Kōrero: Bowls, pétanque and tenpin

One of the great characters of New Zealand bowls, Nick Unkovich, launches a bowl in February 1982. Descended from Croatian gumdiggers, Unkovich won 10 national titles, a record until equalled by Gary Lawson in 2010. Unkovich won the singles in 1979, the pairs in 1991 and the fours eight times. Representing New Zealand, he also won a world championship with the triples team in 1980. Unkovich was a forceful personality on the green and had no time for convention, which he demonstrated by being one of the first to wear a floppy hat.