Harold Tyrie
Rugby player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harold Joffre Tyrie (3 August 1915 – 22 February 2007) was a New Zealand track and field athlete who won a bronze medal at the 1938 British Empire Games. He also played representative rugby union for Otago.
3 August 1915
Tyrie, c. 1937 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | Harold Joffre Tyrie 3 August 1915 Dunedin, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 22 February 2007 (aged 91) Christchurch, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (198 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Phyllis Mary McClelland
(m. 1940; died 1998) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National finals | 440 yd champion (1936, 1939, 1940) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life and family
Born in Dunedin on 3 August 1915, Tyrie was the son of William Leslie Tyrie and Annie Tyrie (née Miller).[2][3] He was educated at Otago Boys' High School from 1929 to 1932.[4] On 27 September 1940, he married Phyllis Mary McClelland at St John's Church, Millers Flat,[3] and the couple went on to have three daughters.[5]
Athletics
Representing Otago, Tyrie won the New Zealand national 440 yards title three times: in 1936, 1939, and 1940.[6] At the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, he finished sixth in the final of the men's 440 yards, and was a member of the New Zealand quartet in the men's 4 x 440 yards relay that won the bronze medal.[7]
He later turned to coaching, and trained athletes including Don Jowett and Robin Tait.
Rugby union
A second-row forward from the Southern Rugby Football Club in Dunedin,[1] Tyrie played two representative rugby union games for Otago, in 1938 and 1941.[4]
Military service
Tyrie graduated from the 12th Officer Cadet Training Unit in September 1942 and was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the New Zealand Infantry.[8] Later, in 1944, with the rank of corporal, Tyrie was wounded in Italy while serving with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force.[9][10]
Later life and death
In later life, Tyrie was a ceramic artist of some note.[5][11] He died in Christchurch on 22 February 2007.[4]