He was also a West Coast representative, and later played senior league for Marist and Cobden-Kohinoor.
McMaster played alongside Walton in the late 1950s and was bewildered by his former team-mate's past.
"I didn't have a clue he was like that," Mr McMaster said. "He basically left Brunner when Jock [Butterfield] pushed him out as hooker, and he then went and played for Cobden and Marist.
"I know he played for Marist because I got sent off at Wingham Park for punching him. He played hooker and when the scrum broke he would hang on to my jersey. I punched him a couple of times I should have punched him harder.
"Looking back now I remember when he was living in Taylorville he had a little Austin car, and he always had a couple of boys with him."
Peter Crawford was another contemporary of Walton's league days, while playing for Runanga.
"He was a good player and reliable. You could put him out on the paddock and he would just do his job. What else can I say? I'm just amazed."
Jimmy Casserly has been involved with the Brunner Rugby League Club for many years and was equally surprised at the news.
"He lived in Taylorville up the back road. He was a good footballer and kept to himself. Very polite and well dressed.
"He was a good swimmer and I remember he saved someone's life at Rocky Island [in the Grey River].
"I think everyone is in shock [with the news]," Casserly said.
As well as coaching schoolboy league in the Brunner and Cobden-Kohinoor clubs, Walton also coached the Cobden boys' softball teams and was involved with swimming at the old Greymouth Memorial Baths.
In latter years he had a daily routine of swimming at the Greymouth Aquatic Centre every lunchtime, giving relief to a back injury he received while working in the Post Office at Greymouth.
Walton grew up in Oxford St, Taylorville, and lived on the same street all his life until recently moving to Christchurch.
He began his working life at 15 across the river at the old Wallsend Post Office delivering mail in the mornings and telegrams in the afternoon, prior to taking up a job as a linesman for the Post and Telegraph Department.
Paul Soster worked in the Post Office lines depot with Walton and is in disbelief after hearing the court news.
"You can't always tell a book by its cover. To put it mildly, it was a big shock a bloody big shock. I couldn't believe it. We never thought of that sort of thing back then," Soster said.
"I was only talking to him three weeks ago at the supermarket.
"He was just one of the crew at the lines depot until he hurt his back lifting cable. He worked in the office after that. He did a lot of swimming to ease his back pain. But no way in the world did I have a niggling he was like that.
"I knew he coached Cobden schoolboy league and softball. If some of the hard-liners knew what he was up to back then they would have lynched him."
