Gordon Hooker (29 May 1887 – 6 December 1967) 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 ...

in 1909.

Playing career

Hooker represented

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 1908 and was selected to tour Australia for New Zealand in 1909, where he played in two Test matches. He represented

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

against the 1910 Great Britain Lions before returning to New Zealand and playing for Taranaki against the 1914 Lions. He played until he was 36.John Coffey and Bernie Wood, ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'', Hodder Moa, Auckland, 2007, p. 37. He refereed the August 5, 1933 match between Auckland and Taranaki at Western Park. In the 1930s Hooker helped re-establish rugby league in Taranaki. He died in 1967 and his ashes were buried at

Te Henui Cemetery Te Henui Cemetery, also known as New Plymouth Cemetery, is the oldest public cemetery in New Plymouth, New Zealand. It was first used in 1861. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "the great mistake" for . ...

Legacy

In 2008 he was named in the

Taranaki Rugby League Taranaki Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. The TRL are represented by the Taranaki rugby league team. They are in the Mid-Central zone along with the ...

Team of the Century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooker, Gordon 1887 births 1967 deaths New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Taranaki rugby league team players Rugby league wingers Queensland rugby league team players Burials at Te Henui Cemetery