Parkinson, Vernon

Vernon Parkinson was born in Mirfield, England, in January 1901. He was a radio operator for the Royal Navy in the First World War. When he left the navy at the age of 28, he visited New Zealand. Settling in New Plymouth in 1931, he worked for the Council as a meter reader.

Vern married Mary (nee Mould). A classically trained pianist, for many years Mary regularly played concerts in New Plymouth and performed recitals on the local 2YB radio station. The couple would go on to have three children.

Vern was a talented sportsman. A keen golfer, he played football and cricket for Taranaki. He was a key member of the successful Taranaki Hawke Cup team of the 1930s.

There have been cricketers with better records for Taranaki, but few have had his impact on the team. After the Hawke Cup was lost, the Taranaki Daily News described him as “unquestionably the outstanding personality in the Taranaki team.”

In 1935 the newspaper observed: “There is no cricketer in North Taranaki who is keener than V. Parkinson [and] who has such a delightful personality on and off the field. [H]is attitude towards the younger players is incessantly one of encouragement… His vivid personality and spontaneous humour… make him a figure attractive to the cricketing public.”

However, he didn’t tolerate lack of effort. In January of that year, annoyed with club members, he placed an advert in the Taranaki Daily News:

“LOST, from Sanders Park Practice Nets, Forty Western Park Cricketers. Anyone knowing whereabouts communicate Club Captain.”

Vern volunteered for service in the Second World War and was called up in September 1940. A staff sergeant in the Signals Corp, he served in Greece and Crete. During the Battle of Mt Olympus in 1941, he found a discarded Union Jack flag. After his withdrawal to Egypt, he sent the flag to the New Plymouth Borough Council because “flags were hard to get.” In July 1942 he returned to New Zealand and was involved in training servicemen.

After the war he remained active in cricket as a first-class umpire and a selector. He hosted regular sports programmes on New Plymouth’s radio 2YB.

He became involved in many organisations, including the Boys’ High School Board and as chairman of the North Taranaki Road Safety Committee. He was president of both the Taranaki Football and the Taranaki Cricket associations. A strong-willed Yorkshireman, in each of these roles he spoke his mind and upset people. His friend Tom Larkin remembered: “Vern was a very political man. Oh yes, a man of strong opinions.” Several stories illustrate his character.

For many years he argued publicly with the Council about it allowing travelling circuses on Western Park.

In 1936 the Taranaki Football Association instructed its selectors not to pick Vern in the Taranaki team. Players were asked to contribute to expenses and Vern had refused to pay.

In 1939 a meeting was disrupted over allegations Vern made about a cricket club.

In 1940, in a fit of pique, he batted in a North versus South Taranaki Graham Cup cricket game wearing fawn-coloured trousers.

A staunch trade unionist, he once stood as a candidate for the Taranaki Hospital Board. He came last in the voting. New Plymouth’s deputy mayor Brian Bellringer, who knew Vern, joked many years later that he was “blunt and forthright” and “probably scared the voters away.”

Ever-present on the Western and Sanders Park management board, this position led Vern to play the main role in organising the building of the original pavilion at Western Park. Sadly, on 1 January 1955, just months before the pavilion’s construction, Vern died suddenly. He was only 53 years old. The pavilion was later named the Parkinson Memorial Pavilion. Taranaki cricket honours Vernon Parkinson’s name with the Parkinson Cup.

There was a huge turnout at his funeral service and traffic officers stood to attention at every intersection between St Mary’s church and the Te Henui cemetery.

Documents

Vernon Parkinson Farewell, Taranaki Daily News 2 December 1940

Vernon Parkinson Returns, Taranaki Daily News 9 July 1942

Books

Taranaki Cricket: The Hawke Cup Years Volume One, Brian Beer. Pages 99-101 and 115-116 et al.

The Honours Board, by Brian Beer. Pages 149-150 and 204-210 et al.