Grafton Athletic

Grafton Athletic was a rugby league club in Auckland. The players competed from 1914 to 1920 as Grafton Athletic, and as Fire Brigade in 1921–22 before they folded.

Grafton Athletic
Club information
Full nameGrafton Athletic
ColoursBlack and White
Founded1914
Exited1922
Former details
Ground(s)
  • Victoria Park
  • Auckland Domain
  • Carlaw Park
CompetitionAuckland Rugby League
Records
Premierships1915
Minor premiership1915

Club history

Formation

Grafton were formed to compete in the 1914 Auckland Rugby League season. Their first ever annual meeting was held on March 27 of that year.[1] Its first president was Mr. J. Endean and international Karl Ifwersen was on its committee as well as being its star player in its early years. They wore black and white uniforms. Ifwersen was said to be instrumental in the forming of the club. He had played for North Shore Albions the previous season after switching from rugby to league. The NZ Herald indeed stated "Ifwersen has been very busy for some time past organising the Grafton Club, which he formed practically by himself, and of which he is now the energetic secretary".[2] Like many of the clubs at the time they did not have their own ground per se and played the majority of their matches at Victoria Park with some at the Auckland Domain before the creation of Carlaw Park as the headquarters of Auckland Rugby League.

Playing record and lone title

In their first season (1914) they came 4th with a 3 win and 6 loss record. In 1915 they won the senior championship with a 7 win, 1 draw, and 2 loss record. They defeated City Rovers in the final 10 points to 5 in front of 4000 spectators at Victoria Park.[3] They were led by the talented Karl Ifwersen who was the competition's top point scorer and Dougie McGregor. George Iles who later went on to play for New Zealand also played for Grafton in this 1915 season. Bob Mitchell played with them from 1914 to 1919 after transferring from City Rovers during the 1914 season. Ifwersen top scored in the senior competition in the 1914, 15, and 16 seasons. The 1915 win was to be their only title. Ernie Herring transferred from rugby in 1919 and was to play for them for two seasons before departing for the Maritime club. Another Kiwi, Charles Woolley also spent three years playing for them from 1920 to 1922. In the remainder of the decade they struggled to be competitive and some years defaulted matches. In 1921 they asked for permission to change their name to "Fire Brigade Club".[4] They did not fare any better under their new name and finished last with a 1 win and 7 loss record in 1921 and again came last in 1922. This was to be the last year that the Grafton Athletic/Fire Brigade club played.

In the mid 1920s the Maritime club which had changed its name to Athletic took on the name Grafton Athletic before they eventually amalgamated with Kingsland and then Marist Old Boys and ceased to exist as a stand-alone club.

The Grafton Athletic/Fire Brigade club finished after 9 seasons in the first grade competition with a 22 win, 1 draw, 59 loss all-time record, scoring 715 points and conceding 1,335.

References
  1. "Grafton Athletic Club". The New Zealand Herald. LI (15569). 28 March 1914. p. 10. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  2. "Under League Rules/Notes and Comments". The New Zealand Herald. LI (15601). 6 May 1914. p. 5. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  3. "Grafton Wins Competition". The New Zealand Herald. LII (15985). 2 August 1915. p. 4. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  4. "The Management Committee". LVIII (17755). The Management Committee. 14 March 1921. p. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
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