Nisbet McRobie (5 November 1872 – 27 September 1929) was a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, master printer, newspaper proprietor, and politician.

Rugby union

A hooker, McRobie represented, and often captained, at a provincial level between 1889 and 1896. In 1896 he became the first player from the Southland union to play for the New Zealand national side, when he appeared in a match against the touring

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

team. That was his only game for New Zealand. He later served on the management committee of the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it b ...

between 1900 and 1901.

Printing and newspaper career

After completing his printing apprenticeship, McRobie worked for ''

The Press ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...

'' in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, ''

The Timaru Herald ''The Timaru Herald'' is a daily provincial newspaper serving the Timaru, South Canterbury and North Otago districts of New Zealand. The current audited daily circulation is about 14,500 copies, with a readership of about 31,000 people. The pa ...

'', and ''The New Zealand Times'' in

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 ...

, becoming the factory manager for the latter newspaper in 1904. After a period managing the ''Pahiatua Herald'', McRobie was appointed general manager of ''The New Zealand Times''. In 1909 he purchased the ''Waihi Daily Times'', but sold that publication in 1915, and moved to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, where he became the manager of Business Printing Works Limited. McRobie served as president of the Auckland Master Printers' Association between 1916 and 1924, and was president of the New Zealand Master Printers' Federation from 1922 to 1924.

Politics

At the 1911 general election, McRobie stood as the Reform Party candidate in the Ohinemuri electorate. He finished in third place, behind the incumbent, Hugh Poland of the Liberal Party, and the

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

candidate,

Pat Hickey Patrick Hickey may refer to: * Patrick Hickey (artist) (1927–1998), Irish visual artist * Pat Hickey (ice hockey) (born 1953), Canadian ice hockey player * Pat Hickey (footballer) (1871–1946), Australian rules footballer * Pat Hickey (politic ...

Death

McRobie died at his home in the Auckland suburb of

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

on 28 September 1929, after a long illness. He was buried at

Hillsborough Cemetery Hillsborough Cemetery is a large cemetery located in the Auckland isthmus suburb of Hillsborough. Location The cemetery lies on a ridge at the south of the Auckland isthmus, overlooking the Manukau Harbour. The cemetery is split in two by a l ...

References

{{https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/G8FB-3PQ/nisbet-mcrobie-1844-1927 {{DEFAULTSORT:McRobie, Nisbet 1872 births 1929 deaths Rugby union players from Invercargill New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Southland rugby union players Rugby union hookers Reform Party (New Zealand) politicians New Zealand publishers (people) Unsuccessful candidates in the 1911 New Zealand general election Burials at Hillsborough Cemetery, Auckland