WAITEMATA RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB HISTORY

The real beginnings of the the Waitemata Rugby Football Club go back more than 100 years to 1888 or thereabouts, when the first known Henderson Rugby team took the field against a team from a visiting ship.

Inter district competition began shortly after this and thrived to see new clubs established at Oratia, Hobsonville, Waimauku and Swanson until 1926 when the need to participate within the Auckland Rugby Union competition was recognised. In March 1927 a meeting of the Western clubs, with the exception of Oratia, decided to amalgamate and form a new club called Waitemata

Colours adopted were those of Henderson, black jersey with two hoops of red and green and black shorts. This design was subsequently changed in 1949 by deleting the broad bands and creating the pattern which exists today.

In its first season, Waitemata fielded teams in the Auckland Senior B competition and three junior grades and jointly with Penrose won the third grade open grade championship.

During these early years home ground was Henderson Domain where, due to the lack of facilities players used to wash in the nearby Opanuku stream after the game. The war years almost saw the club in recess but one third grade team was maintained to keep the name of the club alive.

After the war, a vigorous committee, and a great deal of hard work and toil by club members raised sufficient funds to purchase a paddock in Henderson and in 1947, Waitemata's first ground, Smythe Park named after the previous owner was officially opened. The first game on the park was a Senior B match between Suburbs and Waitemata, won by Suburbs.

Smythe Park was home until 1951 when encroaching industrial development prompted the club to seek and purchase Waitemata Park, a magnificent 17 acre site formerly owned by Mr FC Platt senior. Smythe Park was sold for a huge sum of £8,500 although play continued on that ground until two years later. With the sale of roadway sections for housing the club owned Waitemata Park debt free and embarked on a major fund raising project to place first class training and social facilities on the ground.

In 1955 Waitemata won promotion to Senior A for the first time and three years later made history by winning the Gallaher Shield. 1958 also saw the selection of the club's first All Black, Adrian Clarke. In 1962 and 1975 the club again won the Gallaher Shield along with the Alan McEvoy Trophy, and the team enjoyed an unbeaten record in 1962.

On 19 June 1962, the president of the Auckland Rugby Union, Mr M.N. Corner, declared the Waitemata Club Rooms open.

In 1968 the club's grandstand was opened, and the club continued to make fund raising a priority with the aim of extending the club rooms to cater for an increasing number of members.
The culmination of lots of hard work by dedicated rugby enthusiasts came on October 7, 1973 when the president of the New Zealand Rugby Union Mr L. Byers, declared the new facilities open.

In 1981 a fire damaged the club rooms, but undaunted, the club not only restored the rooms but made improvements to its facilities which are today amongst the best available for social gatherings. Not surprising that training and playing facilities have received the same determined and successful effort to install the very best of player facilities.

Night training lighting had been installed over the years but it was a dream of the club to install lighting on its number one ground. With the same sort of vigorous enterprise Waitemata Rugby Club members and committee set out on a crash programme to install full night lighting and this was achieved in 1985. The project has been financed by loans from the Auckland Rugby Union and the Western Community Foundation, together with a substantial amount of funds raised through the club's fund raising activities.

From a most humble beginning and through good times and bad, Waitemata has developed into one of New Zealand's biggest Rugby clubs with current assets over one million dollars. It now has arguably the best floodlit rugby ground if not in New Zealand then certainly in Auckland.

WAITEMATA RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

FOUNDED 1927

COLOURS
Black with one broad band of red and two narrow green bands
white shorts black socks with green top.

Memories of Frank Ross Jnr
1927 - 1955

1927
Henderson and Swanson combined to be called Waitemata.
President: H.A (Arney) Robertson.
Secretary: A.E. (Albert) Mettam.
Headquarters: Redwood Park, Swanson. (Owned by Arney).
Colours: Red, green and black.

The colours of Waitemata Breweries by consent, who donated a five gallon keg of beer every year, for many years. Players of note were Jack Colvin, later to become an ARU referee and Mayor of Henderson and Chairman of the Waitemata County Council. Frank Ross Snr, who played for Grafton and represented both Waikato and Auckland in the Junior Reps.

Four of the Guy brothers, Ted, Bob, Alan and Tom, to be followed later by a 15 stone brother, Ernie, who became captain of the senior team in the 1950's and is the father of Ritchie Guy, All Black and chairman of the NZRFU. He started his football career at Waitemata before the family moved to Waipu, Northland.

Others who came in, but not in order:
Constable brothers, Max and Bruce. Holt brothers, Stan, Cliff and Bert who were the sons of the headmaster of Henderson Primary School. Joe Taylor, Merv Waugh, Ned Wilson, George Mettam, Reg Adams, Al Hall, Harold Thompson, Reg Sinton, Harold Perkins, Ernie Buchanan, Tiny Sowtar, (Capt, 1931), Gordon Millward, (drop kick expert), Sam Dufty, (A top class fullback).

1931
Waitemata won the Third Grade Championship in 1931, jointly, with Penrose. The first Championship won by the club. In 1933 a lot of new faces started to appear with Oratia pulling out of the competition.

Cyril Nola, a very tough Dalmatian, along with Wally Reber and Frank Ross formed a very formidable front row; with the Sullivan brothers, Les and Stan at half back and first five eight, an excellent inside combination was formed.

Other well known members of this team were Len French, George Bussey, Tom and Bill Page, Harry Moore, Ray McDonald, Arthur Barton and a first class goal kicker in Paul Hintz.

1933
Four members, Larry Wilson, Cliff and Bert Holt and Frank Ross formed the Piha Surf Club, using the Waitemata colours of red, green and black.

1935
The club changed venue to the Plummer Domain in Henderson, as the HSN soccer club, who had been using it was finished. Training was done in the old apple coolstore building which is now Apple & Pear Board land - (demolished when the APB took over). The building was about 40 metres long and 15 metres wide with loads of sawdust for indoor practice.

1936
In 1936, it was decided to enter a junior boys team in the intermediate grade. This team had several players who went on to play for the club after the war. It was coached by Bill Williams and managed by Bill Pickering. In its second year, the team won the Bert Palmer Memorial Cup and it was presented to them at Eden Park before the All Black - Springbok text in 1937. Names of the players were Ron Groves, Des Hallas & Frank Ross.