Francis Logan

Francis Logan was born in Edinburgh on 9 February 1857. He was the second son of James Logan, who was the North British & Mercantile Insurance Company manager. His mother’s name was Rachel Higgie Biggar (formerly Bannerman).

Francis moved with his parents from Edinburgh to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne iin 1863 and he lived there until 1881, when he moved to New Zealand. Francis Logan’s early schooling was at Bedfordshire Middle-Class Public School (later known as Elstow). Whilst attending that school he was captain of the 1st Eleven and 1st Fifteen and was obviously one of their outstanding students.

In December 1872 at the age of 15, he was awarded the “Examination for Senior Students who are not members of the University”, from the University of Cambridge, following his examination at Bedford.

He obtained Third Class Honours in his four selected subjects of Religious Knowledge, English, Latin and German. He lived at home until he left for Aotearoa. Prior to his departure, he is listed in the 1881 census as residing at Gateshead with his parents and siblings. His profession is that of a solicitor.

DEPARTURE FROM ENGLAND

By the time Francis Logan had finished his legal training, he was suffering from a “serious illness” and his medical advisors had “ordered him a sea voyage”. Sometimes it is described as having suffered from a “pulmonary disorder”, but in any event, he took a “health recuperating trip”. It was suggested that he took a trip to New Zealand at an earlier time than 1881, supposedly “scouting” for an overseas destination that would not seriously affect his health.

There is an entry of “F Logan” who arrived on a Shaw Saville vessel named Zealandia under Captain Sellars berthing in Auckland on 30 May 1878 after a 90 day voyage, but apparently he came out to New Zealand, went back and then returned again with £1,000 in his pocket, when he officially emigrated.

MARRIAGE AND IN-LAWS

Francis Logan and Louisa Taylor were married at St John’s Parish Church, Napier on 3 July 1883. Francis was a bachelor when he came to New Zealand. His future wife was born on 27 December 1859, in Paramatta, New South Wales. Her father was Clerk of Petty Sessions. Her parents died when she was about 17 and she came to live with her aunt and uncle at 16 Lincoln Road, Napier.

Louisa lived with J B Rhodes at Milton Grange on Napier Hill, from 1874 to the time of her marriage in 1883. Milton Grange was three houses down from where she would eventually spend the rest of her days, namely 18 Fitzroy Road, Napier.

HOME LIFE AND A LOVE OF FISHING

Francis Logan was 'almost terrifyingly tall, immaculately dressed' and had the bearing of a perfect gentleman of his time. He was bestowed with admirable generosity and had an early morning ritual involving rolled oats.

Francis was a keen and expert fisherman – one of the pioneers in the Taupo District. He fished mainly in Tokaanu and the Turangi area. The only way to get to these places was by horse drawn coach, which took four days to accomplish. Later on, he and his party patronised the Spa Hotel.

On one occasion, the fishing party had arrived at Tarawera after the first day of travel and camped over on the upper reaches of the Waipunga River (which flows into the Mohaka). According to legend, the packhorse carrying the supplies of whiskey – which was essential to survival in the cold waters of the Central Plateau and other necessaries of life - bucked and the whole load was lost.

The Mäori guide (probably Piripi Te Heu Heu) was instantly dispatched back to Napier to replenish the supplies, lest the fishing expedition that year had to be conducted without the assistance of that essential liquor.

OUTSIDE INTERESTS AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

At one time or other Francis Logan was involved with the Hawke’s Bay Acclimatisation Society, Hawke’s Bay Automobile Association, Napier Golf Club, Hawke’s A & P Society, Hawke’s Bay Cricket Association, Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union and Napier Rotary Club.

He made his mark in tennis. In the Hawke’s Bay Lawn Tennis Club’s official history and souvenir (1884 to 1936) it records that Francis Logan was a founder and their president in 1884. The matches were played initially at Farndon Park and later Marewa.

Francis Logan arranged for the English Cricket Team to be hosted at the Hawke’s Bay Club. He put the Hawke’s Bay Club to good use (and was President on a number of occasions). Francis Logan played golf and was also keen on shooting and would go to Pukekino to shoot quail.

Perhaps Francis Logan’s greatest sporting passion was rugby. In terms of rugby, much has been done to record and honour Francis Logan’s contribution in Hawke’s Bay. The history of rugby in Hawke’s Bay is recorded in a book by Frank Long called “Magpie Magic”; "Although Mr Logan was not elected to office at the inaugural meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union he continued to contribute to the growth of the game as the Napier club’s President and it was in that capacity that he attended the first meeting to form the Union.

His first role for the new Union was as a selector of teams which he started in 1885, the Union’s first selector (there were no representative matches in 1884, the first season) and he remained the sole selector through until 1901, when it was thought better that a panel of three selected teams. During this time Mr Logan was also an active referee, controlling the international between Hawke’s Bay sides and Great Britain in 1888, at Napier."

Letter from Francis Logan to Norman McKenzie date 30.7.1923.

The text of the letter reads as follows: “Dear Mackenzie, If you think fit, will you communicate the contents of this letter to the players (when they are selected by you) for the next Shield Match. The individual play of our backs on Saturday last against the Wellington team was distinctly good: their tackling was strong and much better than it was in the match against Wairarapa, but they failed in combination in attacking. I hope they will take a lesson from the Wellington backs in this respect. In attacking, our threequarters are much too spread out and are not therefore in a position to take the short, low underhand passes which make for success. I would urge upon them during the 2 or 3 days that they will be together before our next match to practice short, low passes when going at top speed and to be nearer to one another when delivering an attack, so as to minimise the risk of the passes being intercepted and so that the backs taking their passes will be able to take them clean without losing pace. And now a word to the Forwards, their play was most commendable on Saturday but I noticed on that day and also at the Shield match against Wairarapa on several occasions when the enemy forwards broke away that 2 or 3 of our forwards (mostly the same men) stood about waiting for the play to come back to them instead of instantly rushing back and getting the ball to stave off the enemy attack. It is a wonder that once or twice we did not pay the penalty by reason of these forwards not immediately rushing to support the rest of the team. Believe me, Yours sincerely, F. Logan”

Excerpt from "Hawke's Bay Magpies 125 Years - Hawke's Bay Rugby 1884-2009",

pages 7 and 8

Exhaustive research of Francis Logan (1857- 1933) provides an intimate knowledge of the man dubbed "the Father of Hawke's Bay Rugby."

Let there be no doubt that in Victorian era Napier, Frank Logan was one of the few consistent pillars of the developing Napier community. He was pivotal in the [the] social, sporting, and business growth of Napier and Hawke's Bay that has never before been recognised by so-called qualified historians.

That's not all that surprising because Frank Logan preferred to stay in the background rather than stand in the limelight of innovation. He never stood for public office in local or national politics but was able to mingle with princes and paupers alike, and provide the impetus for growth and development.

Logan was the quintessential colonial Victorian gentleman in that he was involved in a wide variety of social and professional circles in Napier and Hawke's Bay. It must be remembered, of course, that in these times, there were precious few opportunities to be entertained - no radio or television or computers, no cell-phones, no cars, refrigerators, and movie theatres.

He arrived in Napier in 1882 armed with a law degree from Cambridge University and a hundred pounds.

Frank Logan not only became the pillar for Hawke's Bay rugby but was instrumental in creating the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association and the New Zealand Rugby Union.

Logan's sporting involvement included cricket, tennis, horse racing and golf as well as rugby. He was also a senior partner in the law firm of Sainsbury Logan Williams, was chancellor of the Diocese of Waiapu, president for five terms of the Hawke's Bay Club, the longest-serving president of the Hawke's Bay Acclimatisation Society , the first legal adviser to the Hawke's Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society, chairman of the Napier Gas Company, a board member of Richardson Shipping Company, on the committee of the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club, and was secretary of the Napier Athaneum Club.

Logan was also a man of substance as the law firm grew to become a prominent Napier legal business. No expense was too great for Logan as illustrated by an incident during one of his many trout fishing expeditions to Lake Taupo.

Logan was to organise a guide from Tongariro, usually Piriwhi Te Heu Heu, hire the pack horses, and arrange his group of fellow anglers for the trip. The pack horses not only carried essential supplies but one would be assigned to carry the cases of alcohol to sustain the party through the journey.

On one such trip, while the party was just outside Napier and had entered the forest ea, the pack horse carrying the cases of refreshment was spooked and careered off wildly down a gully dropping the cases which smashed open, spilling and breaking their contents.

Logan looked at the sorry remains of broken cases and bottles and instructed Piriwhi to go back to Napier, with the now calmed pack horse, and reload it with fresh supplies while the party camped at a nearby clearing.

Logan's credit was good and within a day, the party's alcohol reserves were replenished and the trek continued.

But Logan's main sporting interest lay in selecting, coaching, and refereeing rugby teams as well as becoming a powerful administrator of the game.

Upon his arrival in Napier, Logan began his association with rugby in Hawke's Bay through the Napier Rugby Football Club. By 1884 he was selector of the Napier team which won the Sheehan Cup competed for by the four founding clubs of the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union in the same year - Napier, Napier Union, Petane, and Hastings.

Logan didn't stand for office in the new union which was formed at a meeting in the Criterion Hotel in May 1884. But by the following year was selector of the first Hawke's Bay team which played Poverty Bay clubs at Farndon Park, Clive, and won 9-0. The team lost its next two fixtures that year, against Wellington and an Egmont XV (from Taranaki) both matches being played in Wellington.

Logan was elected president of the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union in 1886 after the inaugural president, Robert Dodson, stood down for health reasons. It was the start of a long career in rugby administration which continued through until his death in 1933 when he held the office of the union's patron.

Despite holding office as president, Logan still managed to select Hawke's Bay teams and referee matches to the extent that in 1888 he was appointed to referee representative fixtures for a total of 14 matches through until 1904. He held the distinction in 1894 of being president of both the Hawke's Bay and New Zealand Rugby Unions, selector of Hawke's Bay and the New Zealand team, and appointed referee in two international matches - Hawke's Bay against New South Wales in Napier and Auckland against New South Wales in Auckland.

Logan formed an important partnership with the union's new secretary Ernest Hoben 1887 and together they set about the creation of the New Zealand Rugby Union. By 1891 Hoben, a Napier journalist, was able to travel the country espousing the values of national unity in rugby and the New Zealand Rugby Union was born in 1892.

Logan had previous experience in forming a national body - the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association in 1886 along with his neighbour and Napier stock broker John Jardine. He was a New Zealand doubles champion with Milden Fenwick of Hastings as his partner in 1892.

Logan played an important role in the creation of the New Zealand Rugby Union in 1892 when he was elected to the three-man Appeal Committee (along with George Campbell of Wellington, and Thomas Henderson of Auckland) at the first annual meeting of the newly-formed union which trio was also responsible for selecting the first New Zealand representative sides.

Logan was president of the NZRFU on two occasions in 1894 and again in 1904. He took his family to England and Europe in 1905 and he and sons Ivan and Frank watched many of the All Black 'Originals' games on the 1905 tour.

Logan handed over the leadership of Hawke's Bay rugby at the turn of the century but was elected one of the union 's first life members in 1908 and stayed on as president until 1913 when he was elected patron of the union. The union bought land for a park in 1906-07 and named it Logan Park but it became an octopus that strangled revenue from the union's coffers and was abandoned in 1910 when McLean Park came in to existence.

Logan enjoyed witnessing the growth of the game in Hawke's Bay during the "golden era" of the 1922-27 Ranfurly Shield years and often offered advice to selector Norman McKenzie.

Though in poor health he survived the Hawke's Bay earthquake of 1931 and saw his firm's demolished building reborn in the art deco style before passing away in 1933.