Special Old Boys

Graham Ian Marshall (Attended King’s High School from 1981 to 1985)

From 1982 to 1985 Graham played for the King’s First Football Eleven. He gained a King’s blue in 1983 and 1984. In I98I he represented Otago Under· I3 and played for our Junior Rep team versus Waitaki. In 1982 he was the outstanding member of our competition winning Under I4 team. He was also a leading goal scorer for the first eleven in interschools and was a member of our Tournament winning team of that year. Remember he was only a fourteen-year-old at that stage. In I983 Graham, while a member of our 15th grade team, was selected for the New Zealand Under 15 team and travelled to Australia and played at right fullback in the international versus Australia.

1984 saw Graham join Green Island’s Hertz League team while still continuing to play interschools for the school. In 1985 Graham switched his allegiance to Dunedin City A.F.C- where he quickly won his way into their National League team. Prior to leaving school Graham scored a hat trick against our old rivals from the hill, O.B.H.S., to give us a solid 4-nil victory. Shortly after leaving school Graham won selection for the South Island Under 18 team and he also had the high honour of representing his province against the New Zealand national team, “the All Whites”. He made a wonderful contribution to King’s Football.

 Graham left school ln July 1985 to become a carpentry apprentice.  He was an Otago and South Island under 18 Football representative in 1985. Graham was given a Sporting Scholarship to Crystal Palace Football Club 1986 / 1987 for 4 Months. He Spent time with Crystal Palace reserves in 1987 under the guidance of former England International Steve Coppell which gave him a good grounding in the art of football. His passion for football which has played a major part of his life.

He has since played for Green Island, Dunedin City, Waikato, Hamilton Wanderers, Roslyn, Wellington United, Dunedin Tech, Crystal Palace Reserves, and NZ All Whites

Graham made his full All Whites debut, a 3–0 win over Singapore on 21 February 1996 and ended his international playing career with 10 A-international caps to his credit, his final cap an appearance in a 1–3 loss to South Korea on 25 January 1997.

He is still playing today, however the speed at which he plays has decreased while the recovery time has increased, but he still is competitive as ever!

After becoming an apprentice in 1985 he applied the trade through a number of projects until attending Otago Polytechnic from 1999 to 2001 to complete a  Diploma in Quantity Surveying and Construction Economics. He Joined Naylor Love Construction in 1999 as a Quantity Surveyor and over 8 years led and delivered major construction projects in and around the Otago region. From 2012 Graham has been the Contracting Manager, Head of Trade Services, at Property Services, University of Otago, Dunedin.  He oversees the day-to-day repairs and maintenance, adaptions, programmed and preventative maintenance and urgent work that keeps critical space available for the staff and students. On a weekly basis this incorporates overseeing approximately 65 trade staff, 5 management staff and a number of external specialist contractors. He is responsible for the financial and operational performance of Trade Services at the University of Otago.

From 2013 to 2016 he studied at the University of Otago where he completed a Master of Business Administration degree. This incorporates overseeing approximately 65 trade staff, 5 management staff and a number of external specialist contractors.

John Barr

Lance Pearson (attended Kings 1950 – 1953)

Lance had two loves of life in sport – cricket and basketball.
He played cricket for the School’s 1st eleven. He was awarded a Cricket Blue in all four of his years at King’s. As a First-class player for Otago, he played in 31 games scoring a total of 1348 runs with a highest score of 140.
Lance did not play basketball at King’s as the sport was not introduced to the School until 1962. He started his career in the sport at the YMCA when he was 17.
As a player, he won 13 consecutive South Island titles with Otago, while also captaining it to national titles in 1968 and 1970. It was a career that continued until 1979 when he played his final game for Otago aged 42. It is rumoured that Lance was the best player in NZ not to represent his country.
As a coach, he also had success with coaching the Kings First team from about 1964 to 1970. He guided the top King’s High School team to the final of the national secondary schools’ championships.
He also coached King’s Old Boys club teams, as well as Otago representative teams.
His influence went beyond playing. In the late 1960s, he helped form the Otago Men’s Basketball Association – bringing together the two previously existing entities. Lance has been an outstanding contributor to the development of basketball in Otago for more than fifty years.
Outside of the sport he was heavily involved with the Bendigo Valley Sport and Charity Foundation for 30 years and remains a company director. This Trust has been a tremendous supporter of his old School over the years.
Lance was awarded Life Membership to Basketball Otago in 2019.

Peter John Montgomery (Attended King’s High School from 1956 to 1960)

Peter was the Senior Athletics Champion in 1960. He won four events in three of which he established new records – 10.7 seconds in the 100yards, 23.4 seconds in the 220 yards and 16.1 seconds in the 120 yards hurdles.  Peter held the 220 yards record for 55 years.  He was awarded a School Blue for Athletics in 1959 and 1960. Earlier in his school career he was an Otago junior representative at both sprinting and rugby union.

In 1965, Montgomery moved to Auckland. As injuries began to curtail his sporting career, he took up sailing. It became an all-consuming passion. While he threw himself into Auckland’s sailing community and built up his knowledge of the sport, his days were spent working in, and later managing and owning, car dealerships.  In Auckland he met up with old King’s chum Bill McCarthy who talked Peter into becoming a fill in commentator for Radio New Zealand. He was soon covering many yachting and other sporting events.

Peter has broadcast thirteen America’s Cup regattas, ten Olympic Games and thirteen Whitbread Round the World/Volvo Ocean Races. He has been regularly invited to commentate at major regattas across the world, including The International Sailing Federation World Championships and key regattas on the World Match Racing Tour, including The Bermuda Gold Cup, The Swedish Match Cup and The Monsoon Cup Malaysia. ISAF also chose him to be the first Host / MC for the World Sailor of The Year and Sailing Hall of Fame ceremonies.

In addition to commentating and reporting on sailing regattas he has also broadcast many other sports including rowing and rugby. He was the “sideline eye” for the Radio Network “Radio Rugby Team” in Auckland, where his Driz-a-Bone raincoat became as recognised on the sideline as his microphone.

He was chosen to play the America’s Cup broadcaster in the 1992 movie Wind to lend authenticity to the racing scenes and is featured in the America’s Cup documentary film The Wind Gods. He also performs many public speaking engagements.

Peter is a Patron or Vice Patron of several yacht clubs, a trustee of the New Zealand International Yachting Trust and a member of the selection committees for The America’s Cup Hall of Fame and The Yachting New Zealand Sailor of the Year Award. He is a Life Member of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Yachting New Zealand, The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and The New Zealand Sports Journalists Association

Peter has been honoured with many awards, including:

Sports Journalist of the Year

Sports Broadcaster of the Year

Communicator of the Year

Yachtsman of the Year – 1990, when the New Zealand Yachting Federation awarded their highest honour – The Bernard Ferguson Trophy.

The prestigious SPARC “Lifetime Contribution to Journalism through Sport” at The New Zealand Sports Journalists Association awards 2003.

 In 2015 he presented an episode of series Descent from Disaster, on a tragic 1951 yacht race which saw ten die.

In 2021 he became only the third journalist or commentator chosen to be inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame. 

Peter was awarded an MBE in the 1995 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

J. C. (John) Martin (At King’s High School 1947-49)

While at King’s soon revealed that he had inherited the family talent for woodworking, which he maintained throughout his life. However it was the development of the speedway at Tahuna Park which determined his career, for he was to be found there on a regular basis sweeping the track between races and showing such an interest in the motorbikes and their engines that he was offered an apprenticeship with J and AP Scott, an engineering and automotive firm, and so left school midway through the year. After qualifying, he worked there as a maintenance engineer for many years, and subsequently for D. C. Ross Ltd, Tractor Workshops, J. C. Williamson and Son, and H. E. Shacklock (which merged with Fisher and Paykel) where he was responsible for the selection, mentoring, and assessment of apprentices until his retirement. From his savings as an apprentice he purchased his first motorcycle, a 1928 350cc Velocette for the princely sum of £28/10/-, and joined the Otago Motorcycle Club in 1952. He competed in many events: reliability trials, off-road competitions, circuit racing, beach racing, and speed events, but it was firstly in hill climbs (notably at Bethunes Gully) and then in the quarter mile and flying mile events that he found his niche using his engineering skills to increase the motive power of his 650cc Triumph. He and legendary Burt Munro were keen and friendly adversaries, and of the seven times they raced, John won three – he often visited Burt in his famous shed in Invercargill. On January 31, 1973 at a club sprint and riding his by now 750cc Triumph, John set a NZ record of 11.99 seconds-the first time that 12 seconds had been broken at that class level. In 1975 at his last competitive event, he achieved a speed of 152.98mph, a NZ record for a quarter mile sprint. He was honoured with Life Membership of the OMC later in the decade, and his bike was on display until recently at the Otago Settlers Museum. He became a long-serving member of the Otago Settlers Association, and was latterly their representative in the Dunedin Gasworks Museum Trust Board: his woodworking skills coming to fruition with his last piece-a donation box modelled on a gasometer (all his woodwork was meticulously designed and fabricated at home on an ordinary lathe and a milling machine). He also joined the Andersons Bay Probus Club, being responsible for organising their monthly trips. Quiet and unassuming John was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and a good friend to many!

Nick was a School Prefect in 1995. He received a Sports Blue in Athletics, Harriers, Cricket and Football.  He was a nominee for the prestigious Salter Trophy for the Schools’ top sports person and he was a winner of the prize for ‘All-round merit’. He also received the Mayhew Memorial Prize for History and an Excellence Prize in five subjects. He was recognised as one of King’s High School’s outstanding achievers in 1995.

Nick had some amazing successes in sporting success while at King’s.  He was the NZ Secondary School Junior Cross-Country Champion 1993. He won the 400 Metre Junior Silver Medal at 1993 NZ Secondary School Champs and the 800 Metre Senior Silver Medal at 1995 NZ Secondary School Champs.  He was first in the Senior race at the Otago/ Southland Cross Country championships. In the 1995 National Cross-Country Championships senior U19 ½ race Nick finished 6^th and was selected for the NZ Schools Team. Nick was trained by Old Boy Lyn Rayner.

Nick was a top footballer playing for the King’s First Football XI and for Otago Representative Football sides.  He was also included in the NZ training squad at U16 level.

 He played Cricket for the King’s First XI and for Otago representative sides until under 18 as well.

On leaving school he put football and cricket to one side and focused on running.  In 1996 he became the NZ 800 Metre under 18 Champion.

He started at Otago University in 1996 graduating with an Honours Degree in Philosophy in 1999.

He lived in Sydney for a few years before fulfilling a long-time dream to experience Russia, where he lived and taught English for a couple of years (2003-2004). He became very ill in Russia and returned to NZ to recover.

In 2005 he completed a Diploma of Teaching (Secondary Education) at Dunedin College of Education before moving to London and teaching in Harrow for 5 years. With his wife and first child, he returned to Dunedin in 2012 to teach at Columba College before moving to Brisbane in 2013. He is currently teaching Philosophy and Reason at St Joseph’s, Nudgee College in Brisbane and has just completed his Doctorate thesis (Philosophy).

He returned to competitive running in 2015, trying to find time to run when he could balance 3 kids, teaching, his doctorate and training. His win in the 2021 Brisbane Marathon this year was only his 5th marathon to date.

Coran Gordon Munro

 (Attended King’s High School from 1952 to 1957)

Coran was a School Prefect in 1957. He was awarded School Blues in both Rugby and Cricket. He was Captain of the First Cricket Eleven, a member of the First rugby fifteen and the School Shooting team.

On leaving King’s Coran attended the University of Otago where he studied Dentistry and graduated Batchelor of Dental Surgery.

Coran became a Dunedin Dental Surgeon with his own dental surgery in Dunedin. He served here until his retirement.

Coran started playing golf when he was at primary school and continued when at King’s High School.  Golf was not a school sport at King’s at the time as Rector William Laing expected boys to play team sports.

Coran played golf 10 years for Otago and was captain of the Otago Freyberg team from 1968 to 1970.

Coran has a love of flying.  He was lucky enough to win a flying scholarship through the Evening Star paper in 1959 and at age 83 he still continues to fly in a plane he built 12 years ago.

In1961 for the school’s 25th anniversary Jim McCready rang Coran to see if he would take him up flying over the school for a photo shot.
This he did with pleasure.