Hall of Fame
Ashley Heenan OBE
Born: 11th September 1925 :
Died: 6th September 2004
Inducted: 2006
Ashley Heenan was the first President of the World Croquet Federation and a leading figure in New Zealand croquet for over 40 years.
Born in 1925, Ashley was schooled in Wellington and attended Victoria University, prior to two years’ study at the Royal College of Music in London. He had joined the New Zealand Broadcasting Service at the age of 17 and returned there in 1951 working with touring overseas artists for the NZBS Concert Section. He worked as Music Assistant to two conductors of the National Orchestra, later becoming the first Musical Director of the Orchestral Trainees, a job he retained for over 20 years. This group was renamed Schola Musica - and many an experienced orchestral player emerged from its ranks.
During a busy administrative life, Ashley Heenan was able to sustain his own urge to compose. Much of his early output was film music, frequently with an indigenous flavour. Most would agree that his musical score for Baxter’s Jack Winter’s Dream was his most significant. But it was part of a large list of compositions.
Ashley lived almost his entire life in Wellington, but his influence radiated
widely. He conducted the NZ National Youth Orchestra on a tour of Britain
and the Far East; for more than a decade he headed the NZ Composers’
Foundation; he was New Zealand’s first Writer-Director of the Australasian
Performing Rights Association; and, shortly before his death, he saw the publication
of God Defend New Zealand: a history of the national anthem. This acclaimed
and highly readable work was, perhaps surprisingly, the first substantial
account of the history of the country’s national anthem to appear in
the 125 years since its composition.
His services to music were recognised with honours from the NZ Phonographic
Industry, as well as the Citation for Outstanding Services from the NZ Composers’
Association and the granting of an OBE in 1983 from the Queen.
He collected first editions of Tchaikovsky and Bernard Shaw, and was a qualified
pilot and rugby referee.
As for croquet, Ashley Heenan’s career lasted over 44 years. He won his first title - the New Zealand National Tournament - in 1945. As a young boy, he attracted wide publicity to croquet at a time when youth in the sport was quite unique. His victory in the NZ Opens of 1946 was featured with a full front page photo on the Wellington Sports Post.
He regained the Open Championship title in 1948, 58, 59 and 64, a record only
excelled by Arthur Ross, and not exceeded until 1977 by his own pupil John
Prince. In 1958 he had the rare distinction of winning in all four events
of the NZ Championships for which he was eligible. In 1959 he was again finalist
in all four events, and won three.
His lifelong relationship with Arthur Ross (also his father-in-law) had tremendous
influence on the direction followed by croquet between 1945 and 1964. Between
them, they engineered the tactics that won the 1950 MacRobertson Shield for
New Zealand. However, after that his international career was somewhat restricted
by the demands of music, and he was unavailable for the tour of England in
1956. His standing as a player was such that Maurice Reckitt recorded in the
Gazette his opinion that his unavailability was the difference between NZ
winning or losing the MacRobertson Shield.
During this period, Ashley published his own highly successful magazine, The
Croquet World, and was invited by the NZCC to be editor of the flagging New
Zealand Croquet Gazette, then on the verge of demise. He was editor from 1957
to 1961, when he became NZ Referee, a position he also filled with distinction.
In 1957, he was appointed to a constitutional revision committee of the NZCC
that made several innovative recommendations that were consequently adopted.
In 1960, as chairman of the NZ Laws Re-draft Committee, he spent a week in
Sydney with Ian Baillieu, working on the finalised draft of the proposed new
laws. Baillieu later acknowledged the part Ashley played in resolving the
seemingly insuperable differences between the CA and NZCC to produce the laws
as we know them today.
In 1963 he was appointed Captain of the NZ MacRobertson team, but was forced
to withdraw when awarded a UNESCO travelling Fellowship. On returning from
his tour, he played in the 1964 Championships, winning the Open, and with
his protege John Prince the Doubles Championship.
The demands of music saw him withdraw from the national scene, and until 1979
his croquet was limited to local club and association events. Following the
death of Arthur Ross, and with some persuasive encouragement from John Prince,
he once again began competing in national tournaments.
In 1979 he embarked on what virtually became a second career in croquet. In
that year he was elected editor of the NZ Gazette for a second five year term.
In 1984 he became a North Island Vice President, and in 1985 he was appointed
to the role of President. He retired from this office before completing his
term, feeling that the incoming President should have a year in office before
the 1990 MacRobertson Tour, and that the new constitution should come into
effect with a fresh hand on the helm.
During his period of office he saw reform of handicapping, laws and the constitution
of the NZCC. He established relations with the Assembly of Sport, the Hilary
Commission, and new ventures into international sport. His interests in International
Croquet contributed to closer relations with Australia, England and the USA.
In 1986 he managed the NZ MacRobertson visit to England, where the team accorded
him the honour of playing in the last test. It was on this visit that the
proposed World Croquet Federation project was initiated. In July 1989 he was
unanimously elected the first President of the newly formed WCF, the nomination
appropriately being put forward by his life long and close friend, John Solomon.
The measure of his wide interest in the game can in part be found in the list
of trophies he has presented the NZCC through the years. He also designed
the NZ Champion Pocket and Medal.
During the 1950s and 60s he spent much time touring the country often in company
with Arthur Ross and later the young players John Prince and Tony Stephens
playing exhibition games, giving demonstrations and coaching lessons.
As with music, he brought to New Zealand and to world croquet a sense of purpose
that it sorely needed. At the time of his death he was survived by his wife Maureen, two sons and two daughters.
Ashley Heenan, First President of the World Croquet Federation
Reproduced by kind permission of the Croquet Association.