They were the three members of the Tournament Jury of Appeal: the effervescent Bowls New Zealand President Jeanette Sinclair, and the two Past-Presidents Mike Spring and Trevor McComish.
These ‘three wise (wo)men’ earnt the role because they had the gravitas to be a final ‘court’ of appeal for players who might have become grumpy with an umpire’s or tournament director’s ruling … or for the tournament director or umpires not having the wisdom of Solomon to rule on a player or team’s potential recalcitrance.
None did. But nonetheless there was a heck of a lot of gravitas at the ready! Take Trevor McComish for instance.
Although now retired from an impressive career in the army, McComish retains the titular position of Colonel Commandant of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corp until 2021.
McComish joined the army in 1961, attending the Royal Military College of Australia, Duntroon, and graduating as a lieutenant. He went to Waiouru for 3 years, Papakura for a year, then did a one-year tour of duty at Nui Dat in Vietnam with the Australian Task Force.
He then did a ‘long armour’ course in Britain, learning how to design and build tanks. “I got my English driver’s licence in a tank,” he laughs, “which allowed me to drive almost anything and everything.”
In 1971, he came back to Waiouru, and was then transferred to the Directorate of Equipment at Defence Headquarters in Wellington. “I was asked to go to Waiouru again as an Instructor at the School of Tactics followed by attendance at the Australian Army Staff College at Queenscliffe in Victoria.”
A year later McComish was back in Waiouru as Commanding Officer of the Armoured unit, down to Wellington again to the Directorate of Army Training, up to Palmerston North as the Deputy Regional Commander of the Second Task Force, and back to Wellington as the Director of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corp.
In 1983, McComish went to Singapore as Operations Officer, returning to New Zealand two years later with roles in Wellington and Linton. “I ended up hosting the Queen at Linton when she visited in 1990,” recalls McComish, “She was a wonderful guest.”
It was then off to Angola for a year as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. “The ceasefire had only just kicked in two weeks earlier, so things were still settling down,” says McComish.
Back in Wellington, it was time to retire, and at the cajoling of his Karori neighbour, time for McComish to take up bowls at the Terawhiti Bowling Club.
McComish plunged into bowls life, just as he had done in the army. He was appointed President of the Terawhiti Club and in 1998 joined the executive of the Wellington Centre, becoming Chair of the Wellington Board.
He became a regional advisor to Bowls New Zealand, and ended up Vice-President in 2009, and President in 2011. “It was great going to the Trans-Tasmans, the World Bowls Championships in Adelaide and the many club centennials that came up.”
Post presidency, McComish opted for a quieter life simply playing bowls out of Island Bay. But the organisational skills ingrained in him by the army still left him ‘volunteering’ to run the International Bowls for the Disabled Championships in Wellington in 2015.
The ‘retired’ McComish was also exercising his military experience with roles at the Wellington RSA, including a stint as President. “I was on the Disability Panel for Veterans Affairs for 5 or 6 years,” McComish adds.
McComish seems to have spent a lifetime earning gravitas, whether working or ‘retired’.
In fact, if Bowls New Zealand interviewed candidates for a job with the Tournament Jury of Appeal, McComish may well have been one candidate whom they observed was ‘over-qualified’!
Thanks for being in bowls, Trevor.
-Rob Davis
