The 1911 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 ...

. It was the first tour organised by 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 ...

. The trip earned the NZRL £3000 profit, thanks to £4000 from gate takings.John Coffey and Bernie Wood, ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'', Hodder Moa, Auckland, 2007, p.p. 42-45. The tour served as a selection for the 1911-12 Australasian tour of Great Britain and resulted in the selection of George A. Gillett, Arthur Francis, Charlie Savory and Frank Woodward on that tour.

Squad

The touring party included backs;

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 ...

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

Sid Kean Sid Kean was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. Playing career Kean played for the City Rovers in the Auckland Rugby League competition. In 1910 he was part of the Auckland side that toured the country, playing match ...

, Ronald MacDonald, Frank Morse, Roy Siddells, George Smith, Reg Sprague, Barney Winder, Frank Woodward, forwards; Charles Dunning, Tom Cotterill, Bert Feary, Arthur Francis,

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...

Walter Milne Walter Milne (died April 1558), also recorded as Mill or Myln, was the last Protestant martyr to be burned in Scotland before the Scottish Reformation changed the country from Catholic to Presbyterian. Early life In his early years he visited G ...

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 ...

Charles Savory Charles Savory (23 March 1889 – 8 May 1915) was a New Zealand international rugby league footballer and champion boxer who died in the First World War. An Australasian and New Zealand international representative forward, Savory was one of fou ...

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 utilities; George A. Gillett and

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 ...

.W.J.Davidson ''Rugby League Annual - 1949'', New Zealand Rugby League, 1949

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 ...

and former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...

joined the team while in Australia. Mitchell had been bought over to Australia to play in 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 ...

competition.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987. Gilmour played for Queensland before joining the New Zealand side. The team was managed by

Ted Phelan Edward John Phelan (1874 – 28 March 1961) was a New Zealand trade unionist, politician and rugby league administrator. Biography Early life and union career Phelan was born in Auckland in 1874 and attended Wellesley Street School. He left scho ...

of Auckland.

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 ...

16-14 at the Takapuna Racecourse.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. . They lost three matches to

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 ...

, defeated

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

by 21-20, defeated

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

two games to one and defeated Hunter River by 40-8.When Blues & Maroons Saw Black
''1908.com'' The first match against New South Wales was the first match of rugby league held at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

and netted the New South Wales Rugby League a record gate receipts of £2551 and 10 shillings.

References

{{Kiwis tours 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