Nikola Unkovich (15 January 1923 – 21 July 2005),[1] generally known as Nick Unkovich, was a New Zealand international lawn bowler.[2]
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Birth name | Nikola Unkovich | ||||||||||||||
Born | Korčula, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (present-day Croatia) | 15 January 1923||||||||||||||
Died | 21 July 2005 Auckland, New Zealand | (aged 82)||||||||||||||
Spouse |
Joy Auld (m. 1951) | ||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||
Country | New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
Sport | Lawn bowls | ||||||||||||||
Club | Matamata Bowling Club Okahu Bay Bowling Club Rawhiti Bowling Club | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life and family
editUnkovich was born in 1923 on the island of Korčula in present-day Croatia, and migrated to New Zealand with his parents in 1932, settling in Northland.[1] In 1951, he married Joy Auld in Auckland, and the couple went on to have two children.[1]
Bowls career
editUnkovich started bowling at the Matamata Bowling Club, after moving to nearly Waharoa to establish a grocery business.[1] He played for the Okahu Bay Bowling Club in Auckland from the mid 1970s, and then the Rawhiti Club in Remuera in later years.[1]
He won a bronze medal in the triples at the 1980 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Melbourne.[3]
He won ten New Zealand National Bowls Championships titles, one singles (1979), one pairs (1991) with Ross Haresnape and eight fours titles between 1971 and 1986.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Torbit, Matthew (28 July 2005). "Spirited bowler and master of sledging". Dominion Post. p. 7.
- ^ "Profile". Bowls tawa.
- ^ Newby, Donald (1991). Bowls Yearbook 91. Telegraph Publications. ISBN 0-330-31664-8.
- ^ "Bowls: Charismatic champion was also a great teacher". New Zealand Herald. 22 July 2005. Retrieved 14 April 2019.