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Merv Corner
Birth nameMervyn Miles Nelson Corner
Date of birth(1908-07-05)5 July 1908
Place of birthAuckland, New Zealand
Date of death3 February 1992(1992-02-03) (aged 83)
Place of deathAuckland, New Zealand
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
SchoolAuckland Grammar School
Occupation(s)Banking executive
Rugby union career
Position(s) Halfback
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1929–35 Auckland ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1930–36 New Zealand 6 (0)

Mervyn Miles Nelson "Merv" Corner CBE MC JP (5 July 1908 – 3 February 1992) was a New Zealand rugby union player and sporting administrator.

Biography

Born in Auckland in 1908, Corner was educated at Auckland Grammar School.[1] In 1938 he married Ira May Ardley in the Auckland suburb of Devonport.[2]

A rugby union halfback, Corner represented Auckland at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1930 to 1936. He played 25 matches for the All Blacks including six internationals, and captained the team in one game, against London Counties on the 1935–36 tour of Britain, Ireland and Canada.[1]

Corner saw active service during World War II. In January 1942 he was appointed a second lieutenant in the New Zealand Infantry,[3] and in December 1944, when he held the rank of captain, he was awarded the Military Cross in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the southwest Pacific.[4] He served as a coast watcher in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands and also as commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Fiji Infantry Regiment.[5]

Corner was prominent as a sporting administrator, serving as a member of the New Zealand Racing Authority for 12 years, the Eden Park Trust Board and the Totalisator Agency Board, also for 12 years.[1][5] He was also president of the Auckland Trotting Club,[1] and owned a number of standardbred racehorses with his friend and former All Black Arthur Knight.[5] Corner served as president of the New Zealand Barbarians Rugby Football Club between 1958 and 1959,[6] and president of the Auckland Rugby Football Union from 1959 to 1961.[7] He also served as an Auckland and All Blacks selector.[7]

Outside of sports, started working at the Auckland Savings Bank after leaving school, rising to become general manager from 1968 to 1973, when he retired.[1][5] He continued to be involved in public life, serving as chair of the Transport Improvement Committee and the Fishing Industry Board, and as a member of the New Zealand Film Commission from 1977 to 1986.[5]

In the 1974 New Year Honours he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to the community,[8] and he was promoted to Commander of the same order in the 1981 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to the New Zealand fishing industry and the community.[9]

Corner died in Auckland in 1992.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Luxford, Bob. "Merv Corner". New Zealand Rugby Union. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Rugby All Black weds". New Zealand Herald. 8 November 1938. p. 16. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  3. ^ "New Zealand, World War II appointments, promotions, transfers and resignations, 1939–1945". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 18 February 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "No. 36828". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 7 December 1944.
  5. ^ a b c d e McLean, T.P. (4 February 1992). "All Black supporters lose old-time great". New Zealand Herald. p. 9.
  6. ^ "New Zealand Barbarians". RugbyFootballHistory.com. 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Barbarian RFC life members" (PDF). Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  8. ^ "No. 46463". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 1 January 1974.
  9. ^ "No. 48641". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 13 June 1981.
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