Henry "Tarzan" Porter (1910–1990) was an Australian

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 in the 1930s and 1940s. He played club football for Newtown and

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs o ...

in the

New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

, winning premierships with both clubs. He also played for

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...

in the

Brisbane Rugby League premiership The Brisbane Rugby League is a rugby league football competition in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first held in 1922 and for every year until 1997. The competition was reinstated in 2001, known as the FOGS premiership under the Quee ...

Playing career

Born in Dungog on 3 July 1910, Porter won his first premiership with Newtown in

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

when they defeated

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

in the final 18–5. He played for

New South Wales rugby league team The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Also known as the Blues due to their sky blue jerseys, the team competes in the ann ...

in 1935, during his time at Goulburn. His first grade career stalled until 1936 when he joined

, where he played for 11 seasons: 1936–1942, 1944, and 1946–1948. Porter won two premierships with

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

and

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

. He also played for New South Wales between 1938 and 1942. He also played representative football for Queensland in two games in 1945. In World War II, Porter was based in Brisbane. He captained Canterbury-Bankstown on many occasions including in the 1947 Grand Final loss to Balmain 13–9. Porter also coached Canterbury-Bankstown in 1949.

Post-playing

In 1985 he was inducted into Canterbury's 50th Anniversary, ''Greatest Team Ever.'' He died after a short illness in 1990. In 2004 he was inducted into Canterbury's 70th year Team of Champions. In 2007 he was inducted into the Canterbury Hall of Fame (Ring of Champions).

References

1910 births 1990 deaths Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coaches Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players City New South Wales rugby league team players Country New South Wales rugby league team players Fortitude Valley Diehards players New South Wales rugby league team players Newtown Jets players Rugby league players from New South Wales Rugby league props {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1910s-stub