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 Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and professional

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 ...

footballer who played in the 1890s, 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. At representative level Asher played rugby union for

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 ...

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

and

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 ...

playing on the

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

and played rugby league at representative level for Australasia,

and the

New Zealand Māori rugby league team New Zealand Māori rugby league team is a rugby league representative side made up of New Zealand Māori players. The side represents the New Zealand Māori Rugby league. Like its union counterpart, the rugby league team previously competed in ...

. One of his brothers, Ernie, was also a rugby league international while another, John, became a Ngati Pukenga and

Ngati Pikiao ''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea. Production ''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film written an ...

leader, and another brother, Thomas also played representative rugby for Tauranga.

Katherine Te Rongokahira Parata Katherine Te Rongokahira Parata (1873–1939) was a New Zealand woman of mana. Of Māori descent, she identified with the Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Pūkenga and Te Arawa iwi. She was born in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand in 1873. Two of he ...

was a sister.

Rugby union career

Asher was born in Tauranga, and was only 11 years old when he played his first senior representative game of

, for a Tauranga team against a

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

team. Eighteen months later he played for Tauranga against

, becoming the youngest senior representative on record in New Zealand rugby union.Maori Personalities in Sport
''Te Ao Hou'' Asher played for Tauranga against Auckland at Potters Park on August 17 aged 16 after playing against Rotorua the week prior. The Bay Of Plenty Times reported after the match against Auckland that "Asher was the hero of the team, his defence was superb, and was greatly admired by the gallery as well as the Rugby Union Committee". Asher later moved to

, joining Parnell in the Auckland club competition, making his

debut in 1898. In his first game on June 9, 1898 he played for Parnell against North Shore on their opponents ground. Asher scored 3 tries in a 34-4 win. He spent several seasons playing for Auckland. On July 9 after just 4 club matches for Parnell he was chosen to play in an Auckland trial match. He scored a try and was then selected to make his Auckland debut against Thames in an inter-union match against Thames on July 16. In his first match for Auckland he scored 2 tries, the second being a "remarkable" run which started well inside his own half. His first came after he "whipped in, and gathering up the ball, beat three Thames men, and cleverly grounded the leather across the line on the corner". Then in the second half "Laws got the oval, and passed along to Asher, who started on what proved to be a remarkable run. At the 25 he was picked up by the Thames fullback and Paul, and hustled by both, but kept his feet through it all, and continuing on his way, ran round and scored fairly between the posts. A better run has never been seen on the ground. The spectators on the stand rose as one man, and the applause must have been audible a mile off". On Monday, September 4 1899 Asher was asked to fill in for the Tauranga side in their match with Franklin despite being resident in Auckland and playing for various Auckland rep teams in the weeks prior and following. Although he did tend to return to Tauranga outside the rugby season. Tauranga were going to struggle to field a full team hence the request. He featured prominently in a match which they won. His form was outstanding in 1903 for city and he scored 17 tries in just 8 matches. He was subsequently selected for the New Zealand tour of Australia where he won a cap playing for the New Zealand team against Australia at

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 ...

on 15 August 1903, scoring a try. While Asher played in only one Test match, he played in 11 games for the All Blacks and scored 53 points. Remarkably after returning from the Australian tour he played in 7 matches for Auckland and failed to register a single try. In 1904 he was chosen to be the City captain for the season. During the season while working with the fire brigade, he suffered a leg injury that kept him from meeting the 1904 British team that were touring New Zealand, and he subsequently missed touring Great Britain with

the Original All Blacks The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their op ...

. After two years out of the game Asher again represented Auckland in 1907, before changing codes to

.Albert Asher
''allblacks.com'' He moved back to Tauranga in 1906 and played for the Karikari club and also represented the Tauranga representative side. In 1907 he had 'retired' and did not play any matches, instead coaching and refereeing games. Then in July he left farming in the area and moved back to Auckland 'permanently' and when he returned to Auckland was selected to play for Auckland B against Waikato in Hamilton where he scored 2 tries, and then for the full Auckland side against Wanganui and Taranaki where he scored 1 try in each match.

Rugby league career

Asher declined the offer to tour with the 1907–1908 New Zealand professional rugby team due to a broken ankle. In May 1908 he led the first

on a tour of New South Wales and Queensland, where they are credited with financially saving the New South Wales Rugby League. At the time it was reported in New Zealand that they were accidental converts to

, expecting to meet rugby union teams in Sydney, but this has since proved to be a cover story as it was reported well before the team left that they would be playing against rugby league teams. The team twice defeated

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 ...

and also defeated

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in one "test". On their return Asher represented

in their second match ever, against

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 ...

.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909–2009'', 2009. . In 1909 Asher was invited to tour Australia with the 1909 New Zealand side but again declined, opting to remain in Auckland and organise the 1909 New Zealand Māori tour of Australia which was set for later in the year. During the year Asher again represented Auckland and played for the new

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 par ...

club which had been formed to compete in the new

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 ...

. In 1910 Asher played for City in the first official week of the Auckland Rugby League competition. On 25 June Asher was sent off by referee

Jack Stanaway John James "Jack" Stanaway (8 October 1873 – 23 December 1931), also known as Hone Haira, was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand Māori rugby league team, New Zealand Māori and was an international test referee. His b ...

, the brother of

Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

. The rest of the City side walked off in support of Asher. Asher became the first player to face the ARL judiciary, who cautioned him. Asher then traveled to Sydney, where he was part of the Australasian side that played two matches against the 1910 Great Britain team. Asher, who was known for leaping over players – leading to his nickname Opai, clashed with another known leaper, Billy Batten. Asher came into contact with Batten's knee in a mid air collision and was carried from the ground, requiring stitches before he returned. Asher was to play against the Lions three more times once they reached New Zealand in July. Asher lined up against them for New Zealand Māori,

and

. This was Asher's only cap for New Zealand. He finished the season by being part of the City side that won the inaugural competition, being awarded the Myers Cup. Asher again played for New Zealand on their 1913 tour of Australia, however no test matches were played. Asher continued to play for City until after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.Mr Albert (Opai) Asher
''Te Ao Hou'' Albert Asher

Later years

After retirement Asher became the custodian of Carlaw Park between 1921 and 1943, the home of the

. He is buried at Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland.

Legacy

Asher was inducted into the New Zealand Rugby League's Legends of League in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asher, Albert 1879 births 1965 deaths Auckland rugby league team players Auckland rugby union players Australia national rugby league team players Burials at Waikumete Cemetery City Rovers players Dual-code rugby internationals Māori All Blacks players New Zealand gardeners New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Tauranga Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Tauranga Rugby union wings Te Arawa people Ngāti Pikiao people Ngāti Pūkenga people