SUBURBS HISTORY    1918-23

Courtesy of the 75th Jubilee Booklet assembled by Geoff Stacey

'PRE-SUBURBS' BEGINNINGS  (1916-17)

A farmers paddock... a few 16 year old boys... toss in a football, and suddenly Suburbs is underway. It all began way back in 1916, on farmer Whittens' paddock at the corner of Titirangi Road and Great North Road. A few of the local boys, with a real keenness to have a go at this rugby game, got together a team to play the club from over the hill at Waikumete. The result turned out to be a 6-8 loss, but New Lynn challenged again for a return match on the home paddock. They ran out 18-6 winners in this their only other game of that first year.

Enthusiasm grew with the boys and they now had a football per courtesy of Mr Whitten - and they decided to enter the A.R.U. championships in the next season. 1917 saw Tommy Atkins return from the A.R.U. annual meeting with the message that "an organised club, with a president, a secretary, and a treasurer all under the wing of a Senior club would have to be formed." Back to the paddock. Here Mr A. Seabrook was duly elected president, Mr Phil Seabrook secretary/treasurer and the club was called the "New Lynn Rugby Football Club" under the sponsorship of the Railway Club. Headquarters for training were the farm paddocks when fine, and Mr Seabrook's cowshed when it rained. The Club fielded one 4th grade team, resplendent in a black jersey with a white star on the left shoulder.