The 1912 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia was a tour by the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

Squad

The touring party included, backs;

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 ...

(vice-captain), James Barber,

George Bradley George Washington Bradley (July 13, 1852 – October 2, 1931), nicknamed "Grin", was an American professional baseball player who was a pitcher and infielder. He played for multiple teams in the early years of the National League, the oldest lea ...

Billy Curran Billy Curran is a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. Playing career Curran was playing rugby union in Auckland before switching codes and joining the Newton Rangers. He played one match for Newton on June 8 against Manuk ...

Jim Gilmour James Montgomery Gilmour (4 January 1881 – 18 December 1918) was an Irish-born New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s. He played at representative level for New Zealand (non-Test matches) ( Heritage № 67), and Wellingt ...

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 ...

, Bill Kelly,

Don Kenealy Don Kenealy was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. Early life Kenealy grew up in the Te Puke area where he attended Te Puke Primary School. He later moved to Auckland and went to Sacred Heart College where he excelled ...

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 ...

, Charles Webb, Stan Weston and forwards; Arthur Francis (captain), Tom Brownlee, Billy Dervan,

Charles Dunning Charles Avery Dunning (July 31, 1885 – October 1, 1958) was the third premier of Saskatchewan. Born in England, he emigrated to Canada at the age of 16. By the age of 36, he was premier. He had a successful career as a farmer, business ...

, Dave Evans,

Harold Hayward Harold "Circus" Owen Hayward (1883–1970) was a New Zealand rugby football player who represented New Zealand in both rugby union and rugby league. His brother, Morgan, also represented New Zealand in rugby league. Rugby union career Growing ...

Morgan Hayward Lewis Morgan Hayward (28 August 1890 – 21 October 1971) was a New Zealand Cured fish, fish curer, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s. He played at representative level for New Zealand national rugby league team, New ...

Robert Irvine Robert Paul Irvine (; born 24 September 1965) is an English celebrity chef and talk show host who has appeared on and hosted a variety of Food Network programs including '' Dinner: Impossible'', ''Worst Cooks in America'', '' Restaurant: Imposs ...

, Cecil King and

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 ...

. They were managed by Barry Brigham and Tom MacReynolds. Captain Arthur Francis left the squad before the final game against New South Wales. Francis took up a contract with

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

, leaving on the same boat for England as

Herb Gilbert Herbert R. Gilbert (18 September 1888 – 5 January 1972) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player – a dual-code international. He represented the Wallabies in three Tests in 1910 and the Kangaroos in seven Tests from 1911 to 19 ...

Steve Darmody Steve Darmody (1890–1969) was a pioneer Australian who saw active service in the British army in WWI. He had been an Australian national representative rugby league player and toured with the Australian national team on their 1911–12 Kangar ...

and

Bill Farnsworth Andrew William Farnsworth (14 January 1887 – 30 October 1966) was an Australian pioneer rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s whose club career was played in Sydney with Newtown. He represented at state level for both New South Wal ...

.John Coffey and Bernie Wood, ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'', Hodder Moa, Auckland, 2007, p.p. 45-46.

Fixtures

Before the tour New Zealand defeated

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 ...

38–16.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. . New Zealand arrived in Sydney after midnight and only 14 hours before kick off of their first match. The Combined XIII included five players from New South Wales, including

Dally Messenger Herbert Henry Messenger, nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played f ...

. However, because the team was organised by the

Queensland Rugby League The Queensland Rugby Football League QRL Constitution, 2009: 3 (QRL QRL Constitution, 2009: 2) is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL Commission) and selects the membe ...

, it is not considered an official

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

match. The players were scheduled to sail immediately after their final game as the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

had organised a match in Wellington. However the players rebelled and demanded a break from their hectic schedule. The NZRL subsequently held an inquest and fined the players 10 shillings each.

References

New Zealand national rugby league team tours

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

New Zealand tour New Zealand tour of Australia Rugby league tours of Australia {{NewZealand-sport-stub