Joseph "Pentland" Firth (25 March 1859 – 13 April 1931) was a New Zealand educationalist and teacher. He was the headmaster of

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

from 1892 to 1920. He was born and died in Wellington, and played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

in the 1880s. He was New Zealand's representative on the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

from 1923 to 1927.

Early life and family

Born in

on 25 March 1859, Firth was the son of Aaron Firth, a stonemason, and Ann Firth (née Priestnell). The family moved to Cobden on the South Island's West Coast during the

West Coast gold rush The West Coast gold rush, on the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, lasted from 1864 to 1867. Description The gold rush populated the area, which up until then had been visited by few Europeans. Gold was found ...

of 1864 to 1867. On 8 May 1889, Firth married Janet McRae at the

Church of St Michael and All Angels, Christchurch The Church of St Michael and All Angels is an Anglican church located at 84 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch, New Zealand. The church building is registered as Category I by Heritage New Zealand. Its freestanding belfry is registered separately. H ...

. The couple did not have any children.

Education and teaching career

Firth won a scholarship to

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand, a feat achieved in part thanks to its original inception as a private school. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it r ...

, and was a pupil there from 1873 to 1875. He taught there as a pupil-teacher until 1881, when he went to Wellington College as a junior master. In 1886, he took up a post at

Christ's College, Christchurch Christ's College, Canterbury is an independent Anglican secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand. Founded in 1850 by Reverend Henry Jacobs in Lyttelton as a school for early settlers, t ...

, and began studying for his BA at Canterbury College, graduating in 1889. He was asked to become headmaster of Wellington College in 1892. Among the boys at Wellington College he gained the nickname "Pentland" from his teaching about the troubles the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

encountered around

Pentland Firth The Pentland Firth (, meaning the Orcadian Strait) is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth. Etymology The name is presumed to be a corruption of the Old Nors ...

in the north of Scotland. Thereafter he signed his name "J.P. Firth".

Sporting career

Cricket

Firth played six

matches between 1880 and 1886, five for

and one for

. By far the best performance of his career came for Wellington against

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

in February 1884, when he ran through the second innings with figures of 8 for 13. Captaining Wellington against Nelson in March 1885, he opened both batting and bowling, taking 3 for 27 and 2 for 19 and making 20 and 54, the highest score in the match. In the second innings he and

William Salmon William Salmon (2 June 1644–1713) was an English empiric doctor and a writer of medical texts. He advertised himself as a "Professor of Physick". Salmon held an equivocal place in the medical community. He led apothecaries in opposing atte ...

put on 100 for the first wicket, the first century stand made by Wellington batsmen for any wicket.

International Olympic Committee

Firth was the representative from

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

on the

(IOC) from 1923 to 1927; his appointment by the IOC was delayed as he was quoted in a local newspaper that he was the delegate from New Zealand before he went (representatives are appointed by the IOC itself, not by the national Olympic committee).

Honours

In the 1922 King's Birthday Honours, Firth was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

, for public services.

Death

Firth suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, and he died in Wellington on 13 April 1931.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Firth, Joseph 1859 births 1931 deaths New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Cricketers from Wellington City New Zealand International Olympic Committee members New Zealand referees and umpires New Zealand cricketers Nelson cricketers Wellington cricketers People educated at Nelson College University of Canterbury alumni Heads of schools in New Zealand Headmasters of Wellington College, Wellington