The 1924 Chatham Cup was the second annual nationwide knockout
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 the numerous local associations being grouped in with the four major regional associations (Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago) in qualifying, with each of these four regions being represented in semi-finals by one team, followed by northern and southern semi-finals and a national final. Ten teams from the Wellington region took part, and it is known that Seacliff were the only Otago entrants (North Otago, the home of Oamaru Rangers, being counted as a separate region).
The Auckland representative for the competition was not chosen via a knock-out competition. This raised concerns in some quarters that the rules of the competition were not being adhered to.
The 1924 final
The final was played in sodden conditions at Wellington. Seacliff took an early lead through W. Simmons, holding on to it until half-time. Harbour Board's Bill Palmer equalised with a header in the second half, and H.M. Margison scored two further goals, one in each half of extra time. The trophy was awarded to the winning team by Wellington Mayor
Robert Wright.
['']Otago Daily Times
The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...
'' (29 September 1924), p.10. The losing semi-finalists contested a Charity Cup during the same weekend at the same venue, the match finishing in a 2–2 draw.
Results
First Round
Replay
Second Round
Third Round
:Auckland Harbour Board qualified as Auckland champions by winning the regional club league competition.
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals ("Island finals")
Replay
Final
Teams
Auckland Harbour Board: Jack Batty, W. Mitchell, G.S. Brittain, J. Worthington, R.I. Bell,
Dan Jones, J.H. Tocker, Bill Palmer, H.M. Margison, Murray Heyes, C. Drayton
[Houston, J., (1952) ''Association football in New Zealand.'' Wellington: A.H. & A. W. Reed. p. 34.]
Seacliff: Charlie Rivers,
George Anderson, Bill Murray, H. Cox, Alex Waugh, Bill Rogers, Malcolm Macdougall, W. Simmons,
Bill Hooper, J. Baillie, Wattie Hanlin
References
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation New Zealand 1924 page
{{Chatham Cup seasons
Chatham Cup
Chatham Cup
Chatham Cup