Bill Pullar (athlete)

Bill Pullar
Pullar in 1937
Personal information
Birth nameWilliam Alexander Clydesdale Pullar
Born(1913-12-19)19 December 1913
Invercargill, New Zealand
Died1 January 1990(1990-01-01) (aged 76)
Hamilton, New Zealand
Spouse
Beryl Joy Kingsland
​
​
(m. 1937; died 1986)​
Sport
CountryNew Zealand
SportAthletics
Achievements and titles
National finals1 mile champion (1937, 1939, 1940)
3 miles champion (1939)
440 yd hurdles (1934)
Cross-country champion (1934)

William Alexander Clydesdale Pullar (19 December 1913 – 1 January 1990) was a New Zealand track and field athlete who represented his country at the 1938 British Empire Games.

Early life and family

Born in Invercargill on 19 December 1913, Pullar was the son of William Pullar and Agnes Christina Pullar (née Donovan).[1] He was educated at Otago Boys' High School.[2] On 10 June 1937 he married Beryl Joy Kingsland.[3]

Athletics

As well as winning the 1934 New Zealand men's cross-country championship, Pullar won a further five national titles on the track.[4] In 1934, he won the 440 yards hurdles title with a time of 56.4 seconds,[4] equalling the national record at the time.[5] Going on to concentrate on middle-distance events, he won the one-mile national title in 1937, 1939, and 1940, and the three-mile championship in 1939.[4]

At the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, Pullar finished sixth in the men's mile.[6]

From 1946, Pullar was associated with the Hamilton Athletics Club, where he coached athletes including Maurice Marshall and Dutch Holland.[7] The Hamilton City Hawks (an amalgamation of the Hamilton Athletics Club and the Hamilton Harriers Club) awards the W.A.C. Pullar Trophy to the club's top 400 m hurdler.[7]

Military service

During World War II, Pullar served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), in the General Duties Branch and then the Administrative and Special Duties Branch.[8] He was promoted from pilot officer to temporary flying officer in January 1944,[9] and received his wings in a ceremony at Wigram later that month.[10]

Pullar remained in the RNZAF for some time after the war,[11] and was the senior air traffic controller at Rukuhia aerodrome, near Hamilton.[12]

Later life and death

Pullar became a farmer.[13] He died on 1 January 1990, and his body was cremated at Hamilton Park Crematorium.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Birth search: registration number 1914/13971". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Many high points in Otago Boys' sports". Otago Daily Times. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Marriage search: registration number 1937/5549". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Hollings, Stephen (December 2016). "National champions 1887–2016" (PDF). Athletics New Zealand. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  5. ^ "Reflections in the sporting mirror". Auckland Star. 24 March 1945. p. 16. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Bill Pullar". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Trophy history". Hamilton City Hawks. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  8. ^ "New Zealand, World War II appointments, promotions, transfers and resignations, 1939–1945". Ancestry.com Operations. 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  9. ^ "New Zealand, World War II appointments, promotions, transfers and resignations, 1939–1945". Ancestry.com Operations. 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Wings ceremony at Wigram". the Press. 21 January 1944. p. 6. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  11. ^ Electoral roll of Raglan: general roll of persons entitled to vote for Members of Parliament of New Zealand. 1949. p. 212.
  12. ^ Feeney, Mike (July 2016). "World War Two. New Zealand aircraft" (PDF). Kapiti Aeromodellers' Club Update: 14. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  13. ^ Waipa electoral district: main roll of persons entitled to vote for Members of Parliament of New Zealand. 1963. p. 203.
  14. ^ "Cemetery search". Hamilton City Council. Retrieved 3 July 2017.