Robert Oliphant (rugby player)

Robert Oliphant (c.1867 – 18 January 1956) was a New Zealand rugby union player. A wing-forward, Oliphant represented Manawatu, Wellington, Auckland and Hawke's Bay at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, in 1893 and 1896. He played three games for the All Blacks but did not appear in any test matches.^[2]

In 1897 Oliphant was awarded the silver medal of the Royal Humane Society of Australasia for saving a girl, Margaret Purnell, from drowning in Auckland Harbour on 29 May 1896.^[3]

Following the death of Sir Henry Braddon in 1955, Oliphant held the distinction of being the oldest living All Black. He died on 18 January 1956 in Auckland and was buried at O'Neill's Point Cemetery in Bayswater.^[4]

Oliphant's date of birth is uncertain but he is listed on the September 1890 electoral roll for Palmerston,^[5] which, at a time when the voting age was 21, puts his birth no later than 1869. When he died in 1956 his age was given as 88 years,^[4] which places his birth in 1867 or 1868. In January 1915, Oliphant volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and gave his date of birth as 22 January 1872,^[1] but it is likely that he falsified this so that he would be considered young enough for service. He served in Samoa throughout the war, reaching the rank of armourer sergeant.^[1]

References