Walter Garland Argus (29 May 1921 – 21 October 2016) 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 who played 10 matches including four tests for the national team. From 16 November 2012 until his death he was the oldest living

All Black 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 ...

Early life and family

Argus was born in

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 ...

on 29 May 1921, the son of Ernest Edward Argus, a railway worker, and his second wife, Margaret Elizabeth Argus (née Olsen). He was educated at

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

School and Pleasant Point District High School in South Canterbury.

Early rugby career

A wing three-quarter, Argus began playing senior club rugby for the Southern Football Club in 1938, and the same year made his representative debut for the Mackenzie sub-union. Following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he moved to

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 ...

, where he played for the Linwood club, and made the provincial team in 1941 and 1942. From 1942, Argus served with the

2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

(2NZEF) in North Africa and Italy.

Post-war rugby career

After the end of the war, Argus was selected for the 2NZEF rugby team, known as the "Kiwis", that toured Britain and France. In his 12 matches for the team he scored 17 tries. Back in New Zealand, Argus continued to play for Canterbury, and in 1946 he was selected for the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks. He made his international debut against the touring Australian side in the first test at

Carisbrook Carisbrook (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Carisbrook Stadium) was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it was also used for other sports such as cricket, football, ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

. Argus scored two tries in the 31–8 win, and appeared again two weeks later in the second test at

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

, Auckland. The following year, Argus toured Australia with the national side, playing in eight of the nine matches on tour, including both of the test matches. He was also selected for the 1949 tour to South Africa, but withdrew for business reasons and did not tour; he had just bought a market garden in

Heathcote Valley Heathcote Valley is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is named after Sir William Heathcote, who was secretary of the Canterbury Association. Location Heathcote is southeast of the city centre. It is site of the lower terminus o ...

, Christchurch. He also missed the opportunity to play Australia at home in 1949 because of injury. In all, Argus played 10 matches for the All Blacks, and scored 14 tries, including tries in three of the four test matches that he played in.

Later life

Argus lived in retirement in

. After the death of Bob Scott in 2012, he was the oldest living All Black. Argus died in Christchurch on 21 October 2016 after battling a short illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Argus, Walter 1921 births 2016 deaths Rugby union players from Auckland New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Rugby union wings New Zealand military personnel of World War II