Ernest Linton Button was a New Zealand

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 representative rugby league (RL) for

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. In doing so he became Kiwi #106. He began his career playing rugby union for the Christchurch rugby club in Christchurch. In 1909 he played for the Canterbury provincial rugby team. After switching to rugby league he played for the City club before representing the Canterbury representative side, and later, moving to the Linwood club.

Personal life

Ernest Linton Button was born on 8 October 1891. His parents were Louisa Jane Button and Alfred Sampson Button. He had an older brother, Alfred Cleave Hammond (b.1886), and two older sisters, Mary (b.1888) and Minnie Clough (b.1884). Ernest Button married Bertha Freeman on 31 July 1918. She was the daughter of Jacob Freeman and Mary Jane Freeman. The marriage took place while Ernest was back from the war after having fallen seriously ill. He returned to the war 2 months later. On his enlistment form he stated that he was a tanner by trade. He died on 9 June 1960 aged 68 in

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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 ...

. He was living at 30 Te Pene, Avenue at the time of his death leaving behind his wife Bertha. Bertha died in 1968 aged 76.

Playing career

Rugby union, Christchurch F.C. and Canterbury

Originally a

player, Button represented

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. ...

in 1909. Button began his senior career and 1908 aged just 17. He played in the fullback position in his early years before later moving into the forwards. His senior debut was on 9 May 1908 in a match for his Christchurch FC club against Merivale in a 3–3 draw. In total he played 8 matches for them in 1908, along with a 7-aside tournament and scored 2 tries. In 1909 he played 13 matches for Christchurch FC scoring 4 tries. In August he was selected for the Canterbury Town side against Canterbury Country. The Town side won the match 12–6. He then was chosen to make his debut for

in their match with

on 4 September. Wellington won the match, played at Lancaster Park by 11 points to 6 with Button playing in the forwards. Button was picked for the Canterbury team to tour the South. He played against South Canterbury in Timaru on 16 September with Canterbury going down 9–6. Their next match was in Dunedin against

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

. Canterbury lost once again, this time by 9 points to 3 with Button in the forwards. Button wasn't selected for their final tour match against Southland in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

but he came on to replace Mitchell who had injured his ankle in their 6–5 win to end their tour. Interestingly despite his young age Button was not selected for Canterbury ever again. Over the 1910–13 seasons he played 49 games for the Christchurch FC side without making any representative appearances whatsoever. In a 12 June match against Old Boys he injured his knee and did not play again for them that season.

Switch to rugby league, City club, Canterbury selection and move to Linwood RLFC

Button switched codes and played for City in the Canterbury Rugby League in 1914.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987. At the beginning of the season a meeting was held with Button in Attendance regarding the formation of the City club. There were 4 existing league teams all located in the suburbs and it was felt that a city team was needed. Button was appointed the convener of the committee and was also the City delegate to the management committee of the league. City were having an unsuccessful season and lost their first 5 matches in the Thacker Shield but Button was chosen to play in a 'Selected Team' to play the league leading Sydenham side made up of players from the other teams. The match was played at the Canterbury Showgrounds and saw the Sydenham side win 9–5. The same two teams met again 2 days later with Button selected in the forwards once more. Button was then chosen in the

team to meet

on 25 July. Wellington won the match by 13 points to 3 at the Christchurch Showgrounds. He finished the year playing for the Selected Team against Sydenham once again on 8 August. This was to be his last game of rugby league for some time as he joined the war effort and left for Europe months later. Button later joined Linwood during a return from the war due to illness. He was registered with the club on 8 July 1917 and played 2 matches for them on 15 July and 22 July against Federal and Sydenham respectively. Button then returned to the war and once he returned again he did not play for them again and he returned to rugby union.

New Zealand selection

Following Button's matches for the 'Selected Team' and his City club he was chosen to represent New Zealand against the touring England side. His selection was something of a surprise and it was said "Button, selected as a forward, will have a strenuous task to keep pace with the other forwards selected. His inclusion caused a surprise, as the general opinion was that H. Shanks would be the forward selected from Christchurch". The test match was played at the

Auckland Domain The Auckland Domain, also known as Pukekawa / Auckland Domain, is a large park in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the oldest park in the city, and at is one of the largest. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, the park land is the remains o ...

on 1 August in front of 20,000 spectators. England won an extremely competitive game 16–13 with the New Zealand team given great respect for their play. The England captain Wagstaff said after the match that it was the hardest they had played on tour which included 18 matches across Australia and New Zealand. Button was playing in the hooker position and saved New Zealand late in the game when England were close to scoring. It was said later that the New Zealand forwards had al been outstanding and "Button, Banks, and Mitchell all proved the wisdom of their selection".

War Efforts

World War 1

Ernest Button enlisted in the New Zealand forces for World War 1 early on. He embarked from Wellington on 17 April 1915 as a Gunner in the New Zealand Field Artillery as part of the 4th Reinforcements. He became ill and was transported to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

on 15 October 1915 before recovering and progressing on to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

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. He was then reported seriously ill on 2 November with his parents receiving a cabled message from Malta General Hospital. He had "enteric fever" (

Typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

). He was however showing some improvement while in hospital and was removed from the dangerous list on 9 November and embarked for

on 14 December. He was then invalided to New Zealand on 26 December. It had been thought that he was likely to die and he had been treated for 3 months in army hospitals in

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and Sister Holmes, of the English R.A.M.C had been "untiring" in her efforts to bring him back to health. After returning to New Zealand he had spent time recovering and on 8 July 1917 he was well enough to join the Linwood rugby league club and play 2 games for them in the same month. He was officially discharged on 31 July 1916 with it stated that he was no longer physically fit for war service on account of wounds received in action and illness contracted on active service. He was nearly discharged from the service after "absenting himself without leave from 20 to 29 April 1918" according to image 19 of his military files. When he returned to the war he embarked on board the Matatua on 2 October 1918, arriving on 5 December 1918. By this stage he was a Quartermaster Sergeant in the 43rd Reinforcements, New Zealand Field Artillery. Button was discharged on 25 August 1919. He was awarded the

1914–15 Star The 1914–15 Star is a campaign medal of the British Empire which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served in any theatre of the First World War against the Central European Powers during 1914 and 1915. The me ...

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and the Victory Medal.

World War 2

Following Button's return from World War 1 he had embarked on a medical career. In 1920 he was studying Physics and Inorganic Chemistry. He received his medical degree on 17 December 1925. Button completed his English F.R.C.S in May 1931. It was stated that he had been educated at

and Otago University and served as a surgeon at

Wellington Hospital Wellington Hospital might refer to: * Wellington Hospital, New Zealand, a hospital in Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Hospital, London The Wellington Hospital in St John's Wood, London is the largest private hospital in the United Kingdom, an ...

for 2 years. It was also said that he expected to return to New Zealand at the end of the year. He was granted a Diplomas of Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons after successfully passing the exam in June, 1931 in London. In 1941 he was granted the temporary rank of Lieutenant-colonel while holding the appointment of officer in charge of the surgical division, No. 3 NZ General Hospital. Then in July 1942 he became lieutenant-colonel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Button, Ernest Canterbury rugby league team players Canterbury rugby union players Linwood Keas players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players Rugby league hookers People from Lyttelton, New Zealand