To mark the occasion of :-
Bledisloe Cup 2015: Australia v New Zealand, ANZ Stadium in Sydney Aug 8th
Last year, 2014, marks the 120th anniversary of the death of George Maber, one of the very first All Black Rugby players . He was to play his first All Blacks game at Christchurch in 1894. Bearing in mind that the name ‘All Blacks’ wasn’t coined till 11 years later.
In 1894 George Maber was to travel to Coolgardie but nothing is known as to why he decided to come to Western Australia. Perhaps to try his luck at the diggings. He left behind all his family and friends and a promising career with the Petone Rugby Club.
George was to become an All Black on the 15th Sept 1894 and tragically was to die on the 18th December 1894, in Coolgardie Western Australia, from typhoid, less than three months later aged only 25yrs.
Maber was born in Kaiapoi, north of Christchurch on the 2nd Nov 1869. He is the second earliest sportsman to be remembered with a plaque on the Jackson Street walk of fame.George Maber has a special place in the history of Wellington’s famous Petone Rugby Club. He was described as a very, aggressive loose forward weighing in at only 78kgs,
His representative rugby was from Petone. He was in the Wellington representative side in J89S-94 and in the latter year was in the side which beat the NSW tourists 9-5. One week later for the unofficial “test” In Christchurch his display for Wellington won him a spot in the New Zealand after an original selection, Wairarapa’s Billy Watson, withdrew.
Full details can be read at:- http://archive.is/SiyZu
Original All Black Team 1893 in Christchurch.
George Maber is buried in the Wesleyan section of the Coolgardie Cemetery, he has no headstone, just a number marker. He is just one of the nearly 1500 young men under 30 who are buried there. I would like to think that some of the All Black fans might like to place something on his final resting place to remember him to those who come in the future.
Moya Sharp
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That’s a really interesting fact about this amazing man. Initially I thought it might have been an indigenous person you were writing about. Have we much information about early indigenous players in Rugby? If at all?
Hi Janet
There doesnt seem to be much on any Aboriginal rugby players prior to 1960’s. This page names several:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Australian_Aboriginal_rugby_league_team_players
I did a story today on cricket and covered the first team to travel to England to play was an all Aboriginal team.
bye for now Moya