Raymond Aubrey Ian Harper (19 July 1927 – 4 April 2019) 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, administrator and manager.

Early life and family

Born in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

on 19 July 1927, Harper was the son of Arthur and Bertha Harper. He was educated at

Waitaki Boys' High School Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. , it has a school roll of approximately 400 students. The ...

. In 1953, he married Natalie Winifred Thomas, and the couple went on to have two daughters, one of whom married rugby writer Bob Howitt.

Sporting career

Rugby union player

Harper represented as a player for seven years.

Administrator

Harper was a life member of the Southland Rugby Union, serving as an administrator of the union for 24 years, and representing Southland on the NZRFU council from 1974 to 1987. Harper was involved in the planning for the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, and was a tour manager for the Junior All Blacks on three tours. He managed the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

on their 1980 tours to Australia and Fiji and North America and Wales. Harper was a driving force behind the inauguration of

Stadium Southland ILT Stadium Southland, also called Southland Arena, is an indoor arena and multi-purpose venue located in Surrey Park, Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand. It was originally the home venue of the Southern Sting netball team. It currently se ...

, Invercargill's all-weather sports venue.

Death

Harper died in Invercargill from bone cancer on 4 April 2019, aged 91 years.

Honours and awards

In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, Harper was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The King's Service Medal (created as the Queen's Service Medal in 1975 and renamed in 2024) is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or app ...

for community service. In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

, also for community service. Harper was awarded the Steinlager Salver award for exceptional contributions to New Zealand rugby at the 2012 Steinlager New Zealand Rugby Awards.

References

1927 births 2019 deaths Rugby union players from Invercargill People educated at Waitaki Boys' High School Southland rugby union players New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand Rugby Football Union officials Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal Companions of the Queen's Service Order Invercargill Licensing Trust Board members Deaths from bone cancer Deaths from cancer in New Zealand New Zealand rugby union players {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1920s-stub