J B Munro

Early life and career

Munro was born in Southland in 1936. Having had poliomyelitis as a baby, he was a state ward and raised as a foster child. At the age of nine was adopted by his foster parents, the Munro family in Invercargill. his adoptive father was William Munro. His adoptive brother was Burt Munro, the New Zealand motorcycle racer of The World's Fastest Indian fame. Munro was educated at St George Primary (now Fernworth Primary), Tweedsmuir Junior High, and Southland Boys' High School.

On 6 October 1962, he married Valmai "Val" Sharfe, the daughter of Walter Sharfe. They had one son and one daughter.

Munro was a clerk for the Vacuum Oil Company from 1954 to 1957. He was secretary for the YMCA in Invercargill, Australia, and Dunedin between 1958 and 1968. He was the Southland administrator for IHC New Zealand from 1968 to 1973. He was the chairman for the Paraplegic Trust Appeal in 1973 and set up the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand. For seven years, he chaired the New Zealand Federation of Voluntary Welfare agencies. Munro was vice-chairman of the 1981 telethon, which raised NZ$6 million and which funded the introduction of teletext in New Zealand.

Political career

He represented the Invercargill electorate in Parliament from 1972 to 1975, when he was defeated by Norman Jones. Previously he had been a member of the National Party.

Later activities

In 1977, Munro was appointed National Secretary of IHC. He retired from the organisation in 1998 as chief executive officer. He was made a life member, and in 2014 was inducted into the Attitude Hall of Fame. As of 2015, Dr Hilary Stace is writing a biography of Munro.

Munro was awarded the Queen's Service Order in the 1990 New Year Honours for public service.