Harold Tyrie

Tyrie, c. 1937
Personal information
Birth name	Harold Joffre Tyrie
Born	(1915-08-03)3 August 1915 Dunedin, New Zealand
Died	22 February 2007(2007-02-22) (aged 91) Christchurch, New Zealand
Weight	90 kg (198 lb) [1]
Spouse	Phyllis Mary McClelland ​ ​ ( m. 1940; died 1998)​
Sport
Country	New Zealand
Sport	Athletics
Achievements and titles
National finals	440 yd champion (1936, 1939, 1940)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing   New Zealand British Empire Games 1938 Sydney 4 x 440 yard relay
Rugby player
Rugby union career
Position(s) Second-row forward Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) – Southern RUFC () Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1938, 1941 Otago 2 ()

Harold Joffre Tyrie (3 August 1915 – 22 February 2007) was a New Zealand track and field athlete who won a bronze medal at the 1938 British Empire Games. He also played representative rugby union for Otago.

Early life and family

Born in Dunedin on 3 August 1915, Tyrie was the son of William Leslie Tyrie and Annie Tyrie (née Miller). ^{[2] [3]} He was educated at Otago Boys' High School from 1929 to 1932. ^[4] On 27 September 1940, he married Phyllis Mary McClelland at St John's Church, Millers Flat, ^[3] and the couple went on to have three daughters. ^[5]

Athletics

Representing Otago, Tyrie won the New Zealand national 440 yards title three times: in 1936, 1939, and 1940. ^[6] At the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, he finished sixth in the final of the men's 440 yards, and was a member of the New Zealand quartet in the men's 4 x 440 yards relay that won the bronze medal. ^[7]

He later turned to coaching, and trained athletes including Don Jowett and Robin Tait.

Rugby union

A second-row forward from the Southern Rugby Football Club in Dunedin, ^[1] Tyrie played two representative rugby union games for Otago, in 1938 and 1941. ^[4]

Military service

Tyrie graduated from the 12th Officer Cadet Training Unit in September 1942 and was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the New Zealand Infantry. ^[8] Later, in 1944, with the rank of corporal, Tyrie was wounded in Italy while serving with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force. ^{[9] [10]}

Later life and death

In later life, Tyrie was a ceramic artist of some note. ^{[5] [11]} He died in Christchurch on 22 February 2007. ^[4]

References