Len Moorhouse

Leonard James Moorhouse (14 March 1904 – 4 May 1970) was a New Zealand swimmer who competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Early life and family Moorhouse was born in Dunedin in 1904. His father, Charles Edwin Moorhouse, was a keen yachtsman in Otago in his early years. His grandfather, William Sefton Moorhouse, was a nephew of the second Superintendent of Canterbury Province of the same name.

Competitive swimming He was one of two swimmers from Christchurch to compete at the 1928 Summer Olympics in swimming; the other Christchurch competitor was Dave Lindsay. At the time of the 1928 Olympics, Moorhouse was the New Zealand backstroke champion for 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, and 150 yards. Lindsay was considered New Zealand's strongest swimmer, followed by Ena Stockley from Dunedin. Moorhouse was ranked third and thus did not qualify for financial assistance, but he chose to travel to the Amsterdam Olympics at his own expense. The costs were estimated to be NZ£400 per athlete.

At the Olympics, Moorhouse competed in the 100 metre backstroke event. He came third in his heat, with only the top two swimmers qualifying for the semi-finals. After the Olympic Games, he was highly critical of the training conditions in Amsterdam, where the American competitors were given preferential treatment and had access to the competition pool, whilst the New Zealand swimmers were given 10 minutes per day to train in a canal with stagnant water polluted with oil from ships. He lobbied for trainers to accompany all Olympic sports, even if that meant that fewer athletes could be sent. Moorhouse was the swim manager for the 1950 British Empire Games held in Auckland.

Later life

On 3 April 1937, Moorhouse married Kathleen Margaret "Peg" Blunden (born July 1917) at St Paul's Church in Christchurch. Fellow swimmer Dave Lindsay acted as best man. A reception was held at her aunt and uncle's place Risingholme in Opawa; her uncle was the son of John Anderson, the second Mayor of Christchurch. After the wedding, the Moorhouses lived in Deans Avenue fronting Hagley Park. His wife—weaver Peg Moorhouse—died on 26 January 2024, at the age of 106.