The Cambridge Cossie Club farewelled one of its own last week, celebrating the life of a man who had been there almost from the beginning.
Rod Coster
RODERICK ‘ROD’ COSTER: April 9, 1946 – July 25, 2025
Rod Coster, who died at Waikato Hospital on July 25, joined the club in 1978, just three years after it started. He would have wanted to be part of their 50th anniversary in December, said club manager Donna Sheehan, but it was not to be.
His death at age 79 drew out a plethora of memories aligned to the club and its activities, to his love of fishing and family and to ‘afternoon roasting sessions’ sure to be missed by many.
Donna said when she became manager, she relied heavily on Rod’s ‘encyclopaedic knowledge’ about the Cossie Club.
“A story about him in 1991 quoted Rod as saying he hadn’t wanted to join initially because the club had women members and he said he was a ‘male chauvinist’,” she said, “but once he joined, he became addicted and promptly signed his wife up.”
Sid Murfitt said Rod served on the committee for about 13 years, becoming president from 1990-92, and again from 2001-08. He remained involved in the years that followed and in January this year helped the committee re-do the constitution, which was adopted at the annual meeting in April.
He recalled days of ‘playing golf, talking bullshit, drinking beers … boasting about our best shots’.
Similar memories, including those of friendships forged with fellow club members and their families, were spoken of by Gordon Searle. Golf, like fishing, was another Coster passion, and Rod had been instrumental in setting up a golf section at the Cossie Club, leading to members playing at clubs around the Waikato.
Speaking on behalf of the family, daughter-in-law Haley McLaughlin said Rod was always up for a good yarn. He was at his happiest ‘out on the water, behind the captain’s wheel’, she said, and never missed an opportunity to help out at the Cossie Club in whatever way he could.
A businessman all his life, he had worked for NZ Industrial Gases in Auckland before moving to Putāruru where he became a cigarette salesman. He also held positions in various engineering firms before purchasing Rosswoods, a company manufacturing farm buildings.
“People in the farming industry trusted him… even after retiring 15 years ago, he was still being approached by people wanting his barns.”
Celebrant David Natzke said Rod had made a lot of things happen at the Cossie Club during his long membership.
“He wouldn’t have wanted a fuss,” he said, “but regardless, Rod was one of those people who really did make a difference.”
