Pioneers of Rugby in Wellington 140: Tom Morrison

Tom Morrison was a leading player and then fabled administrator in Wellington and New Zealand throughout his entire adult life.

Morrison was a pre-World War Two All Black out of South Canterbury and was then named on of the Rugby Almanack’s Five Players of the Year for 1945 whilst representing Wellington where he lived out his days.

Hanging up his boots, Morrison maintained a strong involvement in the game and was later NZRU Chairman between 1962-68 and later a President and Vice President of Wellington Rugby representing the Onslow Club (Jubilee Cup champions 1955 and 1962).

Thomas Clarence Morrison was born in Gisborne on 28 July 1913 and started playing rugby from a young age there.

In 1925 the Morrison family moved to Timaru and his first rugby club after leaving school in 1928 was the Timaru Star Club. In 1931 he made his Senior A debut and later that year his South Canterbury provincial debut.

He continued to play for South Canterbury for the next few seasons and his local reputation as a try-scoring wing or swift running centre grew outside the region. He trialled for the All Blacks for their 1935-36 overseas tour and went close to making the side. In 1935 he also played for the South in their annual match against the North.

He was a reserve winger against the Springboks in 1937, and duly made his debut by playing in all three Tests against Australia in 1938.

The publication Men in Black wrote about his Test debut in a 24-9 win at Sydney on 23 July 1938: “Tom Morrison, the South Canterbury wing, was a hard, determined runner and a fierce tackler who also played a great deal of his representative football at full-back and centre. He later became Chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union. Morrison was a capable athlete who was a place-getter in the hop, step and jump at national championships.”

He kicked a dropped goal in the All Blacks’ second Test 20-13 win in Brisbane and played in the 14-6 third Test victory at Sydney.

He was in contention to tour South Africa in 1940, but that was called off and instead he went to war, during which he played four years for New Zealand army teams in Egypt.

Winston McCarthy in his book A Gallery of Rugby Greats wrote: “In 1944 he came back to New Zealand as Captain Morrison, and the Wellington public worshipped him for his displays for Trentham Army and Wellington. He had put on weight but was very fit and had better than average speed. He could punt a ball equally well with either foot and with tremendous power. He could placekick goals from anywhere and could drop-kick with great accuracy.”

In 1945, Morrison transferred to the Onslow club and played two representative seasons for Wellington. By this stage in his career he was predominantly a fullback and a strong goal-kicker.  He played 11 first-class games for Wellington and 85 games overall, scoring 333 points.

In 1946 he captained Onslow to their Senior Second Championship win, which beat bottom placed Eastbourne in a promotion-relegation match and won promotion to the Senior A Division. Onslow would be one of the leading clubs competing for the Jubilee Cup over the next two decades.

In 1946 and 1947 he was offered the captaincy of the All Blacks but declined to play on both occasions, saying he was past his best and younger players would get the chance.

At this point, and after three seasons playing for Onslow and the previous two for Wellington, he retired.

At this point his long career in administration commenced.

In 1946, aged 33 and while still playing, he was voted on to the NZRU Executive. He remained on it until 1968 and was the first former All Black Chairman, from 1962-68. He was an All Black selector from 1950-56 and on the Referees Appointment Board from 1957-59. He was elected a Life Member of the NZRU in 1969 and made a commander of the Order of the British Empire

In1955, while Convenor of Selectors for the All Blacks, he was assistant coach to Lin Thomas with the Onslow team that won their maiden Jubilee Cup when they famously beat Petone 9-6 late in the season.

His association with Onslow continued throughout the remainder of his life, the Life Member of his club watching several sides win lower grade titles and the Senior A team co-winning the Jubilee Cup in 1962.

Morrison famously ran a menswear shop in Wellington in partnership with Marist, Wellington and All Blacks prop and later coach Ivan Vodanovich. The shop called Morrison & Vodanovich was located in the CBD.

He had a park named after him in Timaru in 1963.

He was WRFU President in 1971 and a Vice-President in 1972 and 1973.

Morrison died in Wellington on 31 August 1985, aged 72.

Morrison’s great uncle Thomas Henry played 21 matches for Hawke’s Bay and was on the NZRU management committee 1897-99

References:

• Akers, Clive. New Zealand Rugby Register 1870-2015. New Zealand Rugby Museum, 2016.
• Chester, Rod, McMillan, Neville and Palenski, Rod. Men in Black. Commemorative 20^th Century Edition. Hodder Moa Beckett, Auckland 2000.
• Evening Post – various rugby reports 1945
• Heather, Bruce. Onslow’s Golden Winter 1955. Publisher and year not given.
• McCarthy, Winston. Rugby in My Time, A Gallery of Rugby Greats. A.H. and A.W Reed. Wellington, 1958.
• Onslow Rugby Football Club – various annual reports 1950s-1960s.

Headline Photo credit: Tom Morrison in 1962 as NZRU Chairman. Credit: Photograph of New Zealand Rugby Football Union Chairman Tom Morrison, taken by Crown Studio Ltd of Wellington.