Calvin Thomas Craddock Dufty (10 March 1900 – 1 August 1955) 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 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 ...

Early life

Dufty had sisters; Louisa Esther (1901-26), Annie Elizabeth (1902-62), Jessie May (1909-37), and Gwendoline Pearl (1919-90), a brother Cecil Charles who died in infancy (1905), and brothers Thomas Joseph (1899-1949), Samuel Craddock (1911-79), and Arthur (Artie) James (1911-89).

War service

During

World War I 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 ...

, Dufty served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, embarking in 1916 when aged 16.

Playing career

Dufty played in 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 ...

competition for

Newton Rangers 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 ...

(1919-21, & 1927-29), Athletic/Grafton Athletic (1922-26), and Ellerslie United (1929-30).Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. .Kiwi Representatives
''elleslieleague.co.nz'' Auckland Province rugby league team v New South Wales in 1922 at the Auckland Domain

Auckland Province rugby league team v New South Wales in 1922 at the Auckland Domain

He transferred to Ellerslie after moving to the area during 1929 after playing several games for Newton during the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

. In 1919, aged 19, Dufty made his debut for

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 ...

, starring in the regions 37-13 defence of 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 ...

against

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...

. His performance earned him selection for the

squad that played against the first tour of

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 1922 he toured Australia with the New Zealand Māori side. He played in five inter-island games for the

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 ...

, his last being in 1930. In 1922 and 1924 he played for both Auckland and Auckland Province. In 1922 his appearances were against the touring New South Wales team, while in 1924 his appearances were against the touring

Great Britain Lions The Great Britain national rugby league team represents Great Britain in rugby league. Administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the team is nicknamed The Lions. For most of the 20th century, the Great Britain team toured overseas, ...

. He was part of the disastrous 1926-27 New Zealand tour of Great Britain, which resulted in several forwards going on strike and receiving life bans. New Zealand Team for 1926-27 England Tour

New Zealand Team for 1926-27 England Tour

In 1928 he again played the touring Lions, representing both Auckland City and Auckland Province, as well as New Zealand. NZ v England 1928

Dufty finished his career with a then-record 224 points for New Zealand, including 106 goals. He played in twelve test matches, scoring 41 points. New Zealand rugby league team 1930

Death

Dufty was born to Samuel and Emily (nee Bennett). On August 1, 1955 Craddock Dufty died while at Auckland Public Hospital. His wife was Ethel May (nee Gerraty) who had had married in 1921. She had passed away in 1953 on June 9. Craddock Dufty was buried at Waikumete Cemetery. He was survived by two daughters and a son (June, Moira Coral (1928-86), and Craddock).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dufty, Craddock 1900 births 1955 deaths New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players Auckland rugby league team players Rugby league fullbacks Maritime Football Club players Ellerslie Eagles players City Rovers players Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers North Island rugby league team players New Zealand military personnel of World War I Newton Rangers players