Ivan Stewart (1894–1952) played for the New Zealand rugby league team. He was Kiwi number 119 and played one test, against Australia in 1919. He played for the

North Shore Albions The North Shore Albions were a rugby league club based on the North Shore of Auckland in Devonport, New Zealand, Devonport before moving to Bayswater at a later time. They formed in 1909 and folded in the early 2000s due to a lack of playing nu ...

after returning from the war in 1917, and then for

City Rovers 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 ...

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 from 1918 to 1920.

Early life and war

Ivan Stewart was born on August 28, 1894. His mother was Elizabeth Margaret Stewart (1863-1952) and his father was Duncan Stewart (1860-1934). He had three sisters; Kitoria Olivette Stewart (1888-1979), Rita Phillis Stewart (1891-1977), and Edna Marion Stewart (1898-?), and two brothers; James Douglas Stewart (1889-1973), and William Oscar Stewart (1893-1966). Stewart was a very strong swimmer in his teen years, winning many competitions. He enlisted in the New Zealand army and served in

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 ...

. He had been working in

Te Puke Te Puke is a town located 18 kilometres southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty of New Zealand. It is particularly well-known for the cultivation of Kiwifruit. Te Puke is close to Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, and Maketu, whi ...

but was living with his father on Nelson Street in Auckland at the time of enlistment. He fought in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

, where he was wounded before returning to

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 ...

and being discharged on April 2, 1917.

Playing career

Ivan Stewart debuted for the

in round one of the 1918 season. He was part of the team who won the Roope Rooster that same season when they defeated Maritime 6–3 in the final 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 ...

in front of 7,000 spectators. He was named in the reserves to play in the Auckland match with Canterbury but did not take the field.

New Zealand debut

Stewart made his debut for

on the 1919 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 total he played in 6 of the 11 tour matches. He debuted in the 3rd tour match against Tamworth at halfback alongside the legendary

Thomas McClymont Thomas Allen "Scotty" McClymont (5 January 1892 – 18 December 1974) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s, and coached in the 1920s through to the 1950s. He represented New Zealand. Early years Thomas Mc ...

. Stewart scored 2 tries in a 21–13 win. These were to be his only points in a New Zealand jersey. He played centre against New South Wales Firsts in a 31–39 loss. And he played there again against the same opponents 2 days later when they again lost 19–22 Stewart moved back to the halves for the match against Ipswich Firsts which New Zealand won 11–8. Stewart played his fourth and fifth successive matches in 13–26, and 13-16 point losses to Queensland After the tour of Australia (which involved no test matches) the Australian national team toured New Zealand. Stewart was selected to play for New Zealand against Australia at the Auckland Domain in the 4th test of the series. New Zealand trailed the series 1-2 and lost 32–2 in front of 15,000 spectators with Stewart playing halfback. Stewart would get to play the Australian team again this time for the Auckland Province team made up of players from the Auckland club competition and the wider district although this particular team like most other Auckland Provincial teams in this era was totally dominated by

club players. Auckland lost 8–32 which then went on to utterly demolish its remaining provincial opponents by well over 50 points.

Auckland appearance

In 1920 Stewart played for the Auckland team which beat the touring England side 24–16 at the Auckland Domain in front of an enormous crowd estimated at 30,000.

Retirement

It is unclear if he continued to play in 1921 or beyond as there are no records of him playing rugby league or any other code in New Zealand.

Personal life and death

Ivan Stewart did not marry and had no children. He died on August 4, 1952, in

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 ...

aged 58. He was buried at Waikumete Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Ivan New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Auckland rugby league team players City Rovers players 1894 births 1952 deaths New Zealand Military Forces personnel of World War I Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league centres Sportspeople from the Northland Region