George Hurfitt Sampson (7 July 1845 – 17 March 1911) was a New Zealand

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er. He played one first-class match for

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 ...

during the 1874–75 season. Sampson was born at Bell Block in

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 ...

in 1845,McCarron A (2010) ''New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010'', p. 117. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
Available online
at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.) the son of Charles Sampson and his wife Martha (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Gollop) who had emigrated from

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

in England, arriving in New Zealand in 1842.Obituary, ''

Taranaki Herald The ''Taranaki Herald'' was an afternoon daily newspaper, published in New Plymouth, New Zealand. It began publishing as a four-page tabloid on 4 August 1852. Until it ceased publication in 1989, it was the oldest daily newspaper in the country. ...

'', volume XLIV, issue 10317, 27 May 1895, p. 2.
Available online
at Papers Past. Retrieved 29 December 2023.) The family farmed at Bell Block and were forced from their land in 1860 during the

First Taranaki War The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori people, Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North ...

, in which George and his father both served as volunteers in the militia.Waitara, ''

'', volume LIX, issue 143452, 24 March 1911, p. 7.
Available online
at Papers Past. Retrieved 29 December 2023.) Sampson continued to serve in a variety of roles in the militia during the

Second Taranaki War The Second Taranaki War is a term used by some historians for the period of hostilities between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand between 1863 and 1866. The term is avoided by some historians, who eit ...

and

Tītokowaru's War Tītokowaru's War was a military conflict that took place in the South Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island from June 1868 to March 1869 between the Ngāti Ruanui and Ngāruahine Māori tribes and the New Zealand Government. The confl ...

later in the decade. He later farmed at Waitara. Sampson's only first-class match was a January 1875 fixture between Otago and

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. ...

. Opening the batting for Otago, he scored a total of 10 runs in the match. He played in a team of 22 for Canterbury against the touring English side led by

James Lillywhite James Lillywhite (23 February 1842 – 25 October 1929) was an English Test cricketer and an umpire. He was the first ever captain of the English cricket team in a Test match, captaining two Tests against Australia in 1876–77, losing the fir ...

during the following season. Sampson married and had a family of 10 children. He died in hospital at

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

in 1911 aged 65.

Notes

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External links

* 1845 births 1911 deaths New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers Cricketers from Taranaki {{NewZealand-cricket-bio-1840s-stub