By WRL Historian Carey Clements

In knowing they will not advance any further around higher selections, the club Grand Final could be seen as the ultimate accolade for some players.

It is a time for two separate teams to meet for the last time that year and as a way of showing why they their club should come away with the champion’s title in that particular grade.

All the hard work shown at midweek training on cold winter nights along with white board and possibly video sessions, brings together a united team, so that when it comes to that last day, they know that like an Army, their long campaign, will finally and hopefully bear victory.

As a result, raw emotion is never far away when the final whistle or hooter is sounded as tears of joy or tears of despair, will soon be let out either while a face is underneath a playing jersey or is later let out, when players return to their changing rooms.

50 years ago in 1974, the Upper Hutt Rugby League Club had been in existence for 13 years, since its first ever team played in the senior second grade. The next six years saw rise of more teams and in 1970, was granted premier status.

The following year, former Kiwi and Upper Hutt premier player, Billy Harrison, took over the reins of the premier team. A fitness fanatic who had played eight representative years for Wellington, Harrison brought in a higher degree of professionalism into the club’s top side, starting off with a new change of colours to orange or tangerine as some referred it as.

The first two years under Harrison saw Upper Hutt finish in the mid table, with some admirable wins, but not in crucial games that were really needed to be taken.

1974 therefore seemed to be the year in which Upper Hutt could collect its first ever Appleton Shield title. It was also a year of innovation shown by the Wellington Rugby League with six night games being played under floodlights at the Basin Reserve, while an employed Manager at Rugby League Park, meant that the ground was looked after. Although league was not a regular televised game at the time, the WRL nevertheless did have the luxury of having five senior grades in premiers (eight teams), Senior First (nine), Senior Second (ten), Under 20’s (five) and Under 18’s (four).

During the season, there were some highlights such as Upper Hutt hosting a 7’s tournament, Victoria University holding a winter tournament, the late Joe Diamond being selected as coach of the New Zealand under-15 side which went to Australia, an inaugural NZ Police side playing a Wellington XIII, Matthews Park in Paraparaumu being acquired as a home ground for the newly established Gold Coast club, the renowned athletics coach Arthur Lydiard conducting a fitness training for coaches to learn from and even a Miss Wellington Rugby League competition being scheduled to coincide with the Quantas final.

There were however of course some down moments as well and in one instance on May the 25^th, the WRL Board of Control elected to make the Upper Hutt premier team default a game against Petone. Upon appeal however Upper Hutt won that case, as the WRL had not gone through the right communication channels. 

That vital communication was sadly lost just under four months later when in the lead up to the final, Upper Hutt and St George were scheduled to play each other in a semi final scheduled on Sunday September the 22^nd, with the winner going on to play Petone in the final the following Sunday.    

An Upper Hutt delegation of Jim and Oliver Weir approached the Wellington Board on Monday the 16^th of September about their objections to both the semis and final being played on Sundays, due to religious reasons.

As a result, the WRL Board agreed to St George-Upper Hutt semi to reschedule the game to now Saturday the 21^st of September. The outcome saw Upper Hutt win 15-12 and an advancement to the final.

However, when it all seemed that the final was going ahead on the Saturday, the WRL back tracked on its original decision and stuck to the original Grand Final date of Sunday September 30. A meeting between the WRL Board and the Upper Hutt Chairman Brian Vincent and Secretary Julia Tohiariki, occurred on September the 22^nd to tell of the revised date.

The Upper Hutt pair were infuriated at the decision for not only they did not want to play because on the Sunday because of religious reasons but had also planned a ball that Saturday night. As a result they dug their heals in and said they would have their side play on the Sunday before leaving the room.

After leaving the WRL meeting, the provincial body then unanimously agreed that Upper Hutt ‘will have until 8pm tonight to play on Sunday the 22^nd of September to inform the Secretary whether or not they would play the fixture. If not the game would be awarded to Petone by default.”

Both Vincent and Tohiariki were called back and told this, while Bernie Wood the WRL Secretary contacted both the Auckland and Canterbury leagues, for an alternative game, should the final not go ahead.

The following night on Monday the 23^rd of September, the WRL met again, which resulted in Wood announcing that the Auckland Rugby League had allowed Ponsonby to travel to Wellington and take on Petone for a champion of champions final with a guarantee that Ponsonby would be guaranteed at least $700.00 for the game.

Vincent (who had played league for Otago in 1965) meantime told the Evening Post on the Tuesday night that, ‘we have not defaulted the grand final game. Constitutionally we are not required to play the game on a Sunday and as the board have not offered another date, we have no choice but to take legal action to get the matter sorted out.”

The weekend saw Petone win the Grand Final by default before then beating Ponsonby 28-8 in what was deemed the Quantas final. Still believing they had a fight on their hands, Upper Hutt kept their word and took the WRL to court. After being outlined both sides, the court ruled in favour of the WRL Board, although the Judge found that remits were binding. As a result, Upper Hutt were reimbursed court costs, while the WRL Chair, Jim Adams, was reimbursed $21 for a day’s loss of wages, in needing to attend the court case, in the interests of league.

Petone was awarded $700 for their win, and Waterside was awarded $50 for coming fourth. Both Upper Hutt and St George had their prize money withheld until a later date.

And so came to a strange end to a Wellington club season from 50 years ago, where there was ultimately a winner, but not done in the way they would have liked to have earned their victory. In this case, common sense did not come across and this meant also that Upper Hutt had to wait a further five years, before they finally could claim their first premier grand final title.   

Article added: Thursday 04 July 2024