Maritime Football Club
Club information | |
---|---|
Full name | Maritime Football Club |
Nickname(s) | Watersiders, Seasiders |
Colours | (Maritime) Red, white, & blue; (Grafton Athletic) Royal blue with gold band; (Kingsland Athletic) Maroon, with blue & gold shield |
Founded | 1918 |
Exited | 1930 |
Former details | |
Ground(s) | |
Captain | Bert Avery |
Competition | Auckland Rugby League |
Records | |
Premierships | 1920 |
Runners-up | 1919, 1923 |
Minor premierships | 1920, 1923 (tied) |
Norton Cup | 1928 |
Maritime was a rugby league club in Auckland. They competed from 1918 to 1930 under the name Maritime for 4 seasons, Athletic for 4 seasons, Grafton Athletic for 3 seasons and Kingsland Athletic (following a merger with Kingsland Rovers) for 2 seasons, before the club was 'forced' to join with Marist Old Boys in 1931.
Club History
Formation and first season
On 10 April 1918 the “Maritime Club” applied to the
Maritime did put up a strong showing in the Roope Rooster competition however when they defeated
Sadly during the first season their club secretary, Charles Albert Brett died of influenza on November 21, 1918, aged just 29.[11] At their annual meeting at the League club rooms on Swanson Street at the start of 1919 it was reported that as a result of his death the club was unable to complete a very thorough report on their inaugural season.[12] At the meeting Mr. C. Liversidge presided. Their original officers from 1918 were not reported in the newspapers however their elected officers for the 1919 season were:- Patron, Mr. P. Virtue; president, Mr. C. Liversidge; vice-presidents, Hon. Arthur Myers, Hon. T. Wilford, Messrs W. Evans, Jack Endean, Captain Fox, Dingley, C. Weaver, H. McLeod, R. Bromwich, W. Ryan, W. Meredith, J. Brasier, W. Morrow, Foreman E. Davis, T.R. Baillie, Jim Gleeson, T. Hayes, C. Seagar, W. Ah Chee, M. Saunders; secretary and treasurer, William James Liversidge; committee, Messrs. Sutton, Sheenan, Bert Avery, Lynee, Stallworthy, George Davidson, Roberts, Mitchell, Brady; delegate to the league, Mr. E. Stallworthy; hon. Auditors, Messrs. Ivan and N. Culpan. They had also secured the playing services of future New Zealand captain, Bert Avery who had returned from the war.[13] Avery and John Lang were to become Maritime's first New Zealand representative players when they debuted for them against Australia on August 23.
1919 to 1921 as Maritime and lone title
Maritime's next 3 years saw them perform very well in the A grade competition known as the Myers Cup at the time. In
1922-1925 Name change to ‘Athletic’
At the start of the 1922 season Maritime changed their name to ‘Athletic’ and changed their club colours from red, white, and blue to royal blue with a gold band across the chest. It was said at their annual meeting that they had 130 registered players and had entered six teams in the previous season.[24] They could only manage 6th place in the 8 team competition with a 6 win, 8 loss record and astonishingly lost the Roope Rooster final for the 5th consecutive year, this time losing to Ponsonby United by a single point, 11–10.[25]
They had gained the services of New Zealand international
The 1924 season saw Athletic come 4th of 9 teams with an 8 win, 2 draw, 5 loss record. Bill Te Whata had joined the club in July. In August he played for New Zealand against the touring England side in the first test along with Maritime teammate Craddock Dufty. Thus they became the club's fifth and sixth New Zealand representatives whilst members. Dufty had of course made his New Zealand debut in 1919. Joe Hadley was the leading try scorer in the senior competitions with 12, while Craddock Dufty top scored once again with 91 points. In 1925 Athletic could only manage 6th in a 7 team competition, winning just 4 matches from 12 games. Wilson Hall who had joined Athletic in 1923 became the 7th New Zealand representative at Athletic when he played 5 matches on the tour of Australia and another against the touring Queensland side. Len Mason had also spent the 1924 and 1925 seasons at the club but did not represent New Zealand until the following season when he had moved to Christchurch.
1926-1927 Name change to Grafton Athletic
The start of the 1926 season saw Athletic change their name to Grafton Athletic.[28] The name Grafton was the suburb immediately south of the location of Carlaw Park.[29] The name change did not change their fortunes and they finished last, only winning 2 matches out of 13. They were not helped when towards the end of the season Bert Avery and Ernie Herring departed for England to play for New Zealand on their tour there. Avery was chosen as the New Zealand captain for the tour while Herring ended up playing 30 matches, the most of any of the tourists.
In 1927 they fared even worse losing all 12 matches and finishing last once again. Albert Renwick joined the club committee at the start of the season. He had previously played rugby for Grafton and Auckland before switching to rugby league and being signed by Wigan where he played for some time before a return to New Zealand. He then became heavily involved in rugby league for many years. As a result of their poor season they were forced to play a promotion/relegation match with Ellerslie United. They lost 11-3 and were demoted to the B Division for the 1928 season.[30]
In 1928 in the B Division (Norton Cup) they won the competition going undefeated with a 10 win, 2 draw record. They also made the Stallard Cup knockout final but lost to Point Chevalier 15–13 in the final.[31] Their championship win earned them the right to play off with Ellerslie United (who had finished last in the Monteith Shield). Grafton again lost the match however by 13 points to 11 meaning they would remain in the B division.[32]
1929-1930 Amalgamation with Kingsland Rovers
Rather than remain in the B Division again Grafton Athletic decided to amalgamate with the Kingsland Rovers club and apply to enter a team in the Monteith Shield competition. A combined meeting was held in early April with 80 members in attendance with the new club name to be Kingsland Athletic Football Club. They decided to change their club colours to be a maroon jersey with a blue and gold shield and a “K.A.” monogram.[33] Their first committee as a combined club “was: Patron, Mr. W.J. Webb; vice-patrons, Messrs. Bartram E. Barnaby and Pratt; president, Mr. J. McQuillan; vice presidents same as last year with power to add; hon. Secretary, Mr. J.R. Angelo, Messrs. Bert Avery and T. Ratcliffe, delegate to Auckland Rugby League, Mr. H. Catterall; delegate to junior management committee, Mr. W. Dryland; club captain, Mr. John McGregor; committee, Messrs. Floray (chairman). H. Neil, A. Brown, L. Lucas, A. Huxford, J. Carter, Scott, Newman, and Opie”.[34] Their admission into the first grade competition was granted at an April 17 meeting of the Auckland Rugby League.[35]
The new team featured Kingsland Rovers player Claude List who had represented New Zealand. They were coached by Bert Avery and finished the 1929 season with a 5 win, 1 draw, 8 loss record to finish 6th out of 8 teams. In 1930 they fared similarly winning 4, drawing 1 and losing 8 and once again finished 6th of 8.
Joining Marist Old Boys
The 1931 season saw Auckland Rugby League seeking to make the first grade competition more competitive. There had been a feeling that there were too many teams and the crowd number had dropped accordingly. The decision to drop from 8 teams to 6 had been made at the conclusion of the 1930 season. Kingsland Athletic had been removed from the A Grade and with a new reserve grade competition forming would have been forced into a Senior B grade which would have essentially been a 3rd division in terms of playing quality. As a result, they sought permission to join with the much stronger Marist Old Boys. They were “informed that the league would not opposed such a move”. And thus the Kingsland Athletic Football Club which had started out as Maritime Football Club in 1918 was no more.[36] Players, R Carter, Herring, Claude List and a handful of others moved to the Marist club while others were given free transfers to any other club.
Season records
Myers Cup/Monteith Shield (first grade championship)
Season | Name | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Position (Teams) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1918 | Maritime | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 45 | 110 | -65 | 2 | Fifth (Six) |
1919 | Maritime | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 123 | 88 | +35 | 12 | Second equal (Eight) |
1920 | Maritime | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 168 | 93 | +75 | 18 | First (Six) |
1921 | Maritime | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 135 | 112 | +23 | 12 | Second (Seven) |
1922 | Athletic | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 242 | 208 | +34 | 12 | Sixth (Eight) |
1923 | Athletic | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 180 | 87 | +93 | 20 | Second (Seven) |
1924 | Athletic | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 257 | 206 | +51 | 18 | Fourth (Nine) |
1925 | Athletic | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 133 | 276 | -143 | 8 | Sixth (Seven) |
1926 | Grafton Athletic | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 112 | 269 | -157 | 4 | Seventh (Seven) |
1927 | Grafton Athletic | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 81 | 303 | -222 | 0 | Seventh (Seven) |
1929 | Kingsland Athletic | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 143 | 209 | -66 | 11 | Sixth (Eight) |
1930 | Kingsland Athletic | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 129 | 166 | -37 | 9 | Sixth (Eight) |
1918-27, 1929–30 | Total | 141 | 60 | 6 | 75 | 1748 | 2127 | -379 | 126 |
Norton Cup (B Division)
Season | Name | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Position (Teams) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1928 | Grafton Athletic | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 145 | 69 | +76 | 22 | First (Seven) |
Roope Rooster (knock out competition)
Season | Name | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1918 | Maritime | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 25 | Lost the final to City Rovers 6-3
|
1919 | Maritime | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 35 | Lost the final to Newton Rangers 8-5
|
1920 | Maritime | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 23 | Lost the final to Newton Rangers 12-6
|
1921 | Maritime | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 57 | 55 | Lost the final to City Rovers 30-14
|
1922 | Athletic | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 30 | Lost the final to Ponsonby United 11-10 |
1923 | Athletic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 21 | Lost in R1 to Devonport United 21-16 |
1924 | Athletic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 31 | Lost semi-final to City Rovers 29-11
|
1925 | Athletic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 50 | Lost in R1 to Ponsonby United 50-23 |
1926 | Grafton Athletic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 29 | Lost in R1 to Marist Old Boys 29-10 |
1927 | Grafton Athletic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 27 | Lost in R1 to Ponsonby United |
1929 | Kingsland Athletic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | Lost in R1 to Marist Old Boys 9-3 |
1930 | Kingsland Athletic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 30 | Lost in R1 to City Rovers 31-13
|
1918-27, 1929–30 | Total | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 300 | 365 |
Stallard Cup (B Division knock out competition)
Season | Name | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1928 | Grafton Athletic | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 35 | Lost the final to Point Chevalier 15-13 |
Representative players
New Zealand players (with appearances whilst members of the Maritime club)
- Bert Avery 1919-27 (53)
- John Lang 1919 (2)
- Eric Grey 1920 (2)
- Ernie Herring 1920-27 (37)
- Bill Te Whata 1924 (1)
- Craddock Dufty 1924-26 (32)
- Wilson Hall 1925 (6)
Auckland players (with appearances whilst members of the Maritime club)
- George Davidson 1918-19 (6)
- A Sutton 1919 (1)
- Bert Avery 1919-26 (17)
- George Yardley 1919-23 (6)
- Cargill 1919 (1)
- A Cross 1919 (1)
- Jim Brien 1920 (1)
- Eric Grey 1920-22 (7)
- Mike Flynn 1921-22 (7)
- John Lang 1921 (4)
- Ivan Littlewood 1921 (1)
- John McGregor 1921 (2)
- Neil Ballantyne 1921 (2)
- M Clark 1921 (2)
- Craddock Dufty 1922-26 (13)
- Charles "Snow" Webb 1922-23 (3)
- Jack McGregor 1922-23 (3)
- Wilson Hall 1923 (3)
- Ernie Herring 1924-26 (3)
- J Molloy 1925 (1)
- Bill Te Whata 1925 (1)
- Len Mason 1925 (1)
- George Raynor 1926 (1)
- Claude List 1929-30 (4)
- Robert (Bob) Carter 1929-30 (4)
Other
- Jim O'BrienMaritime: 1920–21, New Zealand: 1925, Auckland: 1923-27 (21), North Island 1927 (1)
Club titles
First grade side
- 1920 Monteith Shield (First grade champions)
- 1928 Norton Cup (B division champions)
Lower grades
- 1918 Fourth grade champions (this was the Post & Telegraph club who became affiliated with Maritime in 1919)
- 1922 Sixth grade B champions
- 1923 Sixth grade B champions
- 1924 Sixth grade A champions
- 1926 Third grade open champions, and Second grade knockout competition winners
- 1927 Third grade open knockout competition winners
- 1930 Third grade intermediate (as Kingsland Athletic - amalgamated side)
Top point scorers and try scorers (1918-1930)
The point scoring lists are compiled from matches played in the first grade championship, Roope Rooster, Phelan Shield and Stormont Shield matches which involved all first grade sides. It does not include additional one off type matches such as those against non-Auckland teams or charity matches. It also does not include points in the B Division.
Rank | Player | Start | End | Games | Tries | Con | Pen | DG | Mk | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Craddock Dufty | 1922 | 1926 | 52 | 24 | 65 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 252 |
2 | Bert Avery | 1919 | 1927 | 95 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 153 |
3 | Eric Grey | 1919 | 1922 | - | 28 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 146 |
4 | George Yardley | 1919 | 1924 | - | 21 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 99 |
5 | George Davidson | 1918 | 1919 | 21 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 78 |
6 | John (Jack) McGregor | 1921 | 1927 | - | 21 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 69 |
7 | Ernie Herring | 1920 | 1927 | 68 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 |
8 | A Sutton | 1918 | 1920 | - | 13 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 59 |
9 | Ivan Littlewood | 1921 | 1922 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 |
10 | Ralph Longville | 1927 | 1930 | - | 2 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 52 |
11 | Joe Hadley | 1924 | 1925 | - | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
12 | Claude List | 1929 | 1930 | 29 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 |
13 | R Lucas | 1926 | 1930 | - | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
14 | Robert (Bob) Carter | 1929 | 1930 | - | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
15 | John Lang | 1919 | 1925 | 34 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 31 |
References
- ^ "Auckland Rugby League/Meeting Of Committee". Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 86. 11 April 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Maritime". Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 99. 26 April 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Preliminary Matches". New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16836. 29 May 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "North Shore V. Maritime". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LV, no. 16842. 6 May 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Competition Continued/Newton V Ponsonby/City V Maritime". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LV, no. 16848. 13 May 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "Cup Matches Begin/City V Maritime". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LV, no. 16854. 20 May 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ "Under League Rules". New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16845. 9 May 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Under League Rules/Maritime Defeats Grafton". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LV, no. 16932. 19 August 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ "The Roope Rooster Contest/Maritime Wins Semi-Final". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LV, no. 16938. 26 August 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "Auckland Defeats Canterbury/Forty-Five Points to Nine". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LV, no. 16956. 16 September 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "In Memorium". Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 277. 21 November 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Northern Union Notes". Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 60. 11 April 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Maritime Club". Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 62. 13 March 1919. p. 8. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Roope Rooster Competition/Final Won by Newton/Game Played in Downpour". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVI, no. 17253. 1 September 1919. p. 4. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ ""Star" V. "Herald"". Auckland Star. Vol. L, no. 231. 29 September 1919. p. 8. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ "Maritime Defeats Petane". Auckland Star. Vol. L, no. 241. 10 October 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
- ^ "Maritime Team's Tour". Auckland Star. Vol. L, no. 243. 13 October 1919. p. 9. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
- ^ "Roope Rooster Final/Newton Defeat Maritime/Newton V Maritime". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVII, no. 17580. 20 September 1920. p. 7. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ "The Roope Rooster/Maritime 10, Marist OB 8". Auckland Star. Vol. LII, no. 169. 18 July 1921. p. 7. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
- ^ "Roope Rooster Competition/Maritime Defeats Marist/Fast and Exciting Game". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVIII, no. 17860. 15 August 1921. p. 7. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
- ^ "Knock-out Semi-Final/Maritime Beats Firemen/After An Interesting Game". Auckland Star. Vol. LII, no. 211. 5 September 1921. p. 7. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
- ^ "Roope Rooster Final/Victory For City Team/Fast and Exciting Game". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVIII, no. 17902. 3 October 1921. p. 7. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "First Game on Carlaw Park/City Defeats Maritime/An Exciting Contest". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVIII, no. 17818. 27 June 1921. p. 9. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "Maritime Annual Report/Change Of Name And colours". Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 43. 21 February 1922. p. 7. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Roope Rooster Final/Ponsonby Defeat Athletics/Closely Contested Game". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LIX, no. 18210. 2 September 1922. p. 5. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "City Defeat Athletic". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LX, no. 18482. 20 September 1923. p. 4. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- ^ "City Defeat Athletic". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LX, no. 18488. 27 August 1923. p. 4. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- ^ "Grafton Athletic Club". Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 86. 13 April 1926. p. 11. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Athletic Club". Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 67. 20 March 1926. p. 16. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Ellerslie's Good Exhibition". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXIV, no. 19745. 19 September 1927. p. 13. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ "Roope Rooster Competition/The Semi-final Replay/Ponsonby Defeats Newton". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXV, no. 20065. 1 October 1928. p. 14. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "Roope Rooster Final". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXV, no. 20071. 8 October 1928. p. 14. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "Unity Is Strength/Grafton and Kingsland Amalgamated". Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 85. 11 April 1929. p. 14. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Kingsland Athletic Club". Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 83. 9 April 1929. p. 12. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Another Senior Club/Kingsland Athletic Admitted". Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 91. 18 April 1929. p. 15. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Kingsland's Position". Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 36. 12 February 1931. p. 18. Retrieved 19 July 2021.