Ben Waters

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Ben Waters
Waters in 1960
Personal information
Birth nameEdward Arthur Waters
Born(1907-10-13)13 October 1907
Marton, New Zealand
Died30 October 1992(1992-10-30) (aged 85)
Weight76 kg (168 lb)[1]
Spouse
Kathleen Mary Dobson
​
​
(m. 1933; died 1973)​
Sport
CountryNew Zealand
SportRowing
ClubHamilton Rowing Club
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing  New Zealand
British Empire Games
Gold medal – first place 1930 Hamilton Coxed four
Silver medal – second place 1930 Hamilton Eight
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1929 Waikato 2 (0)

Edward Arthur "Ben" Waters (13 October 1907 – 30 October 1992) was a New Zealand rower who won two medals at the 1930 British Empire Games. He later unsuccessfully stood as a Labour parliamentary candidate at several elections.

Early life and family[edit]

Born at Marton on 13 October 1907, Waters was the son of Thomas Edward Waters and Grace Hannah Eliza Waters (née Mainwaring).[2][3] He married Kathleen Mary Dobson on 12 August 1933,[4] and the couple went on to have five children.[5]

Sporting career[edit]

Rowing[edit]

A member of the Hamilton Rowing Club, Waters began rowing as a 17-year-old.[6] In 1929 he was a member of the Hamilton four that won the national championship.[6] In March of the following year, he participated in a trial race for selection of the New Zealand team to compete at the 1930 British Empire Games in Hamilton, Ontario, but was not initially chosen for the 12-man squad.[7] However, he was included in the final squad selected in late June,[8] and competed in both the men's eight and coxed four at the 1930 Empire Games.[9] He won a gold medal in the coxed four, alongside Mick Brough, Jack Macdonald, Bert Sandos, and Arthur Eastwood (cox), and a silver medal in the eights, finishing three-quarters of a boat length behind the victorious English crew.[10]

Selected for the New Zealand rowing squad to compete at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Waters was unable to afford to attend.[5]

Waters later served as chairman of the Hamilton Rowing Club for almost 25 years.[5]

Other sports[edit]

Waters played two rugby union matches as a forward at a provincial level for Waikato in 1929, and was later a Waikato rugby administrator.[5][11][12][13] He also played representative cricket and tennis.[5]

Politics[edit]

Waters was a carpenter and union organiser,[14] and was described as an "incisive critic of National Party policy".[11] During World War II he was serving as a leading aircraftman in the Royal New Zealand Air Force when he stood as the Labour Party candidate for the Waitomo electorate at the 1943 general election.[15] He finished second, 1881 votes behind the National Party incumbent, Walter Broadfoot.[16]

At the 1946 general election, Waters contested the newly created Piako electorate, losing by 5111 votes to Stan Goosman of the National Party.[17] Waters stood for Labour in the Hamilton electorate at the 1951 election, but was defeated by National's incumbent MP, Hilda Ross, by 2252 votes.[17] In 1954, Waters again stood against Ross in Hamilton, reducing her majority to 1430.[17] Following Ross's death in 1959, Waters contested the resulting by-election, but lost to Lance Adams-Schneider from National by 2988 votes.[17]

Later life and death[edit]

Waters became a builder and building supervisor.[5] He lived in retirement in Hamilton,[5] and was predeceased by his wife, Kathleen, in 1973.[18] Waters himself died on 30 October 1992, and he was buried at Hamilton East Cemetery.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "For Canada: N.Z. rowing team". Auckland Star. 23 June 1930. p. 9. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Canadian passenger lists, 1865–1935". Ancestry.com Operations. 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Birth index registration number 1907/21873". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Marriage index registration number 1933/4776". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Field, Kingsley (17 January 1990). "A sorry time for sport". The New Zealand Herald. p. 9.
  6. ^ a b "Rowing: a wonderful record". Bay of Plenty Times. Vol. LVIII, no. 10376. 14 May 1930. p. 4. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Test trial race". The New Zealand Herald. 24 March 1930. p. 12. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Empire Games: N.Z. rowing eight final selection". Northern Advocate. 23 June 1930. p. 6. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Ben Waters". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Rowing". The Evening Post. 18 October 1930. p. 22. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Election reviews". The New Zealand Herald. 29 October 1946. p. 8.
  12. ^ "Waikato players". Waikato Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  13. ^ "To-day's rugby match: Auckland and Waikato". The New Zealand Herald. 3 August 1929. p. 15. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  14. ^ "Waitomo seat". Auckland Star. 19 June 1943. p. 6. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Waitomo Labour nominee". Auckland Star. 5 July 1943. p. 5. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  16. ^ "The general election, 1943". Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives: 26–27. 1944. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  17. ^ a b c d Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand parliamentary election results, 1946–1987. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Department of Political Science. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
  18. ^ "Cemetery search". Hamilton City Council. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  19. ^ "Cemetery search". Hamilton City Council. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
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