After years of searching, a former West Coast rugby player was reunited with his prized New Zealand Colts jersey that had been missing for over 40 years. Graham McGurk, a former Hokitika St Mary’s Rugby Football Club and West Coast flanker, cherished the jersey he received after playing in the 1981 match against the Australian Colts at Eden Park. Despite donating the jersey to his club in 1983, it mysteriously disappeared, leading to a decades-long search.
Recently, Graham’s son, Jonathan, reached out to the West Coast Rugby Museum in hopes of finding the missing jersey. With the help of museum curator Adam Gilshnan and St Mary’s life member Bernie Lee, the jersey was finally located and returned to Graham. Overwhelmed with emotion, Graham expressed his gratitude for the efforts made to track down the jersey.
Now, after all these years, Graham is able to share this special piece of his rugby career with his family and grandchildren. The reunion of Graham and his long-lost jersey is a heartwarming story of perseverance and dedication. – Hokitika Guardian
