Ronald Edward McAuliffe OBE (25 June 1918 – 16 August 1988) was a politician and sports administrator in

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_ ...

, Australia. He is best remembered for his years running the

Queensland Rugby League The Queensland Rugby Football League QRL Constitution, 2009: 3 (QRL QRL Constitution, 2009: 2) is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL Commission) and selects the membe ...

, and his instrumental role in the formation of the

State of Origin series The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons. Referred to as “Australian sport's greatest rivalry”, the ...

. McAuliffe attended school at St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. In 1932 he played

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 ...

for the Gregory Terrace firsts. He started playing senior rugby league in 1937 for the

Northern Suburbs Northern Sydney is a large metropolitan area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the north shore of Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River. The region embraces suburbs in Sydney’s north-east, north and inner north west. Northern Sydney ...

club, but with the outbreak of

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 ...

he joined the Australian Imperial Force. He served as a Warrant Officer for five years, before being honourably discharged after service in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

with the 2/2 Casualty Clearing Station. After the war McAuliffe worked with the

Queensland Rail Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

ways Audit Office. Whilst living at

New Farm New Farm is an inner northern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Farm had a population of 12,542 people. Geography The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the ...

he formed social bonds with a number of

Valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

players. In the late 1940s he moved to Fortitude Valley's Brunswick Street, sharing a flat Roy Westaway, a former international representative playing for the Diehards. According to

Australian rugby league hall of fame The Australian Rugby LeaguHall of Fame'' honours players who have shown exceptional skill at rugby league, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game who are Australian. It was officially established in 2002, ...

inductee

Duncan Hall Duncan Hall (24 August 192518 January 2011) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, singled out as having been amongst the greatest of the 20th century. He played in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership f ...

, who was also playing for Valleys: :(Ron) was one of those blokes who was always around the place... he knew everyone worth knowing, and everyone knew him. He drank at the Valley pub with us every night after work. In fact, he was one of those blokes who was the life of the party and who never seemed to want to go home. He was always around. McAuliffe was elected to the Valley's committee and became the club's delegate to the

Brisbane Rugby League 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 Queen ...

in 1951. In 1952 he was elected chairman of the Brisbane Rugby League. In 1953 the Brisbane Rugby League was subsumed into the

(QRL). Ron McAuliffe became secretary to the organisation and began negotiations with the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

to lease

Lang Park Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

. On 30 June 1971 McAuliffe was elected as a Senator for the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

in the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

. That year he also became president of the QRL. Although initially opposed to the idea, McAuliffe became a driving force behind the establishment of the

. The 1980s were to prove a golden period for rugby league in Queensland. McAuliffe sat in the Senate until 30 June 1981. At the end of 1981 he was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. McAuliffe died in August 1988 from a stroke. His funeral was held on 17 August 1988 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in

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 ...

and he was buried in

Nudgee Cemetery Nudgee Cemetery & Crematorium is a large Roman Catholic cemetery at 493 St Vincents Road, Nudgee, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The cemetery opened in 1867 and is still operating. Over 31,000 people are buried there. Services The cemetery ...

.McAuliffe, Ronald Edward (1918–1988)
—

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

. Retrieved 20 December 2014. His pall bearers included then

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

and

captain

Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the spo ...

. In his obituary ''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, ...

'' journalist Barry Dick wrote that "he on McAuliffeloved a drink, loved an argument, and most of all, he loved company." The

Ron McAuliffe Medal State of Origin results and statistics have been accumulating since the 1980 State of Origin game. Every game played under State of Origin selection rules, including the additional 1987 exhibition match and the matches played between New South Wal ...

is awarded to each year's State of Origin Queensland player of the series.

's Ron McAuliffe stand was also named in his honour. In 2009 McAuliffe was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.

Sources

* Gallaway, Jack ''Origin: Rugby League's Greatest Contest 1980-2002'' University of Queensland Press, 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:McAuliffe, Ron 1918 births 1988 deaths Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league players Norths Devils players People from Brisbane Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Rugby league players from Brisbane Rugby League State of Origin Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Burials at Nudgee Cemetery 20th-century Australian politicians