Richard Peterson

Richard Dale Peterson (14 January 1940 – 12 January 2018) was a New Zealand fencer and lawyer. He represented his country at the 1966 and 1970 British Commonwealth Games, and won 12 New Zealand national fencing titles across three disciplines. A commercial lawyer in Wellington, Peterson and his wife Hilary established clubs to support sufferers of dementia.

Early life and family Born in Wellington on 14 January 1940, Peterson was the son of Basil and Ruth Peterson. His father worked for Wellington City Council and finished his career as the city's town clerk. An accomplished musician, he was the school pianist at Nelson College. Peterson went on to study law at Victoria University of Wellington, completing a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1961 and a Master of Laws by examination in 1963.

Peterson represented New Zealand at the 1966 and 1970 British Commonwealth Games. At the 1966 games, he won two of his six contests in the elimination pool of the men's individual épée, and did not progress. In the men's team épée, he competed for New Zealand alongside Bob Binning and Keith Mann, losing against Scotland and England and not advancing beyond the elimination pool. At the 1970 games, Peterson competed in both the individual and team competitions for all three disciplines. In the individual foil he did not progress past the first-round pool, while in the individual épée and sabre competitions he was eliminated at the semifinal pool stage. In the team foil and sabre events, the New Zealanders failed to progress past the semifinal pool, but their best result came in the team épée where the team of Peterson, Michael Henderson, Brian Pickworth and Arthur Gatland finished in fourth place.

Peterson won two Oceanic zone sabre titles and was nominated by Fencing New Zealand for the 1976 New Zealand Summer Olympic team. However, he was not selected by the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (NZOCGA).

Later life and death Hilary Peterson died in 2007. In his later years, Richard Peterson was active in the Khandallah Lawn Bowling Club. He died on 12 January 2018.