The 1913 Auckland Rugby League season was the 5th season of the Auckland Rugby league. The first grade competition began on 3 May with the same 6 teams that had competed in the 1912 season, however Manukau Rovers pulled out of the competition midway through the season as they struggled to put a full team on the field. The Eden Ramblers also pulled out at the same time.

North Shore Albions The North Shore Albions were a rugby league club based on the North Shore of Auckland in Devonport, New Zealand, Devonport before moving to Bayswater at a later time. They formed in 1909 and folded in the early 2000s due to a lack of playing nu ...

were crowned champions for the first time. Other clubs competing in lower grades were Otahuhu, Northcote Ramblers now known as the Northcote Tigers, and Ellerslie Wanderers, who later became known as the Ellerslie Eagles. A match was also played between Avondale and New Lynn in Avondale on 13 September. The match was won by New Lynn by 23 points to 8.

News

Club teams and grade participation

Switching codes

Karl Ifwersen Karl Donald Ifwersen (1893–1967) was a New Zealand rugby football player who represented New Zealand in both rugby league and rugby union. Early years Karl Donald Ifwersen was born on January 6 in Auckland, New Zealand. His parents were Char ...

switched from rugby union where he had been playing in Auckland and made his debut appearance for

. He was to go on to have a remarkable rugby league career and his scoring feats were un-rivalled through the 1910s in Auckland rugby league. While New Zealand representatives Graham Cook and Cecil King had moved from Wellington and made debut appearances for

Newton Rangers The City Newton Dragons are a defunct New Zealand rugby league club that was based at Victoria Park, Auckland. The club was created in 1948 by a merger of two original clubs, the City Rovers and Newton Rangers. Both the Rovers and the Rangers par ...

Charles Savory controversy

In a match involving Ponsonby and Manukau in Onehunga, Charles Savory was accused of kicking an opponent. The incident was not seen by the referee but an Auckland Rugby League official claimed to have seen it and as a result Savory was banned for life by Auckland Rugby League. Savory had been selected to play for New Zealand on their tour of Australia and as a result of the ban was unable to make the trip. When the evidence was presented to New Zealand League they said that the evidence was not sufficient to justify the penalty and refused to confirm it. Auckland Rugby League then decided to strike Savory off the list of registered players thus making him ineligible to play in Auckland. Auckland selector Ronald MacDonald chose Savory to play against Wellington in their match on 23 August but was told at an Auckland Rugby League meeting that he was ineligible and they questioned why he had chosen him to play. MacDonald replied "one reason is because he is one of the best forwards in the Dominion. What was he suspended for?". A lengthy discussion followed and MacDonald refused to withdraw Savory's name from selection and a motion was then passed that MacDonald be removed from his position as Auckland selector. This was carried unanimously with Mr Angus Campbell appointed selector, and Morgan Hayward chosen to replace Savory in the side for the match with Wellington.

Death of Adolphus Theodore Bust whilst playing

Tragedy struck in May in a 3rd grade match between Ellerslie and Ponsonby when 26 year old Adolphus Theodore Bust was severely injured and later passed away as a result of his injuries. The death occurred at the Ellerslie Domain. He was said to have collided with an opposing player and the two of them fell to the ground with a third player falling on top of them. The other two men rose to their feet to carry on playing but Bust remained stationary on the ground. Dr. Baber was called to attend from his residence in Remuera but he found that Bust's spinal cord was fractured near the base of the skull and he recommended he be taken to hospital however Bust's father decided to have him taken to his home in Ellerslie. He was unable to be revived and died at 8.30am the following morning. After the incident the deceased father said he witnessed the incident and was satisfied that it was an accident. Martin Ellis, the player involved in the tackle said that he was running down the field and Bust was waiting to tackle him and had dived and caught Ellis by the legs but his neck struck him on the hip and they both fell to the ground. The coroner returned the verdict that nobody was to blame for the death. None of the Ellerslie teams took the field the following weekend out of respect.

Myers Cup (first grade competition)

Eighteen regular season matches were played before

were awarded the title with a 5 win, 1 draw, 1 loss record.

Myers Cup standings

Myers Cup fixtures

Round 1

Bertram Charles Denyer scored Eden's only try in their loss to Ponsonby. After the Eden side dropped out of the competition he joined the Newton Rangers. He enlisted in the war effort and was killed in action at Gallipoli on May 8, 1915.

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

In the Ponsonby match with North Shore Harry Fricker was ordered off for striking an opponent. The act was missed by the referee but seen by the line umpire. The match between Manukau and Eden was reported as a win to Manukau and a win to Eden in differing reports.

Round 5

Manukau defaulted their match to North Shore Albions. The later arrived in

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Onehunga is a ...

to find that their opponents could not muster a team.

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 other prominent players were said to be suffering from influenza. This was to be Manukau's last game in the senior grade for decades as they forfeited the following week along with Eden and dropped out of the senior competition. Rukutai was diagnosed with smallpox and was put into isolation in a Point Chevalier hospital. However it was soon after realised that he was actually suffering from a severe case of chicken pox and he made a full recovery soon after. Eden were to cease playing as a club a few seasons later and never returned.

Round 6

A somewhat unusual event occurred in the match between Ponsonby and North Shore when it was briefly suspended after a player from North Shore dropped his false teeth. He was inevitably subjected to some “good-natured banter from the crowd”.

Round 7

With Manukau and Eden both disbanding their senior teams Pullen from Manukau transferred to North Shore and played for them, while Don Kenealy of Eden transferred and played for City.

Knockout competition

After North Shore had won the championship the league decided to play a knockout competition between the four remaining teams. Newton and City both won their matches and progressed to the final.

Round 1

Knockout final

City were joined by

for the match following Manukau's senior team disbanding.

Top try and point scorers

Scoring included both the first grade championship and the knockout matches. A large number of matches did not have the scorers named meaning the following lists are incomplete. Points missing are as follows: Newton Rangers (22), City Rovers (18), Ponsonby United (25), Eden Ramblers (15), and Manukau Rovers (18).

Exhibition Match

Hamilton v City Rovers

On July 19 City Rovers traveled to Hamilton to play the local side.

Avondale v New Lynn

On September 13 Avondale played New Lynn in their "annual football match". Several of the players including Bert and John Denyer, Kenealy, Bond, and Bob Biggs had played for the recently folded Eden Ramblers who were based in the Avondale/Point Chevalier area.

Thacker Shield

On 7 September North Shore Albions journeyed to Christchurch to play against Sydenham to play for the Thacker Shield. At the start of the season Dr. Thacker, president of the Canterbury league had presented the shield for competition amongst the senior clubs of Christchurch but he had stipulated that it was open to competition to any club in New Zealand. When North Shore won the Auckland championship they immediately issued a challenge to Sydenham. North Shore sent a strong team south but were without

and

Stan Walters Stanley Peter Walters Jr. (born May 27, 1948) is a former professional American football offensive tackle. After playing college football for Syracuse, he was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the ninth round of the 1972 NFL Draft. He spent t ...

who were representing New Zealand against the touring New South Wales side.

Lower grades

The draws were always reported in the New Zealand Herald and the Auckland Star however only some of the results were reported in the Monday editions. As a result the tables are incomplete and are compiled of known results.

Second grade standings

Ponsonby won the championship undefeated for the second year though Otahuhu did manage to draw with them 5-5 on June 7. Ponsonby defeated Otahuhu 22-9 in the final on July 19. The Ellerslie side withdrew from the competition following the death of 3rd grade player Adolphus Bust. He was seriously injured during a match in May and died later in the evening. {, , - , {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !width=175 , Team !width=20 abbr="Played" , Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" , W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" , D !width=20 abbr="Lost" , L !width=20 abbr="Bye" , B !width=20 abbr="For" , F !width=20 abbr="Against" , A !width=20 abbr="Points" , Pts , - , style="text-align:left;", Ponsonby United , 9, , 8, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 44, , 18, , 17 , - , style="text-align:left;", Otahuhu Rovers , 9, , 7, , 1, , 1, , 1, , 76, , 37, , 15 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 7, , 3, , 0, , 4, , 0, , 52, , 40, , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;", Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers , 7, , 2, , 0, , 5, , 0, , 40, , 41, , 4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

City Rovers The City Newton Dragons are a defunct New Zealand rugby league club that was based at Victoria Park, Auckland. The club was created in 1948 by a merger of two original clubs, the City Rovers and Newton Rangers. Both the Rovers and the Rangers pa ...

, 7, , 2, , 0, , 5, , 0, , 28, , 60, , 4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 7, , 1, , 0, , 6, , 1, , 32, , 73, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ellerslie United , 1, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 1, , 0, , 3, , 0 , -

Third grade standings

Ponsonby won the championship after defeating City Rovers 16-3 in the final on August 9. The Ellerslie side withdrew from the competition following the death of 3rd grade player Adolphus Bust during a match in May. {, , - , {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !width=175 , Team !width=20 abbr="Played" , Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" , W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" , D !width=20 abbr="Lost" , L !width=20 abbr="Bye" , B !width=20 abbr="For" , F !width=20 abbr="Against" , A !width=20 abbr="Points" , Pts , - , style="text-align:left;", Ponsonby United , 9, , 6, , 1, , 2, , 0, , 88, , 34, , 13 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 6, , 3, , 0, , 3, , 1, , 52, , 46, , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;", North Shore Albions B , 3, , 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 33, , 12, , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;", Manukau B , 3, , 2, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 29, , 28, , 4 , - , style="text-align:left;", Otahuhu Rovers , 5, , 2, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 28, , 43, , 4 , - , style="text-align:left;", Manukau A , 2, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 13, , 19, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Eden Ramblers A , 4, , 1, , 1, , 2, , 0, , 30, , 34, , 3 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ellerslie United , 2, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 14, , 21, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Eden Ramblers B , 4, , 0, , 0, , 4, , 0, , 20, , 44, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;", North Shore Albions A , 2, , 0, , 0, , 2, , 1, , 2, , 28, , 0 , -

Fourth grade standings

Otahuhu defeated Ponsonby in the championship final on July 19 though no score was reported. {, , - , {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !width=175 , Team !width=20 abbr="Played" , Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" , W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" , D !width=20 abbr="Lost" , L !width=20 abbr="Bye" , B !width=20 abbr="For" , F !width=20 abbr="Against" , A !width=20 abbr="Points" , Pts , - , style="text-align:left;", Otahuhu Rovers , 6, , 6, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 42, , 9, , 12 , - , style="text-align:left;", Ponsonby United , 7, , 5, , 0, , 2, , 1, , 31, , 8, , 10 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 5, , 3, , 0, , 2, , 2, , 42, , 25, , 6 , - , style="text-align:left;", Eden Ramblers , 3, , 1, , 0, , 2, , 1, , 11, , 38, , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 0, , 0, , 4, , 2, , 10, , 30, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, 2, , 0, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 2, , 21, , 0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, so ...

, 3, , 0, , 0, , 3, , 2, , 3, , 10, , 0 , -

Representative season

1913 was a very busy year for the

Auckland 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 ...

representative team as they played 10 matches recording a 7 win, 3 loss record. Their three defeats were against the touring

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

team and then on a two match end of season tour to

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 D ...

and

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 metr ...

. The first representative fixture of the season was played on 28 June against a Country selection at

Victoria Park, Auckland Victoria Park is a park and sports ground in the Auckland city centre, New Zealand. It was opened in 1905 and named after the queen who had died four years earlier. It lies on reclaimed bay land in Freemans Bay, a suburb directly west of t ...

. Three thousand spectators attended and 117 pounds was collected. Further matches were played against

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...

, Nelson,

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, and

also played an exhibition match in

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. ...

against the Auckland club champions North Shore Albions. On August 9 Auckland Juniors beat Waikato Juniors 33-5 in Huntly.

Representative matches

Auckland v Waikato Country

Auckland v Taranaki (Northern Union C.C.)

Auckland V Hawke’s Bay (Northern Union C.C.)

George Seagar George Seagar was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand. His younger brother Allan Seagar also represented New Zealand at rugby league. Rugby League Playing career and Rowing George Seagar was a boiler ...

was not named in the original side to play but replaced Cecil King prior to kick off in the front row.

Auckland V Nelson (Northern Union C.C.)

The match was refereed by

George Frater George Frater (27 July 1876 – 9 October 1968) was a Scottish professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1890s and 1900s. He played at representative level for Other Nationalities ( captain), and Lancashire, and at club level for O ...

who was from the Hawkes Bay referees association. He was on holiday from Hawkes Bay after their side toured the previous weekend. He was an ex-captain of Oldham in England. A trial match was played as curtain-raiser between A and B teams resulting in a win to the former by 11 points to 3.

Auckland v Canterbury (Northern Union C.C.)

Auckland v North Shore Albions (exhibition match)

Auckland v Wellington (Northern Union C.C.)

Auckland v New South Wales

A curtain raiser was played between Auckland B and North Shore which resulted in a 5-5 draw.

Auckland v Taranaki

Thomas McClymont Thomas Allen "Scotty" McClymont (5 January 1892 – 18 December 1974) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s, and coached in the 1920s through to the 1950s. He represented New Zealand. Early years Thomas Mc ...

injured his arm late in the first half and went off but came back on. Then early in the second half he retired permanently meaning Auckland only had 12 players. Bob Mitchell and

joined the team in New Plymouth having left Wellington after the New Zealand match there.

was supposed to also join but he had been injured in New Zealand's match so went directly back to Auckland.

who had gone on tour was refereeing at late notice as Taranaki had been unable to organise a suitable referee. The Taranaki forwards were said to have dominated the match and while the Auckland backs played brilliantly they failed to finish many chances.

Auckland v Wellington

A player named 'Murdoch' appeared for Auckland and this is likely to have been the treasurer/manager of the Auckland side Adam Murdoch. There were no team lists in any of the newspapers and only 12 players were mentioned by name in the match reports. When Murdoch passed away in September 1944 the Auckland Rugby League sent their condolences to his family. Those were Mansell, Cook, Woodward, Kenealy, Tobin, Seagar, Webb, Murdoch, Mitchell, Walters, Rukutai, and Denize. The other one who may have played is Clark, Manning, or Fricker who had all been with the touring side in Taranaki.

Auckland representative matches played and scorers

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;" !Rank!!Name!!Club!!Played!!Tries!!Con!!Pen!!Mark!!Points , - , 1, , Charles Webb, , Ponsonby United, , 10, , 2, , 18, , -, , -, , 42 , - , 1, ,

, , North Shore Albions, , 6, , 10, , 3, , 2, , 1, , 42 , - , 3, , George Cook, , Newton Rangers, , 8, , 6, , -, , -, , -, , 18 , - , 4, , Bob Mitchell, , City Rovers, , 8, , 4, , -, , -, , -, , 12 , - , 4, , Stan Weston, , North Shore Albions, , 5, , 4, , -, , -, , -, , 12 , - , 4, ,

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 ...

, , Thames, , 5, , 4, , -, , -, , -, , 12 , - , 7, ,

, , North Shore Albions, , 8, , 2, , 1, , -, , -, , 8 , - , 8, ,

, , North Shore Albions, , 6, , 1, , 1, , 1, , -, , 7 , - , 9, , Alan Blakey, , Newton Rangers, , 5, , 2, , -, , -, , -, , 6 , - , 9, ,

Albert Asher Arapeta Paurini Wharepapa (3 December 1879 – 8 January 1965), or Albert Asher as he was more commonly known, was a New Zealand dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1890s, 1900s, 1910s ...

, , City Rovers, , 4, , 2, , -, , -, , -, , 6 , - , 11, , Harry Fricker, , Ponsonby United, , 9, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , 3 , - , 11, , Dick Tobin, , Newton Rangers, , 6, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , 3 , - , 11, , Frank Woodward, , Waikato, , 5, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , 3 , - , 11, , Arthur Carlaw, , Ponsonby United, , 3, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , 3 , - , 11, ,

, , Ponsonby United, , 3, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , 3 , - , 11, , Jim Griffin, , North Shore Albions, , 1, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , 3 , - , 11, , Jim Clark, , Ponsonby United, , 2, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , 3 , - , 18, , Frederick W Mansell, , City Rovers, , 10, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , Morgan Hayward, , Thames, , 5, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , C Manning, , Ponsonby United, , 2, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , Percy Williams, , Ponsonby United, , 2, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , Harold Denize, , City Rovers, , 3, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , Cecil King, , Newton Rangers, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , Rukingi Reke, , Rotorua, , 2, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, ,

, , City Rovers, , 2, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , Ormsby, , City Rovers, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , D Bradburn, , Newton Rangers, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , Tom Avery, , City Rovers, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , Charles Brockliss, , Newton Rangers, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , Don Kenealy, , City Rovers, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - , 18, , Adam Murdoch, , Ponsonby United*, , 1, , -, , -, , -, , -, , 0 , - * Adam Murdoch was a member of the Ponsonby United club but non-playing. Was on tour as manager for the Taranaki and Wellington games.

References

{{reflist

External links

Auckland Rugby League Official Site
Auckland Rugby League seasons Auckland Rugby League