Have there ever been more dramatic circumstances than those which led to rugby league restarting in Dunedin a century ago?
An Otago team under the old name of Northern Union Rules played Southland in both Dunedin and Invercargill in 1908. Attempts to block the new code by the Otago Rugby Football Union and negative media coverage of this new "professional" game proved too much and, by the end of that year, the code finished up in Dunedin.
The genesis of the rebirth of rugby league in Otago was actually in Christchurch, where Canterbury Rugby League president Dr Henry Thacker talked about introducing the game to Ashburton, Timaru, Dunedin and Invercargill.
Canterbury made the first attempt to bring the touring English team to Dunedin.
In June 1924, it requested the ORFU grant it the use of either one of its main rugby grounds, Carisbrook or the Caledonian. The ORFU rejected that, stating the match would only serve as a propaganda tool for its rival code.
So, the New Zealand Rugby League — under main organiser Harry Millard — tried its luck.
Dunedin land agent and long-serving sports administrator Harry Divers also became involved.
A well-liked and hard-working promoter of Otago sports, Divers had been involved with the Otago centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Federation, the Dunedin coursing club and the Otago Boxing Association. He also founded the Otago Wrestling Association, was the first secretary of the Dunedin Whippet Club, and owned racehorses.
On July 20, the two Harrys announced that the third test between the Kiwis and England would be played in Dunedin on August 9, despite the ORFU’s further refusal to have the game played on their grounds.
Newspaper editorials strongly backed rugby union, and so did the Dunedin City Council in successfully blocking Forbury Park and Culling Park as venues.
The society wanted to grant this request, but it required the consent of the ORFU, which set up a special sub-committee to deal with the issue.
The Evening Star reported the next day that the ORFU had approved the A&P society’s request to lease the ground, in return for the league paying a £75 "legal expense" to them, in addition to the £40 asked by the society.
The new board was naturally not happy with this, and with the issue being widely covered by the newspapers of the day, the Dunedin public’s sympathy went to the 13-a-side code.
The league test went ahead on August 9 with a crowd of 12,000-15,000 going to Tahuna Park, while the ORFU, rather pettily, held a provincial rugby game at Carisbrook on the same day which attracted a crowd of 7000.
Played in "perfect" weather at Tahuna Park, the league test was a "swift and spectacular display" as a result of minimal kicks at goal and no lineouts slowing down the game, the Otago Daily Times reported.
Following the 31-18 win by England, the aftermatch function was held in the Savoy Lounge with many toasts and speeches made.
The mayor of St Kilda noted it was unfortunate that they had not been met by their rivals — rugby — in the proper spirit, while Harry Millard felt that "all’s well and ends well" and he was now looking forward to the development of the Otago Rugby League.
His remark became prophetic as, within only a few years, five league clubs — Christian Brothers, City, Kaitangata, Kaikorai and Pacific — had all been established, while five local players were picked for the Kiwis. There was also a second test for Dunedin, again between the Kiwis and England, in 1928.
By this stage, the ORL had become an extremely rich body as a result of founding the Art Union Lottery, even at one stage lending the NZRL £820 to keep it out of the red, following the disastrous Kiwis tour of England in 1926.
However, with a combination of negative publicity, the early death of Divers in 1933, the Depression and fewer players playing the code, the ORL went into recess in February 1935.
It was to be 18 years before league restarted in Dunedin in 1953.
