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Albert Edward Mackay Rowland (26 October 1885 – 23 July 1918) was a New Zealand athlete who competed in walking events. He competed for Australasia in two walking events at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.

Early life and family

Born in Christchurch on 26 October 1885, Rowland was the son of Edward Anthony Rowland and Anne Rowland (née Macdonald). He married Agnes Ludlow "Jo" Fraser on 28 October 1911 at Holy Trinity Church in the Christchurch suburb of Avonside, and they went on to have one daughter.

Athletics

A race walker, Rowland won both the 1-mile and 3-mile track walk titles at the New Zealand National Athletics Championships in 1907.

He represented Australasia at the 1908 Olympic Games in London. He finished fifth in the final of the 3500 metres walk behind teammate and fellow New Zealander, Harry Kerr, who won the bronze medal. He also competed in the 10-miles walk, finishing fifth in his heat and not progressing to the final.

Rowland finished second behind Ernest Webb in the 2 miles walk event at the British 1909 AAA Championships.

World War I

Rowland was working on his own account as an optician in Wellington when he enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in July 1916. He travelled to Britain with the 21st Reinforcements on the Waitemata, arriving in Plymouth on 27 March 1917. On the voyage, Rowland was one of the editors of the onboard magazine, the Waitemata Wobbler. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade on 30 April 1918. He was attached to the New Zealand Cyclist Battalion when he was killed in the Second Battle of the Marne on 23 July 1918. He was buried in the Marfaux British Cemetery.

See also

• List of Olympians killed in World War I

References

1. ^ "Rowland, Albert Edward Mackay – WW1 32540 – Army [Original Paper Personnel File]". Archives New Zealand. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
2. "Albert Rowland". Olympedia. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
3. ^ "Albert Rowland". Sports-Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
4. ^ "Casualty Details: Rowland, Albert Henry Mackey". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
5. "Marriage". The Star. 7 November 1911. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
6. Hollings, Stephen (December 2016). "National champions 1887–2016" (PDF). Athletics New Zealand. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
7. "Albert Rowland". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
8. "Harry Kerr". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
9. "Athletics". Leicester Daily Post. 5 July 1909. Retrieved 12 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "AAA Championships". Manchester Courier. 5 July 1909. Retrieved 24 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
12. ^ "Waitemata wobbler: N.Z. Exped. Forces, XXI Reinforcement". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 11 May 2017.

External links

• Albert Rowland at Olympedia
• Albert Rowland at the New Zealand Olympic Committee

• 1885 births
• 1918 deaths
• Athletes from Christchurch
• New Zealand male racewalkers
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics
• Olympic athletes for Australasia
• New Zealand Army officers
• New Zealand military personnel killed in World War I