Double of 50 years service to Puketoi Rugby club

Laura Bassett and John Bambry were each recognised for giving 50 years service to Puketoi Rugby Club.

Laura Bassett and John Bambry were awarded trophies recently to commemorate their individual efforts of 50 consecutive years service to Puketoi Rugby Club.

"Puketoi Sub-Union used to have teams from Pongaroa, Coast, Tiraumea, United, Weber, Excelsior (Dannevirke) and Ruahine (Dannevirke)," said John Bambry.

"The United team was formed from the Puketoi 4th Grade and Junior teams that used to play in the Bush Sub-Union competition. Puketoi didn't have enough Under 21 players to keep playing in Bush competition, so had to play in the Senior grade in the Puketoi Sub-Union competition.

"This lasted until 1986, when there were insufficient players for the competition. The Puketoi Sub-Union ceased in 1987 to allow Puketoi Rugby Club to start in the Wairarapa-Bush Senior 3rds. They worked their way to the prems division and found it very competitive with some big scores against them, but still they fronted up the following Saturday as did the local supporters, especially for home games. Puketoi also had an Under-21 team from 1991-1994.

"Puketoi is well-known for their meals after the games put on by a team of dedicated women. Some of the Wairarapa-Bush teams have said they find Puketoi very hard to match for the food that is put on after the match.

"Puketoi has been in recess twice and has managed to get the club up and running again. We are lucky to have a very strong committee that works well with the players. We've had players from UK, Fiji and Kenya to help the club out.

"The players have crutching days to help raise funds, along with the support of our regular sponsors.

"I have served 50 consecutive years with Puketoi from 1970 as secretary/treasurer and bar manager, spent 15 years as Puketoi Schoolboys secretary-treasurer, have been a life member since 1999, been patron since 2006, had 10 years as Bush Schoolboys secretary-treasurer, 14 years as Pongaroa Rugby Club secretary-treasurer and 33 years as Pongaroa Fire Brigade secretary-treasurer," he said.

John and his wife Natalie had four sons playing for Puketoi Senior team.

John organised the supply of fresh oysters from Invercargill to arrive on Friday for Saturday games. He had to pick them up from Palmerston North Airport. He raffled five dozen tins, then got 25 dozen tins and split them into two-and-a-half dozen punnets. "I never had a problem selling them. People would chase me to get a ticket. I found they were the easiest thing to sell in raffles.

"I can remember when I started off with the Puketoi Rugby club," said Laura Bassett. "I had five children and they were always with us for every game we went to. That started in the kitchen servery where prams were lined up - the kitchen became the nursery. It's been so family-orientated. Later on the children were on the sideline all the time.

"The eldest [Dean] represented Wairarapa-Bush and played three games in Auckland. Michael played rugby in Hawke's Bay and Kelvin went down south. They loved playing rugby," she said.

• Community spirit

The opening of a new rugby stand and social rooms at Puketoi's rugby headquarters at Pongaroa, marked a milestone in 1980 in the history of what must be, man for man, the most rugby-oriented community in New Zealand and possibly the world.