All Black 1947 - 1949

The Honourable
Ben Couch
QSO JP
34th Minister of Māori Affairs
In office
13 December 1978 – 26 July 1984
Prime MinisterRobert Muldoon
Preceded byDuncan MacIntyre
Succeeded byKoro Wētere
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Wairarapa
In office
1975–1984
Preceded byJack Williams
Succeeded byReg Boorman
Personal details
Born
Manuera Benjamin Rīwai Couch

(1925-06-27)27 June 1925
Lyttelton, New Zealand
Died3 June 1996(1996-06-03) (aged 70)
Masterton, New Zealand
Political partyNational
SpouseBessie Couch
Children7
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight81 kg (179 lb)
SchoolChristchurch Technical College
Rugby union career
Position(s) First five-eighth
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1945–54 Wairarapa 55 ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1947–49
1948–50		 New Zealand
New Zealand Māori		 3
20		 (0)

Manuera Benjamin Rīwai Couch QSO JP (27 June 1925 – 3 June 1996) was a New Zealand politician and rugby union player. He was a team-member of the All Blacks and the New Zealand Māori rugby union team in the 1940s.

Early life

Couch was born in 1925 in Lyttelton.[1] He was raised by his maternal grandmother in Christchurch until the age of eight, when he was sent to live with his maternal uncle near Pirinoa in rural Wairarapa.[1] He was educated at Ōtaki Māori College, and then, from 1940 to 1942, Christchurch Technical College.[1] After a carpentry apprenticeship in Christchurch, Couch joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in August 1943, and later transferred to the army.[1]

In 1945, Couch returned to Pirinoa to work as a builder, and in 1947 he married Bessie Carter, his childhood sweetheart.[1] Carter was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Couch converted to that faith in 1949.[1]

Rugby union

A first five-eighth, Couch represented Wairarapa at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1947 to 1949. He played seven matches for the All Blacks including three internationals.[2] Of Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Mutunga descent,[1] he also played 20 matches for New Zealand Māori between 1948 and 1950.[2]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1975–1978 38th Wairarapa National
1978–1981 39th Wairarapa National
1981–1984 40th Wairarapa National

In the 1975 general election, he was elected to Parliament as the National Party member of parliament for the Wairarapa electorate,[3] thus becoming (with Rex Austin) only the second and third Māori (after Sir James Carroll) to win a general electorate (as opposed to a Māori electorate).[4]

He served as Minister of Māori Affairs and Minister of Police in the third National Government, but lost his seat in 1984 to Labour's Reg Boorman.[3] While Minister of Police, he called for the birch to be introduced for violent offenders and allowed the police to use longer batons.

He created some controversy by wearing a Springbok rugby team blazer at the time of their 1981 tour of New Zealand as well as attending a public meeting organised by the League of Rights. This was despite his having been denied entry to South Africa as part of the All Blacks rugby team in the 1940s because of his race.

In June 1981, he was asked "So you support apartheid in South Africa?" to which he responded "Yes. Over there I've got to".[5]

In 1977, Couch was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, and in 1990 he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[6] In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, Couch was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services.[7]

Later life and death

In the 1990s, Couch was involved in various Māori organisations. He died in 1996 in Masterton.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Snow, S.G. "Couch, Manuera Benjamin Rīwai". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Knight, Lindsay. "Ben Couch". New Zealand Rugby Museum. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 191. OCLC 154283103.
  4. ↑ "Ngā māngai — Māori representation". Te Ara — the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Looking Back - Episode 11 (timestamp 41:54), retrieved 11 April 2022
  6. ↑ Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 108. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
  7. ↑ "No. 52564". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 15 June 1991. p. 31.
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