Sportsman, educator provided lessons for a lifetime
SIR JOHN GRAHAM: 1935-2017
Former All Blacks captain and Auckland Grammar headmaster Sir John Graham was ‘‘one of the great New Zealanders’’, friend and fellow knight Sir Graham Henry says.
Graham died peacefully on Wednesday night after a long illness with cancer. He was 82.
He was prominent in society on several fronts, most notably as a sportsman and educator. He had been an All Black, Auckland Grammar headmaster, Auckland University chancellor, manager of the New Zealand cricket team. He was knighted for his services to education and sports in 2011.
‘‘He is one of the great New Zealanders of all time,’’ said former All Blacks coach Henry, who spent nearly 60 years being influenced and mentored by a fellow whose reach and sway seemingly knew no bounds.
‘‘There are not too many people who have done what he’s done, and everything he does, everything he touches, he improves. A fabulous man.’’
"He added to and changed people's lives. He was a people developer before his time." Sir Graham Henry on Sir John Graham
Graham was headmaster of Auckland Grammar School for 20 years, from 1973 to 1993.
The flag at Auckland Grammar was at half-mast yesterday, respecting his influence on the school and for a life well-lived.
‘‘He was a special man to a lot of people,’’ said Henry, who was enticed by Graham to join him as a teacher at Grammar.
‘‘He added to and changed people’s lives. He gave them opportunity, and when they got off the rails, he gave them a bit of a nudge and put them back on there.
‘‘He was a people developer before his time. We understand that’s what leadership is about now, but in those days perhaps we weren’t quite as clear.
‘‘He has really high personal standards, he was driven, and everything he did was successful. He was in a successful All Black team in the Wilson Whineray era, he ran a very successful school, he was chancellor of the university, and the Black Caps when he was manager had a very successful time.
‘‘Everything he touched has had DJ’s thumbprint on it.’’
Graham taught Henry social studies in the third form at Christchurch Boys High, then later was his coach at the Old Boys rugby club.
In 1973, Henry’s phone rang one day and DJ Graham was on the other end offering him a teaching position at Auckland Grammar.
‘‘It was probably the most important phone call of my life,’’ recalls Henry. ‘‘It gave me opportunity. We were recently married and had bought a house in Christchurch, so there was a wee bit of discussion between husband and wife, because it was a big change.
‘‘But I had so much respect for the person and I wanted to work in his school. It wasn’t a big decision for me. It wasn’t a decision at all.’’
Auckland Grammar paid tribute yesterday, saying in a statement: ‘‘We are grateful for Sir John’s connection and continued contributions to Auckland Grammar School until the day of his passing.’’
The school’s 1993 chronicle summed up the man, declaring: ‘‘For many, John Graham was Auckland Grammar – in the hall, on the touchline, in the auditorium, around the corridors. His influence was felt far beyond the walls of the school itself.
‘‘He was a tenacious defender of educational standards in New Zealand, the scourge of woolly thinkers and fashionable theorists,’’ the school’s statement said.
Graham had been head boy at New Plymouth Boys High School (NPBHS) and was later awarded its higher honour, of Alumni Meriti (Distinguished Old Boy).
‘‘Sir John’s contribution to sport and education are simply incredible, not to mention inspirational,’’ said the school’s headmaster, Paul Veric.
Max Carroll, former boarding manager at NPBHS, said he had known Graham since they were both in their 20s. ‘‘We were courting our wives,’’ he said.
Graham would later bring Auckland Grammar School rugby teams down to play New Plymouth Boys High, a tradition that continues today.
Graham played 22 tests for the All Blacks, including three as captain, between 1958 and 1964, and was president of the New Zealand Rugby Union from 2005 to 2007.
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said his death was a loss to the game and the country. ‘‘DJ was a great all-round New Zealander. From his exploits on the rugby field to those in the classroom he was simply exceptional,’’ Tew said.
Graham was a man of high standards and morals.
After touring South Africa with the All Blacks in 1960, he said that ‘‘if we had any conscience and feeling for humanity, we should not have been touring South Africa’’. Along with Wilson Whineray, whom he had replaced as All Blacks captain, he decided against attending matches during the controversial 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand.
Though madly keen on rugby and sport in general, he also sought perspective with New Zealand’s infatuation with rugby.
‘‘I don’t think rugby union is anywhere near as important in this country as solving the problems of poverty and unemployment. We’re happy, aren’t we, when our rugby team goes well, yet we’re prepared to let some aspects of our nation go almost ignored,’’ he said.