The 1923 Chatham Cup was the first annual nationwide

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

competition in

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 ...

. The competition was run on a regional basis, with separate northern and southern tournaments, with the winners of the two meeting in the final. Very few teams entered the competition, including only two from the southern South Island; Seacliff easily won the only match played there, thumping Oamaru 7-0, and repeated this in the final, accounting for Wellington's YMCA 4-0. Of the teams taking part, it is known that four were from Wellington; contemporary reports indicate that

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

, Y.M.C.A. (Wellington),

Hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

and Waterside took part. The Wellington FA scheduled their first Chatham Cup fixture for 11 August, between the Y.M.C.A. (Wellington) and Waterside at the

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve (commonly known as "The Basin") is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It has been used for Test matches, and is the main home ground for the Wellington Firebirds first-class team. The Basin Reserve is the only cricke ...

. Admission to the match cost one shilling. The management committee of the Auckland Football Association (A.F.A.) announced at its meeting on 5 June that Chatham Cup entries had closed with the North Shore,

Philomel Philomel is another name for Philomela, a character from Greek mythology. It may refer to: Nature * A nightingale Arts and Letters * An abbreviated form of the name Philomela, a figure in Greek mythology often invoked as a symbol in literature. * ...

, Harbour Board, Brotherhood,

Auckland Thistle Auckland Thistle is a soccer club in New Zealand. Competed * 1925 Chatham Cup * 1926 Chatham Cup * 1930 Chatham Cup * 1934 Chatham Cup (winner) * 1936 Chatham Cup (runner-up) Players * Dennis Smith * Les Wood * Cliff Banham * Murray Ka ...

, Northcote and Ponsonby clubs entering. Meeting again on 12 June, the A.F.A. decided the second round of fixtures for the Auckland League Championship would count toward Chatham Cup qualification, with League Championship second round commencing on 16 June. Y.M.C.A. (Auckland) was admitted to compete for the Chatham Cup by the A.F.A. at its management committee meeting on 19 June. There is some suggestion that the Auckland regional winners, Northcote required a play-off against

North Shore United North Shore United Association Football Club is an amateur football club based in the North Shore, Auckland. They compete in the Northern League, where they last won the competition in 2019. Their home ground is Allen Hill Stadium, which is lo ...

to progress. The

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

Football Association clubs, Waingawa, Post and Telegraph, Masterton and Y.M.C.A. (Masterton) sent entrance fees to join the 1923 Chatham Cup, which were received by the N.Z.F.A. in early June. The first two Chatham Cup fixtures held by the Wairarapa FA took place on June 30, with Post and Telegraph (P & T) versus the Masterton Y.M.C.A. at Masterton's Park Oval, and Waingawa playing Masterton at the Cole Street Ground. The Dawber's Motor Depot. side changed its name to Athletic (Palmerston North) in 1925. There is some confusion about the earlier rounds of the competition, with various Charity Cups being held to decide entrants to the Chatham Cup, and with regional qualification finals, island finals, and the national final all simply being referred to in contemporary reports as "finals". Compounding this, different regional football associations were allowed to choose their champion team by whatever method they liked, meaning that some regions (such as Auckland) used league position to determine their entrant for the inter-regional matches, rather than a knockout competition. Compounding matters further are the incomplete records held by the NZFA, which omit several matches (including the semi-final between Seacliff and Oamaru Rangers).

The 1923 final

Played at Athletic Park,

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 ...

on 1 October 1923, Seacliff met YMCA Wellington in the first Chatham Cup final. In the final, YMCA had the better of early possession, but Seacliff gained the upper hand as the match progressed. Centre-forward Bill Hooper scored the first goal just before the half-time interval. Shortly after the break Reg Baxter doubled the lead. Late on right wing Malcolm McDougall scored again, followed only a minute later by a second from Hooper. The line-up of the first Chatham Cup winning side was as follows: Charlie Rivers, Jock Anderson, George Anderson, Bill Rogers, Hugh McKechnie, Bill Murray, Malcolm McDougall, Reg Baxter, Bill Hooper, R. "Tommy" Burns, Wattie Hanlin. The Mayor of Wellington, Robert Wright presented the cup to Seacliff on the ground after the match.

Results

Auckland Football Association - Qualifying league results (2nd round of Auckland Championship League) Rest of New Zealand - knock-out qualifiers

Semi-final

Final

Teams Seacliff: Charlie Rivers, George Anderson, Jock Anderson, Bill Rogers, Hugh McKechnie, Bill Murray, Malcolm Macdougall, Reg Baxter, Bill Hooper, Tommy Burns, Wattie HanlinHouston, J., (1952) ''Association football in New Zealand.'' Wellington: A.H. & A. W. Reed. p. 34. Wellington Y.M.C.A: Arthur Tarrant, W. Pearson, Les McGirr, George Wotherspoon, Bill Rarity, Charlie Trott, Les Smith, Edgar Phillips, George Campbell, Harry Hindmarsh, Charles Ballard

References

Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation New Zealand 1923 page
{{Chatham Cup seasons Chatham Cup

Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are 2022 winners Auckland City, who defeated Eastern ...