Obituary: J.J. Stewart

By D.J. CAMERON

Fifty-seven years ago, a bright young teacher, not long out of Sacred Heart College, found that his class at Normal Intermediate had neither rugby ball nor basketball.

John Joseph Stewart went out and bought the balls with his own money - the start of long and devoted service to youth, sport, education and developing young people to his distinctive ideal of what a good young New Zealander should be.

J.J. Stewart lost a long battle against cancer last week. Thousands of New Zealanders will remember the contact they had with this man of rustic charm and impish good humour.

While teaching at New Plymouth Boys' High School, Stewart made his mark as a rugby coach, and in 1955 took a trailblazing bunch of youngsters on a New Zealand Colts tour of Ceylon - the start of his long friendship with Wilson Whineray, Colin Meads and others.

J.J. insisted that the youngsters keep in touch with their homes during the tour - and went to the trouble of two or three times a week preparing a basic newsletter, leaving space for the players to start with a brief message home.

From coaching the NPBHS 1st XV, Stewart moved up to select and coach the Taranaki seniors to become Ranfurly Shield holders in the early 1960s.

His schoolwork took a new turn when he returned to his great love, agriculture and the farming life, as headmaster of the Flock House school for young farmers at Bulls.

He took with him his young bride, Claire Campbell (daughter of one of his drinking mates), who later became Mayor of New Plymouth - giving J.J. ample scope to wisecrack about his status of consort and his ability to walk five paces behind his wife at mayoral functions.

With his alert and inventive rugby brain, J.J. moved up the ranks from Taranaki to North Island to All Black selectorship, and led the way to the changing of the All Black guard after the difficulties of 1971-73.

In this period there was the test series loss in New Zealand to the British Lions and the tour of Britain, France and North America, which included the Keith Murdoch incident and the loss of five games out of 32.

While the All Blacks relished the freedom and challenges offered by J.J.'s coaching, their tour of South Africa in 1976 was ruined by biased test referees.

New Zealand lost that test series three-one, after the South Africans won the fourth test 15-14.

On his return to New Zealand after that tour, J.J.'s usual philosophical good humour was missing, He was bitter about the refereeing, and knew that some members of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union council were already preparing the gallows reserved for losing All Black coaches.

So J.J. was eliminated on the first ballot for the 1977 coaching post, but was re-elected to the All Black selection panel.

He also coached Wanganui for a short time, and later was elected to the NZRFU council, where he often stirred that rather deliberate body into action.

The fledgling women's rugby movement wanted recognition and assistance from the NZRFU, and much to the councillors' surprise, J.J. launched a passionate plea that women's rugby come under the official wing.

Before the councillors realised it, J.J. had slipped through a successful motion for the NZRFU to foster women's rugby.

"I wanted to stir up some of these stick-in-the-muds on the council and, mark my words, women's rugby will be good for the game," said J.J. later.

As a reward, women's provincial sides started playing for the J.J. Stewart trophy.

He also played a strong part in the New Zealand Rugby Foundation's formation, and completed a BA degree at the ripe age of 71.

Not surprisingly, J.J. majored in philosophy, but also completed papers in Chinese history.

He was made a Member of the British Empire.

A keen student of English and the printed word, J.J. wrote several rugby coaching books, and a series of farm-based yarns for the Daily News in Taranaki were later collected in a book splendid for the realism and humour that J.J. found in farming, and in life in general.