1888–1889 New Zealand Native football team

The 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand rugby union team that toured Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889.

It mostly comprised players of Māori ancestry, but also included some Pākehā (white New Zealanders). A wholly private endeavour, the tour was not under the auspices of any official rugby authority; it was organised by New Zealand international player Joseph Warbrick, promoted by public servant Thomas Eyton, and managed by James Scott, a publican. The Natives were the first New Zealand team to perform a haka, and also the first to wear all black. They played 107 rugby matches during the tour, as well as a small number of Victorian Rules football and association football matches in Australia. Having made a significant impact on the development of New Zealand rugby, the Natives were inducted into the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame in 2008.

After a preliminary tour of New Zealand in 1888, the side travelled to England via Melbourne and Suez. The Māori players initially provoked curiosity due to their race, but the British press subsequently expressed some surprise that the side was not as “Māori” as they had expected. Playing their first match, on 3 October against Surrey, the team was subjected to a taxing match schedule, and frequently played three matches per week. Their early matches included a 9–0 loss to Middlesex, but their form improved in November, when they won 10 of their 13 matches. The team played its first international match on 1 December, against Ireland, and won 13–4. This was followed by a win over one of the strongest English county teams, Yorkshire, and a 5–0 defeat against the Wales national team. By January 1889 the Natives had played 36 matches in less than three months, winning 22 of them; they had spent most of their time in the north of England, where the playing strength was strongest and the crowds largest and most profitable.

In a return match on 19 January, Yorkshire fielded a stronger side than in the first match and inflicted one of the Natives’ heaviest losses, a 16–4 defeat. The team then went undefeated until 16 February, when they faced England. Officials of the strictly amateur Rugby Football Union (RFU) had become increasingly concerned at the behaviour of the New Zealanders, regarding them as unsportsmanlike, and tensions reached a nadir in the aftermath of the England international, during which the RFU secretary George Rowland Hill, refereeing the game, awarded a number of controversial tries to England, prompting three of the Natives to temporarily leave the field in protest; England eventually won 7–0. The Natives apologised afterwards for their behaviour, but the damage was not repaired. The New Zealanders left England without an official send-off, and travelled to Australia where they toured Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. They then returned to New Zealand, where they displayed a level of combination not seen in their home country before. They went 31 games undefeated before losing their final match, on 24 August 1889, 7–2 to Auckland.

The Natives’ final record in rugby matches was 78 wins, 6 draws and 23 losses. They introduced a number of tactical innovations to New Zealand rugby on their return home, and their tour contributed to the formation of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 1892. Seventeen of the team’s 26 players went on to play provincially in New Zealand, and two, Thomas Ellison and David Gage, subsequently captained the New Zealand national rugby team.

Background

The idea for assembling a team of Māori footballers to tour Britain was conceived by Joseph Warbrick, a rugby player who had toured with the first New Zealand national team in 1884. He initially proposed a team of Māori or part-Māori to play the touring British side in 1888; this developed into a venture to have a Māori team tour Britain if a preliminary tour of New Zealand were successful. Hearing of Warbrick’s plans, public servant Thomas Eyton contacted him to offer help managing the tour, which Warbrick accepted. When James Scott, a publican, subsequently joined the partnership, the three men decided that Warbrick would be the team’s captain, Scott its manager and Eyton its promoter.

Warbrick started assembling a team for the tour in early 1888. He had difficulties assembling a squad due to player availability, and failed to secure the talented Jack Taiaroa due to his university commitments. Some Māori players who initially agreed to play later pulled out when the eligibility criteria were relaxed to allow squad members who were only part-Māori. Twenty Māori or part-Māori players joined the squad; five Pākehā (white New Zealand) players were added after the team lost to Auckland. Due to the inclusion of these Pākehā players the team was renamed from the “New Zealand Maori” to the “New Zealand Native Football Representatives”. The final squad comprised 26 players (including Warbrick); of these at least five were full-blooded Māori, while fourteen had a Māori mother and a Pākehā father. The parentage of some of the players is unknown.

The team toured New Zealand before departing overseas, playing against Hawke’s Bay, Auckland, Nelson, Wellington, Canterbury, South Canterbury, and Otago. The first game was contested against Hawke’s Bay in Napier on 23 June 1888. They played nine games in their preliminary tour of New Zealand, and won seven of them. Their last New Zealand match before departure, against Otago played in Dunedin on 31 July 1888, was won by one try to nil.

The team sailed for Australia from Dunedin, leaving on 1 August 1888. In Melbourne, Scott recruited Jack Lawlor to train the players in Victorian Rules football in Britain as preparation for possible Victorian Rules matches on their return to Australia. The team played two rugby matches against the Melbourne Rugby Union team, winning the first and drawing the second, before continuing to Britain via Suez. They arrived in London on 27 September 1888.

Arrival in England and early matches

The team were met in Britain by local rugby administrators, including an official of England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU). The first match of the tour was against Surrey, where the team became the first New Zealand side to perform a haka, and also the first to wear an all black uniform. That the team was predominantly Māori provoked curiosity from the British press – at the time, most Britons had not seen non-white people – but there was some surprise that the team were not as “Māori” as had been expected. “They are not unlike Europeans,” a Scottish reporter wrote in November 1888; “that is their resemblance is great when one remembers that they were a savage tribe no further back than a generation”. The Surrey match, which was refereed by the RFU secretary George Rowland Hill, was won 4–1 by the Natives after they scored two tries.

The Natives next defeated both Northamptonshire and Kent, before defeats by Moseley and Burton-on-Trent. Both defeats were unexpected, and in the Moseley match, injuries played a part – the tourists played most of the match at least two men down, as replacements were then not allowed. The team recovered to win their next game, against Midlands Counties in Birmingham. Their next fixture was against Middlesex in a match not open to the public, and hosted by the Earl of Sheffield at Sheffield Park, Uckfield. The Middlesex side contained a number of international players, including Arthur Gould. Middlesex won easily, with the Natives play characterised by poor tackling. The final score was 9–0, with three tries conceded by the New Zealanders. Prior to the match both sides had enjoyed lunch with wine – an indulgence the Natives were not used to. A report in the Auckland Star had this to say of the game:

The New Zealanders expected to meet a mere exhibition 15 of scratch players, whereas Mr Rowland Hill had carefully collected the best possible team available. Such ” passing ” as the Home men displayed the Maoris frankly admit they have never previously witnessed. Said McCausland whilst we were on the platform waiting for the London train, “I think they would have just beaten us, even if we had been in good form.”

Following the match against Middlesex, the team travelled to the north, where the strongest English rugby teams were based. Yorkshire and Lancashire dominated the county championship until many of their respective member clubs split from the RFU in 1895 over the issue of “broken time” payments. The New Zealanders lost to Hull F.C. 1–0, defeated Dewsbury, then lost to Wakefield Trinity. After their first draw of the tour (against Northumberland County) they defeated Stockton-on-Tees and Tynemouth. Joe Warbrick appeared in the match against Tynemouth, but aggravated the foot injury that had kept him out of the side until that point. These victories were followed by a 13–4 defeat to Halifax on 10 November. The team then won seven matches in a row, including one against Hawick RFC, their only Scottish opposition of the tour. The last two matches that month were a loss to Swinton and a 9–0 victory over Liverpool and District. The team had played thirteen fixtures during November and won ten of them. By this point, the team was beset by injuries – of the fifteen players that played against Westmorland County on 24 November, five had injuries. The squad comprised only 26 players, and the tourists were often struggling to field a side. Nevertheless, their heavy schedule continued; on 30 November 1888 they left for Dublin, where a match had been organised against the Ireland national team.

Ireland, further English matches, and Wales

The Ireland fixture was played at Lansdowne Road, Dublin, on 1 December 1888. Both teams had a number of leading players out injured – the Irish were forced to make four changes to their original selection. Ireland led 3–0 at half-time after scoring a converted try, but the Natives improved considerably in the second-half, scoring four tries. Patrick Keogh scored the first two tries, and his play was praised by the local press. The third try scored was by Thomas Ellison after a counter-attack by George Williams. The try was not converted, but the strong finish from the New Zealanders gave the visitors a 13–4 victory. The Irish press were surprised by the loss and strongly criticised their team, but Ireland did go on to defeat Wales two tries to nil in the 1889 Home Nations Championship. Following their defeat of Ireland, the Natives played Trinity College and then North of Ireland. The match against Trinity College was drawn 4–4, and despite Keogh not playing, the Native side played much better than their previous fixture. The team then travelled to Belfast, where they defeated North of Ireland 2–0 on 5 December; scoring two tries to nil.

After returning to England, the Natives faced Lancashire in Manchester, where they lost 1–0. Two days later they drew with Batley Bulldogs, despite their opposition scoring five tries. Their next match was against Yorkshire, who were one of the strongest counties in the country, and went on to win the inaugural County Championship that season. Yorkshire fielded a weakened team, and were subsequently defeated 10–6 by the Natives, who scored six tries. After a further two victories, the team travelled to Wales, where they lost 3–0 to Llanelli, before facing Wales on 22 December.

At the start of the match the home crowd were fairly hostile towards the Welsh team due to fans of both Swansea and Llanelli feeling slighted by the lack of selection of their players. Four teams dominated Welsh international selection at the time, and out of the 15-man team only William Towers and William Bowen of Swansea and Dan Griffiths of Llanelli had been selected. The match was played in Swansea, and the lack of local players may have contributed to a poor crowd, with gate receipts of only £120 recorded. The crowd’s hostility impacted on the players, and debutant Norman Biggs was “palpably nervous” at the start of the match. Biggs, aged 18 years and 49 days, became the youngest Welsh international player – a record he held until the debut of Tom Prydie in 2010. Despite the heckles aimed primarily at Biggs, Charlie Arthur and George Thomas, the Welsh team produced an excellent effort, especially from the forwards.

Towers scored the first Welsh try, which was converted by Jim Webb. The Natives replied with a spirited run by Ellison, but he failed to break through the Welsh defence. The tourists trailed even further after George Thomas scored a breakaway try from the half-way line, which went some way to silence the heckles from the crowd. Webb, playing in out of position at full-back, missed the conversion and then failed at a long distance goal from a mark. The Natives continued to push, with Elliot coming within five-yards of the try line, and when Ellison did manage to cross the line he was carried back into the 25-yard line before he could touch down. In the second half Wales continued to push their advantage when Alexander Bland dribbled the ball into the Natives’ 25; this was collected by Sydney Nicholls, who managed to get the ball across the try line, allowing Jim Hannan to score. Warbrick for the Natives and Stadden for Wales both subsequently came close to scoring tries, but there were no further scores in the game.

The match was also of historical importance because of the Welsh tactics employed. In the 1886 Home Nations Championship Wales had trialled the four three-quarter system, wherein the team would play with eight forwards rather than nine, and instead employ an extra centre three-quarter. The system was deemed a failure and was particularly unpopular with star Welsh player Arthur Gould, whose formidable ability as a back allowed his club team Newport to retain the additional forward. With Gould working in the West Indies, Wales again tried the four three-quarter system against the Natives, and its success saw the team permanently adopt the system. Within six years the other three Home Countries had adopted four three-quarter style of play.

Before they left Wales, the Natives played Swansea and two other local clubs, Newport, and Cardiff. They defeated Swansea for their first win in Wales, and followed this up with a victory over Newport in front of 8,000 spectators. They finished their Welsh matches, and the year, with a 4–1 loss to Cardiff in front of a partisan crowd.

Return to England

The side entered 1889 having played 36 matches for 22 wins and three draws. The Natives’ play had improved throughout November and December following poorer form in their October matches; positive press reports reflected this improvement. The team would go on to play a further 17 matches before their 16 February international against England. January started with a 4–1 loss to Bradford, during which 25 police officers were required to keep many of the 12,000 spectators, many of them non-paying, in order. This was followed by victories over Leeds Parish Church, Kirkstall, Brighouse Rangers, and Huddersfield. Following further matches against Stockport, Castleford, and Warrington, where the team drew, lost, then won, the side faced Yorkshire for a second time.

Yorkshire had been criticised in the press for fielding a weakened line-up against the Natives when the sides first met in December. After the unexpected loss, Yorkshire were determined to make amends and a strong side was selected for the county, including Fred Bonsor, Richard Lockwood and John Willie Sutcliffe, all of whom would appear for England against the Natives later that season. Described as “knocked about” and “stale”, the Natives struggled to compete against such strong opposition, and Yorkshire scored three converted tries before a try to Ellison left the scores at 9–1 at half-time. The second half was little better for the Natives; they conceded a further two tries as well as a drop-goal. The second of these tries was scored by Lockwood after he ran the ball from his own half. Ellison scored a converted try late in the match, but this didn’t prevent the Natives suffering their largest defeat of the tour: 16–4 to the Yorkshiremen. Ellison later described the match as “without a murmur, the biggest beating we received in our whole tour”.

After a victory over Spen Valley District, the team travelled west to play Somersetshire, Devonshire, Taunton, and Gloucestershire, and won all five games. The victory over Somerset was the New Zealanders’ largest of the tour; they scored nine tries in a 17–4 victory. Half-back Keogh played outstandingly for the Natives, while the entire side demonstrated superior passing and combination to their opposition. Devonshire and Tauton suffered heavy defeats by the New Zealanders, before a strong Gloucestershire side was dismissed. After defeating Midland Counties, the Natives returned to London.

The team had two further matches before their international against England. The first was against one of the strongest clubs in England, Blackheath. Andrew Stoddart, who had toured New Zealand and Australia with the 1888 British Isles side, played for the club in their 9–3 defeat to the Natives. The New Zealanders won having scored four tries, including two by Keogh. Their next opposition was a United Services side mainly comprising Royal Navy players. The Natives were again victorious, this time 10–0. The match against Oxford University was postponed due to heavy frost, and so the team had a seven-day break from playing – their longest of the tour.

Impact and legacy

The tour had a significant impact on the development of rugby within New Zealand. It was the first tour of the British Isles by a team from the Southern Hemisphere, and the longest in the history of the sport. By the time the Natives returned to New Zealand, they had developed into a side superior to any in the country, and introduced a number of tactical innovations. Seventeen of the 26 players went on to play provincially in New Zealand, and two, Ellison and David Gage, subsequently captained New Zealand.

The tour also prompted the eventual formation of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU, later renamed New Zealand Rugby Union) in 1892; one reason for its formation was to ensure greater control over any future touring New Zealand sides. The NZRFU sent an officially sanctioned New Zealand team, captained by Ellison, to tour Australia in 1893. The Natives are also the forefathers of the Māori All Blacks, a representative team organised by the NZRFU, that first played in 1910. The Native team, along with Joe Warbrick, was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2008 – the seventh inductee.

---

Squad

The squad consisted of 26 players. The exact names of several of the players is unknown. The number of matches played is a minimum number only – the line-ups for a number of matches in Britain and Australia are either incomplete or unknown.

Name	Position	Matches	Notes
William Anderson	Forward	58	played for Hokianga club
William Elliot	Half-back	86	played for Grafton club
Thomas Ellison	Forward	83
David Gage	Three-quarter	82
Charles Goldsmith	Three-quarter	35	also known as Taare Koropiti, educated at Te Aute College
Ihimaira Karaka	Forward	23	educated at Te Aute College
Wi Karauria	Forward	50	played for Nelson club
Patrick Keogh	Half-back	70
Harry Lee	Back	62	played for Riverton club
Charles Madigan	Three-quarter	50	played for Grafton club
Richard Maynard	Forward	54	played for North Shore club
Edward McCausland	Fullback & three-quarter	66
Wiri Nehua	Forward & three-quarter	18	educated at Te Aute College
Teo Rene	Forward	55	played for Nelson club
Heta Rewiti Stewart	Forward	52	also known as David Stewart or Heta Reweti Stewart
Richard “Dick” Taiaroa	Forward	85
Alfred Warbrick	Forward	16
Arthur Warbrick	Forward	67
Frederick Warbrick	Half-back	65
Joseph Warbrick	Three-quarter	21
William Warbrick	Fullback	59
Alexander Webster	Forward	45	also known as Sandy, played for Hokianga club
George Williams	Forward	75	also known as Bully
George Wynyard	Forward	63	also known as Sherry, played for North Shore club
Henry Wynyard	Half-back	22	also known as Pie, played for North Shore club
William Wynyard	Three-quarter	75	also known as Tabby

Notes on scoring:

• • For the rugby matches in the British Isles, Victoria, and New Zealand tries scored one point, conversions two points, and penalties and drop goals three points.
  • For the rugby matches in New South Wales tries scored three points, conversions two points, and drop goals four points.
  • For the rugby matches in Queensland tries scored two points, conversions three points, and drop goals four points.
  • For Victorian Rules matches the numbers in brackets under points scored states the goals, then behinds (goals/behinds).
  • For Victorian Rules matches the number before the brackets is the score calculated with goals worth six points, and behinds one.

Notes on matches:

• • The match record for the British Isles is considered complete, however the match record of the Victorian Rules and Association football matches in the Australian leg of the tour is a matter of some debate. The list of Victorian Rules matches was compiled by historian Greg Ryan and relied heavily on coverage of the matches in the Melbourne press. The frequency of matches suggests the list is complete.

Notes on opposition:

• • As the tour occurred before the 1895 schism of rugby football—where many northern English rugby clubs left the Rugby Football Union to form the Northern Union—many of the team’s opponents in the British Isles later elected to play rugby league rather than rugby union. The links in the tables below link to those clubs regardless of what code they subsequently played.
  • At least one club, Manningham F.C., has since converted to association football.

Matches played

Overall

Rugby matches
Played in	Matches	W	L	D	Pts for	Pts against
British Isles	74	49	20	5	394	188
New Zealand	17	14	3	0	119	51
Australia	16	15	0	1	240	66
Total	107	78	23	6	753	305

Victorian Rules matches
Matches	Won	Lost	Drawn	Goals	Behinds
9	3	6	0	31	45

Association football matches
Matches	Won	Lost	Drawn	For	Against
2	0	2	0	5	12

New Zealand and Victoria

Date	Against	Venue	For	Against
23 June 1888	Hawke’s Bay (Won)	Napier	5	0
30 June 1888	Hawke’s Bay (Won)	Napier	11	0
7 July 1888	Auckland (Lost)	Auckland	0	9
11 July 1888	Nelson (Won)	Nelson	9	0
14 July 1888	Wellington (Won)	Wellington	3	0
21 July 1888	Canterbury (Won)	Christchurch	5	4
24 July 1888	South Canterbury (Won)	Timaru	9	0
28 July 1888	Otago (Lost)	Dunedin	0	8
31 July 1888	Otago (Won)	Dunedin	1	0
11 August 1888	Melbourne (Won)	Melbourne	3	0
15 August 1888	Melbourne (Draw)	Melbourne	1	1
Total			47	22

British Isles

Date	Against	Venue	For	Against
3 October 1888	Surrey	(Won) Richmond	4	1
6 October 1888	Northamptonshire	(Won) Northampton	12	0
10 October 1888	Kent	(Won) Blackheath	4	1
13 October 1888	Moseley	(Lost) Moseley	4	6
18 October 1888	Burton-on-Trent	(Lost) Burton-on-Trent	3	4
20 October 1888	Midland Counties	(Won) Birmingham	10	0
22 October 1888	Middlesex (+ pictured above)	(Lost) Fletching	0	9
24 October 1888	Hull	(Lost) Hull	0	1
27 October 1888	Dewsbury	(Won) Dewsbury	6	0
31 October 1888	Wakefield Trinity	(Lost) Wakefield	0	1
3 November 1888	Northumberland County	(Draw) Newcastle	3	3
5 November 1888	Stockton-on-Tees	(Won) Stockton	6	1
7 November 1888	Tynemouth	(Won) North Shields	7	1
10 November 1888	Halifax Free Wanderers	(Lost) Halifax	4	13
12 November 1888	Newcastle and District	(Won) Newcastle	14	0
14 November 1888	Hartlepool Rovers	(Won) Hartlepool	1	0
17 November 1888	Cumberland County	(Won) Maryport	10	2
20 November 1888	Carlisle	(Won) Carlisle	13	0
22 November 1888	Hawick	(Won) Hawick	3	1
23 November 1888	East Cumberland	(Won) Carlisle	12	0
24 November 1888	Westmorland County	(Won) Kendal	3	1
26 November 1888	Swinton	(Lost) Swinton	0	2
28 November 1888	Liverpool and District	(Won) Liverpool	9	0
1 December 1888	Ireland	(Won) Dublin	13	4
3 December 1888	Trinity College	(Lost) Dublin	4	4
5 December 1888	North of Ireland	(Won) Belfast	2	0
8 December 1888	Lancashire County	(Lost) Manchester	0	1
10 December 1888	Batley	(Draw) Batley	5	5
12 December 1888	Yorkshire County	(Won) Manningham	10	6
15 December 1888	Broughton Rangers	(Won) Broughton	8	0
17 December 1888	Wigan	(Won) Wigan	5	1
19 December 1888	Llanelli	(Lost) Llanelli	0	3
22 December 1888	Wales	(Lost) Swansea	0	5
24 December 1888	Swansea	(Won) Swansea	5	0
26 December 1888	Newport	(Won) Newport	3	0
…….29.December.1888	Cardiff	(Lost) Cardiff	1	4
1 January 1889	Bradford	(Lost) Bradford	1	4
3 January 1889	Leeds Parish Church	(Won) Leeds	6	3
5 January 1889	Kirkstall	(Won) Kirkstall	7	3
7 January 1889	Brighouse Rangers	(Won) Brighouse	4	0
9 January 1889	Huddersfield	(Won) Huddersfield	7	6
12 January 1889	Stockport	(Draw) Stockport	3	3
14 January 1889	Castleford	(Lost) Castleford	3	9
17 January 1889	Warrington	(Won) Warrington	7	1
19 January 1889	Yorkshire County	(Lost) Wakefield	4	16
23 January 1889	Spen Valley District	(Won) Cleckheaton	8	7
26 January 1889	Somersetshire County	(Won) Wellington	17	4
30 January 1889	Devonshire County	(Won) Exeter	12	0
31 January 1889	Taunton	(Won) Taunton	8	0
2 February 1889	Gloucestershire County	(Won) Gloucester	4	1
4 February 1889	Midland Counties	(Won) Moseley	6	1
6 February 1889	Blackheath Rovers	(Won) Blackheath	9	3
9 February 1889	United Services	(Won) Portsmouth	10	0
16 February 1889	England	(Lost) Blackheath	0	7
18 February 1889	London Welsh	(Won) Richmond	2	1
19 February 1889	Cambridge University	(Lost) Cambridge	3	7
21 February 1889	Oxford University	(Lost) Oxford	0	6
23 February 1889	Manningham	(Won) Manningham	4	0
25 February 1889	St. John’s, Leeds	(Won) Leeds	9	0
27 February 1889	Leigh	(Lost) Leigh	1	4
2 March 1889	Runcorn	(Won) Runcorn	8	3
4 March 1889	Oldham	(Lost) Oldham	0	6
5 March 1889	Halifax Free Wanderers	(Won) Halifax	6	0
7 March 1889	Barrow and District	(Lost) Barrow	0	3
9 March 1889	Widnes	(Won) Widnes	8	1
11 March 1889	Manchester	(Won) Manchester	7	1
13 March 1889	Walkden	(Won) Walkden	6	1
14 March 1889	St. Helens	(Won) St. Helens	9	0
16 March 1889	Salford	(Won) Salford	7	1
18 March 1889	Rochdale Hornets	(Won) Rochdale	10	0
20 March 1889	York	(Won) York	4	3
23 March 1889	Hull	(Draw) Hull	1	1
25 March 1889	Widnes	(Won) Widnes	6	1
27 March 1889	Southern Counties	(Won) Leyton	3	1
Total			394	188

Australia

Date	Against	Venue	For	Against
24 May 1889	Melbourne (Won)	Melbourne	14	6
31 May 1889	Navy Team XVIII (Won)	Melbourne	13	6
11 June 1889	Victoria (Won)	Melbourne	19	0
15 June 1889	New South Wales (Won)	Sydney	12	9
17 June 1889	University of Sydney (Won)	Sydney	17	7
19 June 1889	Parramatta Club & King’s School XVIII (Won)	Sydney	21	0
22 June 1889	New South Wales (Won)	Sydney	16	12
25 June 1889	Arfoma (Won)	Sydney	27	3
28 June 1889	Permanent Artillery XVIII (Won)	Sydney	32	10
15 July 1889	Queensland (Won)	Brisbane	22	0
17 July 1889	Toowoomba XVI (Won)	Toowoomba	16	0
19 July 1889	Ipswich (Won)	Ipswich	17	5
22 July 1889	Queensland (Won)	Brisbane	11	7
24 July 1889	Toowoomba XVI (Won)	Toowoomba	19	0
Total			236	65

New Zealand

Date	Against	Venue	For	Against
7 August 1889	Southland (Won)	Invercargill	5	1
8 August 1889	Mataura District XVI (Won)	Gore	16	3
10 August 1889	Otago (Won)	Dunedin	11	8
15 August 1889	Hawke’s Bay (Won)	Christchurch	13	2
17 August 1889	Canterbury (Won)	Christchurch	15	0
19 August 1889	Wairarapa (Won)	Masterton	10	8
20 August 1889	Wellington (Won)	Wellington	4	1
24 August 1889	Auckland (Lost)	Auckland	2	7
Total			76	30

---

Victorian Rules in Australia

Date	Against	Venue	For	Against
15 May 1889	Maryborough (Lost)	Maryborough	8 (1/2)	45 (6/9)
18 May 1889	Ballarat (Lost)	Ballarat	4 (0/4)	26 (4/2)
25 May 1889	Carlton (Lost)	Melbourne	16 (2/4)	94 (13/16)
28 May 1889	Wanderers (Won)	Melbourne	71 (10/11)	15 (2/3)
30 May 1889	South Melbourne (Won)	Melbourne	40 (6/4)	37 (4/13)
1 June 1889	St Kilda (Lost)	Melbourne	12 (1/6)	43 (6/7)
6 June 1889	Daylesford (Won)	Daylesford	16 (2/4)	11 (1/5)
8 June 1889	Essendon (Lost)	Melbourne	35 (5/5)	80 (11/14)
29 June 1889	New South Wales (Lost)	Sydney	29 (4/5)	34 (4/10)
Total			231 (31 Goals 45.Behinds)	385 (51 Goals 70.Behinds)

Association football in Australia

Date	Against	Venue	For	Against
July 1889	Northumberland (Lost)	Maitland, New South Wales	3	6
July 1889	Newcastle (Lost)	Newcastle, New South Wales	2	6
Total			5	12

---

Internationals

Ireland	04	– 13	NZ Natives	Won	01-12-1888	Lansdowne Road	Dublin	New Zealand Natives tour to British Isles
Wales	05	– 00	NZ Natives	Lost	22-12-1888	St. Helen’s	Swansea	New Zealand Natives tour to British Isles
England	07	– 00	NZ Natives	Lost	16-02-1889	Rectory Field	Blackheath	New Zealand Natives tour to British Isles

vs Ireland – 1 December 1888

Ireland	1G, 2T – 4G 5T	New Zealand Natives
Try: Waites, Woods Con: Stevenson	Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 3,000 Referee: J Chambers	Try: McCausland, Ellison, Maynard Elliot, Keogh Con: McCausland (4)

Ireland: T Edwards, DC Woods, A Walpole, MJ Bulger, J Stevenson, RG Warren capt., HW Andrews, EG Forrest, JH O’Conor, JG Moffatt, JN Lytle, J Waites, R Stevenson, JC Jameson, FO Stoker

New Zealand Natives: William Warbrick, David Gage, Edward McCausland, Frederick Warbrick, Patrick Keogh, Tabby Wynyard, Charles Madigan, William Elliot, George Williams, Dick Taiaroa, Thomas Ellison, W Anderson, Joe Warbrick, Richard Maynard, Charles Goldsmith

---

vs Wales – 22 December 1888

Wales	1G, 3T – nil	New Zealand Natives
Try: Towers, Thomas, Hannan Con: Webb	St. Helen’s, Swansea Referee: S Mortimer (England)

Wales: Jim Webb (Newport), George Thomas (Newport), Dickie Garrett (Penarth), Charlie Arthur (Cardiff), Norman Biggs (Cardiff), Charlie Thomas (Newport), William Stadden (Cardiff), Frank Hill (Cardiff) capt., Alexander Bland (Cardiff), Sydney Nicholls (Cardiff), Jim Hannan (Newport), Theo Harding (Newport),William Towers (Swansea), William Bowen (Swansea), Dan Griffiths, (Llanelli)

New Zealand Natives: William Warbrick, Edward McCausland, William Thomas Wynyard, David Gage, William Elliot, Frederick Warbrick, Patrick Keogh, George Wynyard, Alexander Webster, Teo Rene, George Williams, Arthur Warbrick, David Stewart, Wi Karauria, Thomas Ellison

---

England – 16 February 1889

England	1G, 5T – nil	New Zealand Natives
Try: Bedford (2), Evershed, Stoddart Sutcliffe Con: Sutcliffe	Rectory Field, Blackheath Referee: G. R. Hill(England)

England: Arthur “Artie” V. Royle, John William “J.W.” Sutcliffe, Andrew Stoddart, Richard “Dicky” Evison Lockwood, William Martin Scott, Fernand “Fred” Bonsor capt., Frank Evershed, Donald “Don” Jowett, Charles Anderton, Harry James Wilkinson, Harry Bedford, William Yiend, John W. Cave, Frederick Lowrie,Arthur Robinson

New Zealand Natives: William Warbrick, Edward McCausland, Tabby Wynyard, Charles Madigan, William Elliot, David Gage, Patrick Keogh, George Wynyard, Teo Rene, Harry Lee, Thomas Ellison, George Williams, W Anderson, Dick Taiaroa, Richard Maynard

---

–