The 1913 New Zealand rugby league season was the sixth season of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

that had been played in New Zealand.

International competitions

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 ...

toured Australia losing their first 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 ...

before defeating them 17–11 in the final match. New Zealand then 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_ ...

39–5, Ipswich 29–12 and Toowoomba 32–6. They also played matches against Northern NSW and Orange.When Blues & Maroons Saw Black
''1908.com''

Henry Thacker Henry Thomas Joynt Thacker (20 March 1870 – 3 May 1939) was a medical doctor, New Zealand Member of Parliament and Mayor of Christchurch. Early life Thacker was born in Okains Bay on Banks Peninsula on 20 March 1870. His parents were Essy Jo ...

was the manager of the tour and

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 ...

was the captain. New Zealand then hosted a return tour by

. New South Wales won all eleven matches on tour, including over

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, 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, Kent, River Stour. ...

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 ...

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 me ...

. New South Wales defeated

33–19 in Auckland and 58–19 in Wellington.

National competitions

Northern Union Cup

again held the

Northern Union Cup The Rugby League Cup is a New Zealand rugby league trophy that is contested between districts on a challenge basis. The trophy used to be known as the Northern Union Challenge Cup. It is the oldest rugby league competition in New Zealand. Histo ...

at the end of the season. Auckland had defeated

48–12 in front of 7,000 fans at

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

in August.

Inter-district competition

defeated

33–18 on 27 September 1913. It was not until 1988 that they were again victorious over an Auckland side. The 1913 side was: A.Anderson, B.Whitley, W.Kelly, A.House (Petone), G.Bradley (Athletic), K.George (Newtown), J.Barber, J.Parker (Petone), J.Spencer, T.Turner, A.Bensmann, L.Campbell (Newtown), W.Wilson (Athletic). Bench: H.McGuire, B.Childs.''Lion Red 1988 Rugby League Annual'',

New Zealand Rugby Football 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 ...

, 1988. pp. 151–159

conducted a northern tour; losing to Auckland 48–12 in a Northern Union Cup challenge, defeating

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 Dist ...

10–9 and losing to

26–8. The match against Taranaki was Canterbury's first, and last for sixty years. Captain

Charlie Pearce Charlie James Pearce was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.\\ Early life Charlie Pearce was born on January 28, 1881. His parents were Charles Julius Pearce (185 ...

and Jim Auld were included in the Canterbury team on tour while

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 them in the home match against New South Wales.

Club competitions

Auckland

North Shore won the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

's competition.Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1990 ''New Zealand Rugby League'', 1990. p. 72 Charles Savory was found guilty of kicking by the ARL judiciary and was suspended for life. Savory claimed it was a case of mistaken identity. This sparked a feud between the ARL and 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 ...

as the NZRL heard the case and asked the ARL to reconsider, which they refused to do in June. The NZRL then quashed the conviction and Savory played for New Zealand while he was still suspended by the ARL. The NZRL then suspended the entire ARL board and on 15 January 1914 the NZRL approved an entirely "new" ARL board.1908 New Zealand rugby league season: Coffey, John and Bernie Wood Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909–2009, 2009. .

Wellington

Petone won the

Wellington Rugby League Wellington Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Greater Wellington region. It is responsible for the local competition of the same name, as well as its representative team, the Wellingto ...

's Appleton Shield. Bill Kelly, Billy Wilson and

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 ...

played for Athletic while James Barber, Jim Parker and

Albert House Albert Phillip House (1890 – 29 May 1966) was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s, and rugby league referee of the 1910s and 1920s . He played representative level rugby union f ...

played for Petone and John Spencer and Les Campbell played for Newtown.

Canterbury

Sydenham won the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

's inaugural competition over twelve rounds. Dr

donated the

Thacker Shield The Thacker Shield is a rugby league football trophy awarded on an annual basis to the winner of a match between the champion clubs of the Canterbury Rugby League and West Coast Rugby League. History The shield was donated by Dr Henry Thacker in ...

during the season. The

was first contested on 6 September. Sydenham successfully defended the shield against the North Shore, winning 13–8.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987 Addington was founded on 31 January 1913, Sydenham one week later on 7 February, Linwood on 12 March and on 14 March St. Albans was formed.

played for Addington and served on their committee. Jim Auld,

Bill King Wilbur "Bill" King (October 6, 1927 – October 18, 2005) was an American sports announcer. In 2016, the National Baseball Hall of Fame named King recipient of the 2017 Ford C. Frick Award, the highest honor for American baseball broadcasters. ...

and

David McPhail David Alexander McPhail (11 April 1945 – 14 May 2021) was a New Zealand comedic actor and writer whose television career spanned four decades. McPhail first won fame on sketch comedy show ''A Week of It'', partly thanks to his impressions of ...

were involved with Sydenham while Abbie Shadbolt and

played for St Albans and Joseph Lavery played for Linwood.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1913 New Zealand Rugby League Season Rugby league season New Zealand rugby league seasons