Victor Colin Belsham (1925/1926 – 4 June 2006) was a New Zealand

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 ...

player and referee who represented

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 ...

( Heritage No. 316). His position of preference was at . His brother,

Sel Sel is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Otta. The municipality also includes several notable villages including ...

, also played for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

, including in one match that was controlled by Vic. He was also prominent in cricket and squash.

Rugby league career

From the

Point Chevalier Point Chevalier (; commonly known as Point Chev and an original colonial name of Point Bunbury after Thomas Bunbury) is a residential suburb and peninsula in the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located five kilometres to th ...

club, Belsham became an

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 ...

representative and was selected for the

tour of Australia in 1948. He was the understudy to

Abbie Graham Abbie Adella Graham (May 28, 1889 – February 11, 1972) was an American non-fiction author, YWCA secretary, and camp director. Biography Abbie Graham was born in Alice, Texas on May 28, 1889 to Rev. John Thomas Graham, a Methodist minister, and Ad ...

and did not play a match. After retirement Belsham became a referee to gain experience for coaching. He enjoyed it however and remained as a referee. Belsham controlled three matches at the 1957 World Cup and also controlled four Test matches between New Zealand, France and Great Britain. In 1958 Belsham controlled the inaugural

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 ...

grand final.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. , p. 170. He is one of only four New Zealanders to play for

and referee a test match.

Cricket career

Belsham was also a cricketer and played twice for

and once for the Auckland Colts between 1952 and 1959.

Squash career

In later life Belsham became involved in

Squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

. For his involvement he was made a life member of both Qsquash (Queensland) and Squash Australia. The "Vic Belsham Trophy" is awarded to the winner of trans-tasman matches. In the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours Belsham was made a

Member 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 ...

(AM) for "service to the sport of squash". Belsham died on 4 June 2006 in Brisbane aged 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belsham, Vic 1920s births 2006 deaths New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league referees Auckland rugby league team players Point Chevalier Pirates players New Zealand male squash players New Zealand cricketers Auckland cricketers Australian male squash players Rugby league five-eighths Members of the Order of Australia