30/08/2026
๐๏ธ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ค๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐ต๐ฏ๐ณ โ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ
A treasured friend of Kiwitea Street and a giant of New Zealand football.
Auckland City FC and our sister club Central United Football Club are deeply saddened to acknowledge the passing of our great friend and longโtime supporter, ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ค๐ฆ๐ , who passed away on Friday 28 August 2026.
Barryโs loss is felt across the entire New Zealand football community. Few people devoted more of their lives to recording, preserving and celebrating the history of our game. But at Kiwitea Street, Barry was far more than footballโs preโeminent historian โ ๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐.
For around 30 years, Barry was a familiar and muchโloved presence at Kiwitea Street, supporting bothand Auckland City FC and Central United alongside his wife Colleen. His familyโs connection to our clubs was strengthened through his son ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฆ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ต, who represented both teams with distinction, playing 75 games for the Navy Blues between 2004 and 2008.
Barryโs knowledge of football was extraordinary, matched only by his generosity in sharing it. Conversations with him could span decades of New Zealand football โ players, matches, competitions, and the most obscure statistics recalled with remarkable clarity.
His contribution began early. In 1953, at just 15, Barry used his own pocket money to compile his first collection of New Zealand football records. That teenage passion became a lifetimeโs work:
โ Editor of the New Zealand Soccer Annual for 15 years
โ Honorary Historian of New Zealand Football
โ Life Member of NZF and the NZ Football Media Association
โ Custodian of Northern League records dating back to 1968
Barryโs dedication was recognised with numerous honours, including Auckland Footballโs Long Service Award, the Friends of Football Medal of Excellence (2018), and the ๐ค๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ปโ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐น (๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ).
Perhaps his greatest legacy is the extraordinary archive he built over more than six decades โ scrapbooks, photographs, match programmes and priceless historical material, some dating back to 1899. Thanks to the New Zealand Football Foundation, this irreplaceable collection has been preserved, with more than ๐ฎ๐ฑ,๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ and nearly ๐ญ๐ฌ,๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฎโ๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑas part of an AIโdriven searchable archive.
Barry always understood why this mattered:
โ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ.โ
He ensured those stories were never forgotten. Now his own story holds a special place among them.
For our clubs, Barryโs absence will be deeply felt. After three decades of seeing him at Kiwitea Street, it simply will not be the same without his friendship, conversation, remarkable knowledge and the familiar presence of a true gentleman who cared enormously about football.
On behalf of everyone at Kiwitea, we extend our heartfelt condolences ๐๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป, ๐ง๐ผ๐ป๐, ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ, ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป, ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ at this incredibly sad time.
Thank you for everything, Barry โ a great friend to our clubs, a remarkable servant of New Zealand football, and a true custodian of the game we all love.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐.
You will be greatly missed, but never forgotten.
๐
A service to celebrate Barryโs life will be held at ๐๐น๐น ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น, ๐ฃ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, 100/102 St Johnโs Road, Meadowbank, Auckland on ๐ง๐ต๐๐ฟ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐บ.
๐ตโช ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก ๐จ๐ก๐๐ง๐ฌ
