New All Black cap presented
After one All Blacks cap was buried with his father and another was lost when the family home burnt down, Ben Purvis thought he would never see another.
So he was humbled when presented with cap number 746, that of his father, former All Black wing Neil Purvis, at the annual Neil Purvis memorial match at Tarras on Saturday.
As captain of the Upper Clutha side playing Arrowtown, Ben Purvis received the replacement cap from family friend Paul Allison, who had approached the New Zealand Rugby Union with the request.
It was presented by his father’s friend and former All Black Wayne Graham.
Ben Purvis said it was good of the rugby union to replace the cap, and thanked Allison for his involvement.
‘‘If it was going to be presented, it was the ideal time to do it,’’ he said. ‘‘We didn’t think we would see another one.’’
Neil Purvis’ previous cap was destroyed along with other All Blacks memorabilia in a fire at the family’s Cluden Station homestead last year. The cap would be safely stored with the family, Ben Purvis said.
He was disappointed Upper Clutha didn’t get the win, falling to Arrowtown 32-26.
Neil Purvis died aged 55 in 2008 while working the family farm near Tarras.
He played 14 matches for the All Blacks in 1976 including a test against Ireland and against the Lions for Wairarapa-Bush in 1971.
He played 55 games for Otago in the 1970s.
Meanwhile, Maniototo successfully defended the White Horse Cup in a 16-8 win over ClydeEarnscleugh at Ranfurly.
Maniototo coach Andrew Hore said it was a ‘‘tough affair’’ and gave credit to the opposition.
‘‘They had a few chances to score early on but passes didn’t go to hand.’’
Hore singled out fullback Matt Holmes and midfielder Angus Gibb as standouts along with Nick Hayes and Tim O’Neil in the forwards.
Clyde-Earnscleugh coach Cory Crosbie said Maniototo’s ‘‘clever kicking’’ won the match for them.
Maniototo defends the White Horse Cup again in two weeks time against Alexandra. Arts Murihiku, the trust that aims to strengthen and support the Arts in Murihiku/ Southland has appointed
as its executive officer. Tou-McNaughton has been involved in the education and arts sector and brings many years’ experience to her new role. Trust chairman Paul Duffy said Arts Murihiku’s purpose was to strengthen and support the good work that was already happening in the arts in Southland. ‘‘I’m very positive about the future of the arts in Southland and am looking forward to the opportunities that lie ahead.’’
Bluff art auction
The Clutha-Southalnd branch of the Labour Party is holding an art auction. The auction will feature artists Darcy Nicholas, Judith Moreton, James Robinson and Adam Lee and more than 30 artworks. It will take place on June 24 at 74 Gore St, Bluff, from 1.30pm to 4.30pm. The event is a fundraiser for the branch, authorised by Cherie Chapman, Clutha-Southland Labour candidate, and will be held at her home.
Ratepayers’ meeting
The Invercargill ratepayers’ group meets again next week. Its agenda says that it plans to discuss creating an open letter to the mayor and councillors. It also says the group would discuss the Allan Arnold debacle and the issue of the council providing free tickets for Invercargill city councillors and council staff to theatre services. The meeting will be on Monday, June 19, at 6pm, upstairs in the library’s meeting room.
The Opportunities Party
Gareth Morgan is coming to Invercargill next week to talk about how the Opportunities Party’s policies would help make Aotearoa New Zealand fair again. In a 30-minute discussion, attendees would learn how the community would be better off with the party’s policies. Afterwards, there would be a 30-minute question-and-answer session, where attendees could voice opinions, concerns and all things inbetween about the party to Morgan. The event would be at Centre Stage Theatre, 33 Don St, Invercargill, Monday, June 19, at 6pm.
Collecting books
The Rotary Club of Invercargill holds an annual book sale to help raise funds, which are distributed to selected charitable organisations throughout Southland. The 2017 book sale would run this weekend from Friday to Sunday at the Civic Theatre. There looks set to be more than 30,000 books in a range of subjects, from fiction to technical, art and craft, travel, and children and young adult books. The sale includes DVDs, games, CDs and jigsaw puzzles. Anyone wanting to donate can drop off old books at any service station in Invercargill, Bluff, Wallacetown and Riverton. The sale is open from 8am-6pm Friday, 9am5pm Saturday and 9am-3pm Sunday.