Nicholas "Nick" Euclid OAM (15 March 1932 – 27 September 2007) was Chairman of Queensland Rugby League Referees' Association and founding Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Referees' Association. He was a rugby team manager and a drummer.

Family life

Fondly known as 'The Greek', Euclid was born in

Ingham, Queensland Ingham is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Ingham had a population of 4,426 people. It is named after William Bairstow Ingham and is the administrative centre for the Shire o ...

. His parents were post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

immigrants from

Kastellorizo Kastellorizo or Castellorizo (; el, Καστελλόριζο, Kastellórizo), officially Megisti ( ''Megísti''), is a Greece, Greek island and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. After schooling in Ingham, he attended All Souls College,

Charters Towers, Queensland Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits under ...

. He was an active musician (

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

) and met his future wife, Maureen Crowley, while playing at a local dance in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

. They eventually married and had three children; Pauline, Jim and Tina. Together with his wife, Euclid was proprietor of the White Rose Cafe (

) and Nick's Fine Foods (Townsville) before managing the Townsville Rugby League Club (

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

) until his retirement in 1996. Following his retirement, he continued in his full-time position as Director of the Australian Rugby League Referees' Association until his death in September 2007.

Sporting career

From a young age, Euclid was active in local

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 ...

, playing for the local

Herbert River The Herbert River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The southernmost of Queensland's wet tropics river systems, it was named in 1864 by George Elphinstone Dalrymple explorer, after Robert George Wyndham Herbert, the first ...

team in the annual

Foley Shield The Foley Shield is a rugby league competition in North Queensland administered by the Queensland Rugby League. Prior to 1948 an inter-town competition known as the Carlton Cup was contested in North Queensland. This was revamped, and renamed in ...

matches. After retiring from the game, Euclid went on to referee in two international matches and was considered the leading referee in the region for a substantial period. a professional

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 in his youth, he also tried his hand at coaching, guiding the likes of fellow Ingham-born

Laurie Spina Laurie Joseph Spina (born 21 May 1963) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and rugby league commentator. In 1995, Spina was the inaugural captain of the North Queensland Cowboys. Background Born in Ingham, Queensland, ...

and Australian Test representative

Greg Dowling Greg Dowling (born 15 January 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative prop forward, he played his club foot ...

. Dowling credited Euclid as being instrumental in diverting him from a life of trouble to that of a dedicated athlete. A hugely popular member of the QRL office, Euclid was a father figure to many of the State's great rugby league referees, including Referees' Academy Manager Eddie Ward and Barry 'Grasshopper' Gomersall. Euclid famously handed his first-ever whistle after being injured during a Foley Shield match in Townsville. Gomersall, who had been touch judge on the day, kept the whistle as a lucky charm until his death in February 2008. Euclid was for many years charged with nominating and appointing Queensland-based referees to

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

fixtures and also to the Queensland Wizard Cup and State League competitions. In many of the years that Euclid occupied his Board positions with the ARL and QRL Referees, he did so in an honorary capacity, not receiving remuneration. In June 2002, Euclid was awarded a

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

'for service to Rugby League football as a player, coach, administrator and referee, particularly in the development of referee accreditation policy.' Th
Nick Euclid Medal
is given annually in his honor to the Best Young Rugby League Referee in Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Euclid, Nicholas Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 1932 births 2007 deaths Australian rugby league referees