By Brayden Lindsay

The South Canterbury Sportsperson of the Year award turned 50 this year. Over the past five decades there have been 35 different winners from 20 different sports. The Timaru Herald is featuring each winner. In 1991 rugby referee Colin Hawke, who went on to control 24 test matches, took out the top honour. Sports writer BRAYDEN LINDSAY caught up with him.

Rugby referee Colin Hawke still stands in a world of his own.

He remains the only official to have claimed the overall award at the South Canterbury Sports Awards.

Hawke has had a wealth of achievements over the past 25 years, including refereeing some of the best rugby players to have graced the game.

The former international rugby referee had a superb career with the whistle, and at the end of last year was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to rugby.

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South African President Nelson Mandela, left, meets with Timaru referee Colin Hawke at the 1995 Rugby World Cup tournament.
REUTERS
South African President Nelson Mandela, left, meets with Timaru referee Colin Hawke at the 1995 Rugby World Cup tournament.

Being part of the New Zealand Order of Merit alongside his good mates and fellow rugby referees Paddy O'Brien and Keith Lawrence held special significance.

"I'm hugely honoured. It's a great thing for my family and friends and also for fellow referees and the rugby community. I was absolutely thrilled and honoured," Hawke said.

He refereed 175 first class matches over a decorated 19-year career, including 24 tests and 16 Ranfurly Shield challenges before hanging up the whistle in 2002. His last international match was France and Australia in Marseille.

Matches Hawke controlled include the 1994 NPC final at Onewa Domain between Auckland and North Harbour, while a year later he awarded a penalty try to Auckland in the 1995 NPC final - a call that got the northerners home over Otago.

He was one of the best whistlers to have refereed rugby to this day.

Hawke had a superb season in 1991, which saw him pick up the South Canterbury Sportsperson of the Year Award for his deeds with the whistle, having made his debut as an international referee in 1990 in Dublin when he controlled Ireland against Argentina.

"I was a very active senior ref here and I had done my first international in 1990. It was the start of my international career then, and I guess the recognition came in 1991 for the international and national parts of the game.

"I was absolutely thrilled to have been nominated and then to have won it, especially having come from the small town of Winchester. I was living in Timaru at the time and it was very nice to be recognised from where I came from."

Hawke could not recall who he was up against that year, but acknowledged it would have been a quality field of applicants.

"I can't remember who the nominees were, but winning the award wasn't my focus. I had other goals like being the best I could be."

A three-time New Zealand Rugby referee of the year in 1994, 1999 and 2000, Hawke loved his career with the whistle.

His first senior game was between Temuka and Celtic at Temuka Domain - a ground Hawke was familiar with growing up.

At the time "he had no idea" that refereeing would lead him on a journey around the world, he said.

"It was not only a great honour, but it was great being able to travel to all the places in the world reffing took us and meet all the great places and people."

Hawke always loved refereeing at Landsdowne Road in Ireland, while Twickenham and Loftus Versfeld also held special significance.

"I reffed in Dublin a number of times and South Africa in the later parts, including arguably the biggest match possible for New Zealand referees, a test on the 1997 Lions Tour.

"It was unbelievable really. I refereed the first test of that series which the British Lions actually won."

In New Zealand, Carisbrook was his "favourite", and he always enjoyed matches at Lancaster Park, Eden Park and Athletic Park.

"I just loved Carisbrook. Did quite a few shield games in Auckland. Athletic Park was great on a good day and miserable when there was southerly."

He rates three New Zealand players among the best he's ever refereed.

"Zinzan Brooke was a marvellously gifted player, Sean Fitzpatrick was one that was always a challenge to referees, but he was good at it, and Jeff Wilson was one I refereed that was just sublime with his skill sets, while internationally John Eales and Nick Farr-Jones were super guys off the field and terrific players on it."

The 63-year-old is working as a referee education officer for the South Canterbury and North Otago rugby unions.

"I feel in South Canterbury we are reasonably well served with referees. I work 10 hours a week servicing the South Canterbury referees and the union here and the numbers are always a bit edgy but this year we're pretty well served.

"In North Otago they're going pretty well and the rest of my job is with New Zealand Rugby and I coach four of their full time referees."

The fulltime refs he guides and coaches are Jamie Nutbrown, Chris Pollock, Nick Briant and Brendon Pickerill.

"They are very conscientious, hard working individuals, and I can tell you they have a very strict training regime. They're equally as fit as the players."

That part of his role helps him bring the odd piece of new information or skill back to South Canterbury.

He was talented on the rugby paddock, making the South Canterbury Colts as a second five-eighth before injury halted his playing career.

He grew up representing Geraldine.

"It all started right here in South Canterbury and when I got injured playing in the 70s. Someone twisted my arm to do some refereeing."

Originally, he suffered a haematoma to his thigh and once it came right, he returned to the paddock, but it swelled up again and forced Hawke into hospital and to look elsewhere for opportunities in rugby.

"I had never even considered refereeing. I wanted to stay involved so that's what I did. It was quite long apprenticeship. It took me about five or six years to ref my first senior game."

Pathways and training for referees are much better than they were some years ago and Hawke said it was now much easier for referees to potentially control senior matches.

One thing Hawke does not miss is the nights away - about 180 a year.

In Hawke's final year of active refereeing, he received the IRB (now World Rugby) referee award for distinguished service.

Do not be surprised if you see him at on the sidelines of junior football matches because his grandson and granddaughter play the round ball game, while another grandchild plays rugby.

He also has a love for classic cars and owns a couple, including an Austin Healey he's had for nearly 20 years.

"As a young kid I always thought they were great. My brother Alan and I had a service station in Winchester for a number of years and that's where the love of cars came from."

He likes to play social tennis now, but growing up Hawke was a talented athlete, competing for the Temuka Athletics Club.

"I really enjoyed my athletics. I attended many South Canterbury championships, Canterbury champs and even a national champs in Dunedin."

He competed in the 100 metres, 200m, long jump and triple jump.

He was schooled at Winchester and Geraldine.

Hawke moved to Wellington from 2005 until 2012 to be the high performance referee coach for New Zealand Rugby.

"It was a great experience as it got me out of South Canterbury and into the bigger world, but it was nice to come back and put something into the community I know."

He was also a law enforcement officer, starting out as a traffic officer with the Ministry of Transport before the merger with the police in the 1990s when he became a sworn police officer.

Hawke said they were incredibly supportive of his involvement with rugby.

He resigned from the police in 2009 once he had moved to Wellington.

Hawke loves his job and said it is "great" seeing people fulfil their potential.

SOUTH CANTERBURY SPORTSPERSON OF YEAR

1967 John Ward (cricket)

1968 Jim Power (athletics)

1969 Tom Lister (rugby)

1970 Ray Vercoe (rugby)

1971 Ross Murray (golf)

1972 Frances Granger (netball)

1974 Suzanne Kennedy (swimming)

1975 Fred Creba (powerlifting)

1976 Murray Parker (cricket)

1979 William Brunton (clay target shooting)

1982 Colin Ryan (cycling)

1983 Tony Ward (basketball)

1984 Susan Conroy (sailing)

1985 Calvin Gabites (roller skating)

1986 Michelle Baker (sailing)

1987 Michelle Baker (sailing)

1988 Russell Brice(mountaineering)

1989 Phillippa Langrell (swimming)

1990 Joanne Henry (athletics)

1991 Colin Hawke (rugby refereeing)

1992 Gavin Hawke (triathlon)

1993 Leo Leonard (lawn bowls)

1994 Lindsay Smith (smallbore rifle shooting)

1995 Bett Prattley (lawn bowls)

1996 Craig Gilbert (motor racing)

1998 Heath Blackgrove (cycling)

1999 Haidee Tiffen (cricket)

2000 Haidee Tiffen (cricket)

2001 Kyla Welsh (golf)

2002 Shannelle Wooding (speedskating)

2003 Rebecca Wooding (speedskating)

2004 Marc Ryan (cycling)

2005 Marc Ryan (cycling)

2006 Marc Ryan (cycling)

2007 Nicole Begg (speed skating)

2008 Nicole Begg (speedskating)

2009 Marc Ryan (cycling)

2010 Natalie Rooney (clay target)

2011 Shane Archbold (cycling)

2012 Hayden Paddon (motorsport)

2013 Marc Ryan (cycling)

2014 Marc Ryan (cycling)

2015 Shane Archbold (cycling)

2016 Hayden Paddon (motorsport)