The 1909 New Zealand rugby league season was the second season of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

that had been played in New Zealand.

International competitions

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

toured Australia, losing the series 1-2. The team was managed by Daniel Fraser while James Barber captained the side. The squad included

William Trevarthen William MacVay Trevarthen was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain. A relative of his, Thomas Trevarthan, later played for New Zealand in the 1930s. Early years Wil ...

Adam Lile Adam "Addie" Lile (1885-1954) was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain. Early years Originally from Taranaki, Lile enlisted in the Army for the South African War but ...

, Conrad Byrne, Harold Rowe,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

and John Spencer, Con Sullivan and

Charlie Pearce Charlie James Pearce was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.\\ Early life Charlie Pearce was born on January 28, 1881. His parents were Charles Julius Pearce (185 ...

Ernie Buckland Ernest Buckland (1887–1945)BUCKLAND, ERNEST 1909 - 11 - KIWI #30
''nzleague ...

Arthur Carlaw Arthur Carlaw was a New Zealand rugby league player who played a role in the establishment of the sport in New Zealand and represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand. His uncle, James Carlaw, James, was an administrator in th ...

Paddy George Kenneth Brooking "Paddy" George (28 May 1883 – 10 August 1950) was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for City, and representative rugby ...

, Gordon Hooker, Thomas Houghton,

Albert House Albert Phillip House (1890 – 29 May 1966) was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s, and rugby league referee of the 1910s and 1920s . He played representative level rugby union f ...

, Bert King, Henry Knight and Ronald MacDonald.

Albert Asher Arapeta Paurini Wharepapa (3 December 1879 – 8 January 1965), or Albert Asher as he was more commonly known, was a New Zealand List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballe ...

was invited to tour with the side but declined, opting to remain in Auckland and organise the upcoming Māori tour of Australia. These were the last tests between New Zealand and Australia on Australian soil until 1948.John Coffey and Bernie Wood, ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'', Hodder Moa, Auckland, 2007, p. 38. A New Zealand Māori side also toured Australia, the second Māori team to do so.New Zealand Maori Teams - 1908 & 1909
''rl1908.com'' The team was captained by

Riki Papakura Riki "Dick" Papakura was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented the New Zealand Māori side and Australasia and played professionally for Warrington. His position of preference was at fullback or in the centres. Playing career From ...

and included

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

and

Ernie Asher Ernest "Ernie" Asher (21 April 1886 – 10 April 1973), also known as Te Keepa Pouwhiuwhiu, was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played representative rugby league (RL) for New Zealand Māori and New Zealan ...

Jim Rukutai Puhipi James Rukutai (1877 – 11 January 1940) was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played representative rugby league (RL) and coached New Zealand. The Auckland Rugby League's minor premiership, the Ruku ...

and Frank Barclay. Before the side left New Zealand they lost 14-21 to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

on 10 July 1909 at

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

in front of 2-3,000 spectators. Peter Moko played for

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

in the

NSWRFL Premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sou ...

Inter-district competitions

Auckland played two matches against

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

. Taranaki won the first match at

8-7 on 7 August in front of 5,00 fans before losing 11-27 at the New Plymouth Sports Ground on 16 September.

Lance Todd Lancelot Beaumont "Lance" Todd (26 May 1883 – 14 November 1942) was a New Zealand-born rugby league footballer and manager of the early 20th century. As a player, he represented New Zealand in 1907 and 1908 and played in England for the Wiga ...

served as the referee for both matches.

was the

player-coach and the side included

Arthur Hardgrave Arthur Hardgrave (1882-1953) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand. His son Roy Hardgrave also played for New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand as well as a very ...

and

Lance Moir Lancelot Ernest Moir (18 June 1886 – 29 July 1962) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand in 1912. No test matches were played on that year's tour of Australia. In 2008 he was named in the Taranaki Rugby League ...

. The Auckland team for the first match was; T Houghton, A Chorley, F Woodward, A Carlaw, captain D Wynyard, R MacDonald, A Jackson, F Wells, B Mackrell, C Dunning, J Griffen, Linkhorn and

Seagar Seager is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Jasper Seagar (died 1721), pirate active in the Indian Ocean * Jo Seagar (born 1955), New Zealand writer, TV personality, and celebrity cook * Edward Seagar (1904–1983), Anglican prie ...

. Bill Tyler,

Alex Stanaway Alexander William Stanaway (14 July 1886 – 27 June 1972), also known as Ariki Haira, was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand. His brother, Jack Stanaway, was also a professional r ...

and Dick Papakura all appeared for Auckland later in the season.

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

defeated

, in Auckland, 22-19 on 9 October. This was the first of only five victories for Wellington over Auckland in over 100 years.History Of Wellington Rugby League Association
Wellington Rugby League Wellington included Conrad Byrne, Tom Cross, Con Sullivan,

and John Spencer and Hercules Richard Wright.

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

, who included Dick Papakura, defeated an Auckland XIII 33-8 in Rotorua. Auckland included Bill Tyler but the Auckland selectors underestimated the quality of the Rotorua side and picked an understrength side. Auckland fullback Archie Ferguson broke his leg in the match and retired, becoming a referee. Ferguson controlled the 1910 Auckland match against Great Britain and toured Australia twice, as a referee in 1919 and as a co-manager of

in 1930.

Club competitions

The

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

was formed on 19 July 1909 at the

Auckland Chamber of Commerce Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

boardroom with 150 people present. MP

Albert Glover Albert Edward Glover (1849–11 September 1941) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. Biography Early life and career Glover was born in Nottingham, England, in 1849. At age 13 he sailed with his parents to New Zealand and arrived ...

chaired the meeting and was elected a vice-president. The

Mayor of Auckland The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland Region in New Zealand, which it controls as a unitary authority. The position exists since October 2010 after the amalga ...

, Charles Grey was elected president while Billy Wynyard was elected treasurer. Within days three clubs had been formed; City Rovers, Devonport United (later North Shore) and Newton Rangers. Ponsonby United had been formed in 1908. Duncan McLean was the first chairman of both Devonport United and the Auckland Rugby League. There was also a three club sub-league in Rotorua that affiliated itself to the ARL.Sky Rugby League Annual '98 ''New Zealand Rugby League'', 1998 The first ARL sanctioned match was held on 24 July 1909 at Eagleton's Ground in Epsom. The North Shore club defeated a City combination 44-24. The City combination consisted of players involved in forming all three of the clubs on that side of the harbour and included Bill Tyler, captain

, Thomas Houghton,

Alf Chorley Alf Chorley was an English-born rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand. Playing career Chorley played for Halifax ( Heritage № 8), and Swinton before moving to New Zealand.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of r ...

and Charles Dunning. The North Shore were captained by Dick Wynyard and included Frank Woodward. Ponsonby United held its first AGM on 30 July 1909. James Carlaw was elected the first Chairman while Charles Dunning, Jack Stanaway and

were elected to the executive. Ponsonby United defeated the Newton Rangers 16-6 on 21 August at

. They also played the North Shore and City during the year. Bill Tyler, Charles Dunning and

were among the 32 players that played for Ponsonby that year. The City Rovers included

Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis (born c ...

and

References

{{Rugby League in New Zealand New Zealand rugby league seasons 1909 in New Zealand rugby league Auckland Rugby League seasons Rugby league in Auckland