Bill Pullar (athlete)

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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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

References[edit]

  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.
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