronicle. 16 January 1908. p. 8. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
Sources
- Ryan, Greg (1993). Forerunners of the All Blacks. Christchurch, New Zealand: Canterbury University Press. ISBN 978-0-908812-30-1.
- 1907 deaths
- 1862 births
- Ngāi Tahu people
- New Zealand international rugby union players
- 19th-century New Zealand lawyers
- New Zealand cricketers
- Hawke's Bay cricketers
- New Zealand Māori lawyers
- People from Otago Peninsula
- Deaths by drowning in New Zealand
- New Zealand male long jumpers
- Otago rugby union players
- People educated at Otago Boys' High School
- Hawke's Bay rugby union players
- Ellison family
- Rugby union scrum-halves
- Rugby union players from Otago
- 20th-century New Zealand lawyers
- New Zealand rugby union players