William Balch

William Balch (17 October 1871 – 4 April 1949) was a New Zealand teacher who lived and taught in Christchurch and the surrounding Canterbury province. Balch played rugby union, including for the national team in 1894, his position of choice was wing three-quarter. Early life, family and teaching career Born in Kaiapoi on 17 October 1871, Balch was the son of Enoch and Maria Balch. He was educated in Kaiapoi and served as a pupil-teacher there for five years. After two years' training at Christchurch Normal School, he did relief teaching for a few months, and then was an assistant teacher at Warwick House in Christchurch. He then worked for 18 months as assistant master at Papanui and then became headmaster at McKenzie Public School at Cheviot in January 1895. Balch married Janet Campbell Simson in December 1899. He later graduated from Canterbury University College with a Bachelor of Arts in 1912. He went on to become headmaster of Shirley School, and later was a school inspector. He also wrote an English textbook, Sentence structure and hints on composition, that was used in New Zealand primary schools. Rugby union A wing three-quarter, Balch represented the University club in Christchurch between 1890 and 1892. He then transferred to the Kaiapoi club in 1894. Balch represented between 1890 and 1899, although he did not make any provincial appearances in the 1895, 1896 or 1897 seasons.