Raurimu rugby team in 1907

The Raurimu (north end of the Main Trunk Line) rugby team which played Ohakune (south end) at Kakahi, near Taumarunui, in 1907. The match ended 3-all. The original photo identified the players by their occupation rather than their position in the team. Standing at back, from left: Reidy (foreman), Lawson (fireman), C.J. McKenzie (assistant engineer), ‘Mack’ Hicky (overseer), P. Keller (assistant engraver), Manson (overseer). Kneeling and sitting, from left: Par Clarkin (carting contractor), Frank McKay (schoolteacher), E.G. Beale (chief clerk), John Wood (assistant engineer), Stan Vaile (storekeeper), G.G. Wilson (engineer cadet), Tom O’Brien (clerk) and Harold Hewbell (chairman).

Despite the formation of a national rugby union in 1892, rugby in many parts of the country continued to be a fairly ad hoc affair. There was an attempt in 1907 to organise players in this part of the country into a Main Trunk Union, but the NZRFU failed to approve its formation. In 1922 the King Country Rugby Football Union combined a number of smaller sub-unions in the central North Island into a single union affiliated to the NZRFU.