2018 Inductees

Graham Mourie - Rugby

Born in Ōpunakē, Graham is a former New Zealand All Black flanker and coach of the Hurricanes.

He attended both Ōpunakē and New Plymouth Boys’ High Schools where he played for their 1st XVs. Playing for Taranaki, he was a match centurion and captained the provincial team.

He was first selected for the All Blacks in 1976, captaining a second-string New Zealand team that toured South America. He was selected again for the All Blacks against the touring British Lions in 1977, and captained the side to France later that year, replacing Tane Norton as captain. He played a total of 61 matches (57 as captain) for the All Blacks until 1982. He captained the All Blacks on their historic Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland in 1978. In 1981, Graham made himself unavailable for selection during the controversial tour of New Zealand by the Springboks. He returned as captain later that year for the tour of Romania and France.

In the 1981 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Graham was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to rugby. Graham has been a member of the NZ Rugby Board, International Rugby Executive Board and Chair of the IRB Rugby Committee.

Stan Lay - Javelin

Born 27 July 1906, Stan Lay moved to Hāwera in 1910 when his father became the curator of King Edward Park.

For 25 years, Stan threw Javelins further than anyone in New Zealand. The Taranaki field star also set records that took decades to beat.

Stan’s greatest throwing achievement was at Stamford Bridge on 7 July 1928 when, amidst much fanfare, he unofficially broke the standing world record by four feet with a throw of 222 feet 9 inches. The throw unfortunately never made the world record books. He competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and won Gold at the Empire Games in Hamilton, Canada with a throw of 207 feet 1.5 inches (63.13 metres) and set an empire/Commonwealth Games record which stood for 27 years. Stan followed that up with Silver in 1938 in Sydney, Australia.

Stan was made a member of the British Empire in 1987 and inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Stan retired from top competition after the 1950 Empire Games in Auckland, but continued to appear at athletic meets as coach, official and later patron.

His name lives on through the Stan Lay entrance (and plaque) at King Edward Park, and Stan Lay Drive in Pukekura Park.