Tristan Hegglun

Tristan Freitas Hegglun OBE ED (29 July 1915 – 22 July 1983) was a New Zealand rower, rugby union player, and local-body politician. He rowed for his country at the 1950 British Empire Games, and won two national rowing titles. A front-row forward and lock, he played provincial rugby for both Wellington and Marlborough, and was involved in services matches during World War II. He later served as a Blenheim borough councillor.

Tristan Hegglun
OBE ED
Personal information
Full nameTristan Freitas Hegglun
Born(1915-07-29)29 July 1915
Marton, New Zealand
Died22 July 1983(1983-07-22) (aged 67)
EducationMarlborough College
Spouse(s)
Patricia Mary Meachen
​
​
(m. 1945)​
RelativesTed Meachen (father-in-law)
Greg Hegglun (grandson)
Sport
CountryNew Zeaaland
SportRowing
ClubWairau Rowing Club
Wellington Rowing Club
Rugby career
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1938–40
1945–49		 Wellington
Marlborough		 ()
Achievements and titles
National finalsSingle scull champion (1949)
Coxed four champion (1954)

Early life and family

Born in Marton on 29 July 1915, Hegglun was the son of Edward Tristan Hegglun and Gertrude Lilian Hegglun (née Gomez).[1][2][3][4] He was educated at Marlborough College in Blenheim.[1] In 1945, he married Patricia Mary Meachen, daughter of the member of Parliament for Marlborough and later mayor of Blenheim, Ted Meachen.[5] The couple went on to have seven children, including Marilen Hegglun who won several national rowing titles, and was one of the first women to represent New Zealand in rowing internationally.[1][5][6] Another of their children, Richard Hegglun, played for the Marlborough rugby side during their 1973–1974 Ranfurly Shield tenure, and Richard's son, Greg Hegglun, played first-class cricket for Central Districts.[5][7]

Sporting career

Rowing

Hugglun was a member of the Wellington Rowing Club before World War II,[8] but he is more closely associated with the Wairau Rowing Club in Marlborough.[5] He won two New Zealand national rowing championship titles representing Wairau: the single scull in 1949,[9] and as a member of the men's coxed four crew in 1954.[10]

At the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, Hegglun, as reigning national champion, represented New Zealand in the single scull, finishing in fourth place.[11][12]

In later years, Hegglun was one of the driving forces behind the development of Lake Ruataniwha as a rowing venue.[5] As a national champion, Hegglun was accorded life membership of the Wairau Rowing Club, but in 2010, as part of the club's centennial celebrations, he was also posthumously awarded life membership in recognition of his service to the club.[13]

Rugby union

Playing for the Poneke club, Hegglun was first selected as a middle-row forward (in a 3–4–1 scrum formation) in the Wellington provincial rugby team that played Taranaki in 1938.[14] Later that season, he played in the front row against Otago.[15] In Wellington's match against Hawke's Bay in 1940, Hegglun scored a try under the posts in his side's 8–3 victory at Athletic Park.[16]

In July 1945, Hegglun was a member of the Marlborough side that defeated Buller to lift the Seddon Shield.[17] When Marlborough successfully defended the shield against Golden Bay-Motueka the following month, by 24 points to 3, Hegglun's forward play was described as "outstanding".[18]

In 1946, Hegglun was named as a front-row forward in the South Island team to play the North Island;[19][20] the rain-shortened match, played at Athletic Park, Wellington, was won by the North 8–3.[21] Later that year, he played at lock for a combined Seddon Shields Districts side against the touring Australian national team, scoring a try as the Australians won a close match 15–12.[22] Hegglun continued to play a prominent role in the Marlborough side until at least 1949.[23][24][25]

Military service

Before World War II, Hegglun worked as a builder and bridge constructor.[26] He enlisted as a private in the Infantry Reinforcements, 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF), Third Echelon.[26] In February 1943, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the New Zealand Infantry,[27] and that year, on 3 December, he was wounded in action.[2][28]

While serving in the Middle East, Hegglun took part in services rugby matches, representing 2NZEF, including against a British Combined Services team and an Australian Imperial Force side in December 1941,[29][30] He also played a prominent part in the inaugural rowing regatta in 1942 between New Zealand forces and the Cairo River Club for the Freyberg Cup, held on the Nile. The trophy was won by the New Zealanders, with Hegglun winning the single scull, being a member of the crew that won the coxless four, and stroking the New Zealand Division pair that finished third.[31] In 1943, Hegglun won the single scull in the Cairo championships, defeating the Egyptian champion in the process.[32] Hegglun also showed some talent as a boxer, contesting the heavyweight class in the New Zealand divisional boxing championships in Syria in 1942, where he was knocked out in the semi-final.[33]

Following the war, Hegglun remained active in the military, serving in the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment Territorial Force, rising to the rank of colonel. He was commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Nelson–Marlborough–West Coast Regiment, between 1959 and 1961,[34] and deputy commander of the Southern Military District from 1961 to 1967.[1] In the 1967 Queen’s Birthday Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire.[35]

Later life and death

Hegglun worked as an overseer for the Blenheim Borough Council.[1] Active in community affairs, he served as a Blenheim borough councillor,[36] and as the Marlborough regional civil defence officer.[37]

Hegglun died on 22 July 1983, and was buried at Fairhall Cemetery.[3][38] His wife, Pat Hegglun, died in 2010.[5]

References
  1. Petersen, G.C., ed. (1968). Who's Who in New Zealand (9th ed.). Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p. 175.
  2. Sinclair, D.W. (1954). "The division in the desert". 19 Battalion and Armoured Regiment. Wellington: Historical Publications Branch. p. 191. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  3. "Death index: registration number 1983/34183". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  4. "Tristan Freitas Hegglun". Ancestry.com.au. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  5. "Fervent support". Saturday Express, Marlborough. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  6. Alexander, John (4 November 2010). "Women recall tougher times". Marlborough Express. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  7. "Super rugby returns with thrilling derby matches". Marlborough Express. 27 February 2012. p. 9.
  8. "Wellington Rowing Club and Star Boating Club". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  9. "10,000 people see rowing champions in action at Karapiro". Waikato Independent. 28 February 1949. p. 5. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  10. "The Boss Rooster story". Wairau Rowing Club Newsletter. May 2010. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  11. "Tristan Hegglun". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  12. "Rowing single scull – men Auckland 1950". Commonwealth Games Federation. 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  13. Alexander, John (23 November 2010). "Rowers toast 100 years". Marlborough Express. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  14. "Rugby selection". The Evening Post. 16 May 1938. p. 11. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  15. "Rugby football". Otago Daily Times. 17 September 1938. p. 24. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  16. "Football of high standard". The Press. 19 August 1940. p. 4. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  17. "Seddon Shield". The Press. 30 July 1945. p. 3. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  18. "Marlborough retains Seddon Shield". The Press. 14 August 1945. p. 6. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  19. "South Island team". Gisborne Herald. 7 August 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  20. "South Island rugby team". Otago Daily Times. 8 August 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  21. "North beats South". Otago Daily Times. 19 August 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  22. "Wallabies again". Gisborne Herald. 5 September 1946. p. 8. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  23. "Marlborough rugby tour". Otago Daily Times. 26 June 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  24. "Marlborough beaten". Otago Daily Times. 8 September 1947. p. 6. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  25. "Wellington win after flying straits". Gisborne Herald. 7 June 1949. p. 3. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  26. "Tristan Freitas Hegglun". Online Cenotaph. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  27. "New Zealand, World War II appointments, promotions, transfers and resignations, 1939–1945". Ancestry.com Operations. 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  28. "Roll of honour: N.Z.E.F. casualties". The Evening Post. 18 December 1943. p. 8. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  29. "Brilliant play". The Evening Post. 26 December 1941. p. 7. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  30. "Rugby in Egypt". Otago Daily Times. 29 December 1941. p. 2. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  31. "Rowing on the Nile". Auckland Star. 10 August 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  32. "N.Z.E.F. oarsmen". Gisborne Herald. 19 July 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  33. "Military boxing". New Zealand Herald. 26 May 1942. p. 5. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  34. "Freedom of the city". Nelson Photo News. 3 March 1962. pp. 60–61. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  35. "No. 44328". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 10 June 1967. p. 6312.
  36. "Water shortage blights use of pool". Marlborough Express. 8 December 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  37. "Oral questions transferred for written answer, 12 August 1983". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 451: 1423. 1983. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  38. "Cemetery records search". Marlborough District Council. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
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