Wilfred Pierrepont "Bunny" Brimble (16 November 1913 – 18 September 1999) 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 ...

footballer who played in the 1930s. He played for

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 ...

Background

Brimble was one of seven brothers, who all shared middle name Pierrepont. Two of his other brothers,

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

(better known as Ted) and

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, also represented New Zealand. Another older brother (Cyril) played rugby at Manukau and also represented

Newton Rangers 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 Auckland rugby league. While their eldest brother John, played for Manukau rugby and spent many years on their committee. Born in Hilo Hawaii, Brimble had an English father and a Bantu mother Jane Depua Mahdna.Page 4 – Rugby league players
''teara.govt.nz'' The family moved to

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the Auckland CBD, city centre, close to the volcano, volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree ...

, New Zealand in 1914.

Playing career

NZ team photo to visit Australia in 1938

Brimble played for the

club. Despite being of African origin, Brimble was selected for, and played for, the New Zealand Māori side. Brimble toured Australia with 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 ...

in 1938, however the side played in no test matches.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brimble, Wilfred 1913 births 1999 deaths Auckland rugby league team players American emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league players Manukau Magpies players