James Collins Gleeson was a New Zealand

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

er who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.

Early years

He was born in New Zealand on December 22, 1882. His parents were Margaret and Patrick Gleeson. He had 2 sisters and 1 brother (Catherine Treston Gleeson, Margaret Gleeson, Michael Lynch Gleeson, and Patrick Spellman Gleeson). He married Erema Philomena Harding and they had 3 children. Jim was a lawyer by trade who had studied law at

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

Rugby football

Gleeson was a

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 ...

scrum-half from the

Hawkes Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Golds: Rugby League's Pioneers'', Christchurch, Ryan and Haynes, 1996.

Rugby league

He was selected as one of the professional All Blacks on the 1907–1908 tour of Great Britain and Australia. It was reported prior to the tour that "another rumour has it that Paddy Gleeson, a rising barrister and solicitor in Napier, and the eldest son of an ex-Auckland hotel-keeper who is worth a mint of money, has been offered the position of manager of the team". However his major role on the tour was managerial, serving as treasurer and assisting

Albert Baskiville Albert (Bert) Henry Baskerville (born as "Baskiville") (15 January 1883 – 20 May 1908) was a Wellington postal clerk, a rugby union forward, author of the book "''Modern Rugby Football: New Zealand Methods; Points for the Beginner, the Pla ...

with day-to-day administration duties. He was also part of the tours Management Committee and he usually spoke at the after match functions on behalf of the team. Despite these commitments Gleeson still participated in some matches, usually at halfback but occasionally on the wing. When the tour finished Gleeson opted to stay behind in England and complete his legal studies at the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

. After he completed his studies he returned to New Zealand where he, along with

Edward Tyne Edward "Hone" Tyne was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain. Early life Tyne was a railway worker, working for the New Zealand Railways Department.John Haynes ''From A ...

, helped establish the Hawke's Bay Rugby League in 1911. He later served on the New Zealand Council of the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

. In 1928 he welcomed the touring English team to New Zealand and "intimated that he would present a cup to the side which won the "ashes" during the present visit. Before the team departed he gave "a silver cup to the English team and also a cup each to the managers".

Business life and death

Gleeson owned the Windsor Wastle Hotel in Parnell and Prince Arthur Hotel in

Wellesley Street Wellesley may refer to: * People Dukes of Wellington * Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), British soldier, statesman, and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom * Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington (1807–1884), Briti ...

along with his father Paddy. Jim Gleeson was also elected on to Auckland Council in the 1910s. Paddy died in 1916 in Parnell. Later Jim became interested in horse racing and owned several horses in the 1920s. Jim Gleeson died on November 21, 1947 and was buried at

Hillsborough Cemetery Hillsborough Cemetery is a large cemetery located in the Auckland isthmus suburb of Hillsborough. Location The cemetery lies on a ridge at the south of the Auckland isthmus, overlooking the Manukau Harbour. The cemetery is split in two by a l ...

in Auckland. He had moved to Auckland and lived in Parnell in the 1910s and later in Otahuhu. His mother Margaret died in 1929. Jim married Phyllis Erema Harding who was 22 years younger. They had two children, Barry Holmes Gleeson (1928-1985), and Pauline Ann Gleeson (1930-2021).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleeson, Jim Hawke's Bay rugby league team players 20th-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand Rugby League board members New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players Place of birth missing Place of death missing Rugby league in the Hawke's Bay Footballers who switched code Rugby league halfbacks 1882 births 1947 deaths Burials at Hillsborough Cemetery, Auckland