Arthur Carlaw was a New Zealand

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 ...

player who played a role in the establishment of the sport in New Zealand and represented

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 ...

. His uncle,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

, was an administrator in the sport and

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of around 28,000 in the 1 ...

was named after him and his brother William served with the New Zealand Rugby Leaque Football Council.

Playing career

Carlaw was involved in the formation of the Ponsonby United club in August 1908, the first rugby league club to be formed in Auckland. The club played a series of matches against loosely organised teams. 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 ...

was formed on 19 July 1909 and Carlaw was part of the organisation's first sanctioned match, captaining a City combination against the North Shore. During the season he also played for Ponsonby and at the club's first AGM, on 30 July 1909, he was elected to the club's executive.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. . He also represented

the district ''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series which aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department. Pr ...

that year, playing against

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 D ...

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 ...

. Carlaw was also part of the 1909 tour of Australia by

however the series was lost 1-2. He again played for

in 1910, losing 52-20 to the touring Great Britain Lions at the Domain Cricket Ground. Carlaw had again played for Ponsonby during the 1910 season and was selected for Auckland, being part of the side that lost to Great Britain 52-9 and also touring Wanganui, Bluff, Invercargill, Dunedin, Napier and Dannevirke. He served as referee in the Bluff match. Carlaw was selected by New Zealand to tour Australia in 1912. During the tour the captain, Arthur Francis, left to take up a professional contract with

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

and Carlaw was appointed his replacement. Carlaw again represented New Zealand in Australia in 1913, his final season.

World War I, Later Years and Death

At the conclusion of the 1913 season Carlaw moved to a farm too far out of Auckland for him to continue to play. On December 14, 1914 he embarked on a ship to join the World War I effort. After the war he moved to Christchurch in 1926 where he refereed and coached while working as a Stonemason. He had been gassed while serving in the war in France and was said to have struggled with his health ever since. He died at the age of 51 at Christchurch Hospital. He was buried at Bromley Cemetery with his coffin draped in the house flag of the Returned Soldiers' Association. His funeral was attended by Mr. W. Coles who represented the New Zealand Council, Mr W. E. Healey representing the Auckland League, Mr W. S. E. Moyle, the local executive chairman, Mr A. Clark of the referees association, and Mr C. Richardson of the Riccarton club .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlaw, Arthur New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Auckland rugby league team players Rugby league wingers Rugby league five-eighths Ponsonby Ponies players New Zealand national rugby league team captains