1959 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia
ManagerA. Chapman
W. Moyle
Coach(es)Travers Hardwick
Tour captain(s)Cliff Johnson
Top test point scorer(s)Cyril Eastlake 15
Keith Barnes 20
Top test try scorer(s)Neville Denton 2
Reg Gasnier 5
Summary
P W D L
Total
16 13 00 03
Test match
03 01 00 02
Opponent
P W D L
 Australia
3 1 0 2
Tour chronology
Previous tour1956
Next tour1963

The 1959 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia was the nineteenth tour of by New Zealand's national rugby league team, and the fourteen tour to visit Australia. The team lost the first two Test Matches of a three match series, but won every other match.

Touring squad

The following players were listed in the program, Rugby League News, for the match against New South Wales.[1]

Player Pos. Age Weight Province Tests
on
Tour 		Occupation
Ron Ackland Second-row 24 14 st. 8 lb. (93 kg) Auckland 3 Contractor
Ean Anderson Centre 26 12 st. 7 lb. (79 kg) Canterbury 0 Plumber
Jock Butterfield Hooker 27 14 st. 8 lb. (93 kg) West Coast 3 Contractor
Brian Campbell Five-eighth 22 11 st. 7 lb. (73 kg) Auckland 1 Fitter and Turner
Melville Cooke Lock 24 13 st. 0 lb. (83 kg) Canterbury 1 Carpenter
Neville Denton Wing 24 12 st. 6 lb. (79 kg) Auckland 3 Freezing Worker
Cyril Eastlake Utility Back 28 11 st. 12 lb. (75 kg) Auckland 3 Contractor
Reese Griffiths Wing 21 13 st. 4 lb. (84 kg) West Coast 3 Miner
Tom Hadfield Wing 24 12 st. 7 lb. (79 kg) Auckland 0 Transport Director
Don Hammond Second-row 22 12 st. 12 lb. (82 kg) Auckland 0 Aero Technician
Bill Hattaway Second-row 28 13 st. 7 lb. (86 kg) Auckland 0 Welder
Cliff Johnson Prop 30 15 st. 7 lb. (98 kg) Auckland 3 Plumber
Graham Kennedy Five-eighth 20 12 st. 10 lb. (81 kg) West Coast 0 Teacher
Trevor Kilkelly Second-row 28 13 st. 11 lb. (88 kg) West Coast 3 Miner
Henry Maxwell Prop 27 17 st. 7 lb. (111 kg) Auckland 1 Longshoreman
George Menzies Five-eighth 27 11 st. 4 lb. (72 kg) West Coast 3 Rope splicer
Murray Paterson Wing 25 12 st. 0 lb. (76 kg) Auckland 0 Teacher
Rex Percy Lock 25 13 st. 7 lb. (86 kg) Auckland 2 Wharf foreman
Gary Phillips Fullback 21 12 st. 3 lb. (78 kg) Auckland 3 Hosiery Technician
Joe Rātima Prop 33 16 st. 0 lb. (102 kg) Auckland 2 Laborer
Brian Reidy Fullback 20 11 st. 0 lb. (70 kg) Auckland 0 Clerk
Keith Roberts Halfback 27 12 st. 0 lb. (76 kg) Canterbury 3 Freezing Worker
William Schultz Hooker 20 12 st. 1 lb. (77 kg) Auckland 0 Diesel Mechanic
Bill Snowden Halfback 22 11 st. 5 lb. (72 kg) Auckland 0 Upholsterer
George Turner Centre 27 11 st. 6 lb. (73 kg) Auckland 2 Contractor
Peter Turner Prop 23 13 st. 3 lb. (84 kg) Wellington 0 Roofer

Matches

May 27
Western Division 3–51 New Zealand
Tries: 1
Goals: nil 		Tries:13
Goals: 6
Ginstead Oval, Forbes
Attendance: 4,000
May 29
Newcastle 6–25 New Zealand
Tries: 2
Goals: nil 		Result[2]
 Tries: 5
Goals: 5
Newcastle Sports Ground
Attendance: 9,203
May 31
Northern Division 11–26 New Zealand
Tries: 3
Goals: 1 		Tries: 6
Goals: 4
Kitchener Park, Gunnedah
Attendance: 4,556
June 3
Riverina 13–37 New Zealand
Tries: 1
Goals: 5 		Report[3]
 Tries: 7
Goals: 8
Narrandera Sports Ground
Attendance: 4,000
June 6
New South Wales XIII 22–23 New Zealand
Tries:
Ian Moir (3)
Don Parish (2)
B Graham
Goals:
Parish (1)
Graham (1) 		Program
Report[4]
 Tries:
R. Percy (2)
R Griffiths
N. Denton
R. Ackland
Goals:
Cyril Eastlake (4)
Sydney Cricket Ground
Attendance: 35,444
Referee: Darcy Lawler
Team list:

New South Wales FB: Brian Graham (22) ( St George), WG: Ian Moir (27) ( Wests), CE: Harry Wells (26) ( Wests), CE: Reg Gasnier (20) ( St George), WG: Don Parish (21) (Dubbo), FE: Brian Clay (25) ( St George), HB: Bobby Bugden (23) ( Wests), LK: John Raper (20) ( Wests), SR: Norm Provan (27) ( St George), SR: Bill Owens (23) (Newcastle ), PR: Rex Mossop (31) ( Manly), HK: Ian Walsh (25) ( Eugowra), PR: Billy Wilson (30) ( St George).
Brian Carlson (26) ( Norths) was selected but withdrew.
Barry Harris (21) ( Newtown) was selected as a reserve but did not play.
New Zealand FB: Gary Phillips, WG: Reese Griffiths, CE: Cyril Eastlake, CE: George Turner, WG: Neville Denton, FE: George Menzies, HB: Keith Roberts, LK: Rex Percy, SR: Ron Ackland, SR: Trevor Kilkelly, PR: Cliff Johnson, HK: Jock Butterfield, PR: Henry Maxwell.

June 7
Southern Division 10–27 New Zealand
Tries: 2
Goals: 2 		Tries: 7
Goals: 3
Wollongong Showground
Attendance: 5,741

1st Test

June 13
Australia  9–8  New Zealand
Tries:
Dud Beattie
Goals:
Brian Carlson (3) 		Program
RLP db
 Tries:
Cyril Eastlake
Henry Maxwell
Goals:
Cyril Eastlake (1)
Sydney Cricket Ground
Attendance: 38,613
Referee: Darcy Lawler
June 15
Brisbane 8–36 New Zealand
Tries: 2
Goals: 1 		Tries: 8
Goals: 6
Brisbane Exhibition Ground
Attendance: 16,888
June 16
Toowoomba 19–21 New Zealand
Tries: 3
Goals: 5 		Tries: 3
Goals: 6
Athletic Oval, Toowoomba
Attendance: 5,000
June 20
Queensland 19–34 New Zealand
Tries: 3
Goals: 5 		Tries: 8
Goals: 5
Lang Park, Brisbane
Attendance: 17,811
June 21
Central Queensland 19–48 New Zealand
Tries: 3
Goals: 5 		Tries: 10
Goals: 9
Rockhampton Showground
Attendance: 4,801
June 23
Wide Bay 0–62 New Zealand
Tries: nil
Goals: nil 		Tries: 16
Goals: 7
Bundaberg Showground
Attendance: 3,331

2nd Test

June 27
Australia  38–10  New Zealand
Tries:
Reg Gasnier (3)
Ian Moir (3)
John Raper
Harry Wells
Goals:
Keith Barnes (7) 		RLP db
 Tries:
Brian Campbell
Joe Ratima
Goals:
Rex Pery (2)
Brisbane Exhibition Ground
Attendance: 30,994
Referee: Darcy Lawler
June 28
Ipswich 16–52 New Zealand
Tries:
Gary Parcell, Don Barrett, Mick Mulgrew, Brian Walsh
Goals:
William Cameron (2) 		Report[5]
 Tries:
Cyril Eastlake (3), George Menzies, Don Hammond, Brian Reidy, George Turner, John Butterfield, Bill Schultz, Billy Snowdon, Tom Hadfield, Joe Ratima
Goals:
Cyril Eastlake (8)
Ipswich Showground
Attendance: 3,875
Referee: J. Purtell
Team list:

Ipswich FB: Bill Cameron ( West End), WG: Don Lowry ( Booval Swifts), CE: Brian Walsh ( Brothers), CE: Mick Mulgrew ( Brothers), WG: Merv Cobb ( West End), FE: Don Barrett ( Booval Swifts), HB: Gerry O'Sullivan ( Brothers), LK: Thornton Jones ( West End), SR: Mick Scully ( West End), SR: Jim Foreman ( Booval Swifts), PR: Gary Parcell ( Brothers), HK: Bob Christison ( Railways), PR: Dan O'Dempsey ( Brothers), Coach Les Heidke.
New Zealand FB: Brian Reidy, WG: Murray Paterson, CE: George Turner, CE: Cyril Eastlake, WG: Tom Hadfield, FE: George Menzies, HB: Bill Snowdon, LK: Melville Cooke, SR: Don Hammond, SR: Peter Turner, PR: Joe Rātima, HK: William Schultz, PR: Jock Butterfield.

3rd Test

July 4
Australia  12–28  New Zealand
Tries:
Reg Gasnier (2)
Goals:
Keith Barnes (3) 		Program
RLP db
 Tries:
Neville Denton (2)
John Butterfield
Mel Cooke
Reece Griffiths
Cliff Johnson
Goals:
Cyril Eastlake (5)
Sydney Cricket Ground
Attendance: 31,629
Referee: Darcy Lawler

Sources

Item Availability
Online Via
Rugby League Project database (RLP db) Yes Rugby League Project website
Rugby League News Yes Rugby League News (Sydney : 1920 - 1973) at Trove
The Canberra Times Yes The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) at Trove
E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League 1960 Yearbook No SLNSW
Ipswich versus International Teams[5] No NLA, SLQ

References

  1. ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "How they line up". The Rugby League News (Vol. 40 No. 12 (6-7 June 1959)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. Retrieved 23 October 2020 – via Trove. ((cite journal)): |issue= has extra text (help)
  2. ^ "New Zealand Too Good For Newcastle". The Canberra Times. 1 Jun 1959. p. 10. Retrieved 23 Oct 2020 – via Trove.
  3. ^ "Kiwis Defeat Riverina". The Canberra Times. 4 Jun 1959. p. 28. Retrieved 23 Oct 2020 – via Trove.
  4. ^ "Kiwis Gain Narrow Win Over N.S.W." The Canberra Times. 8 Jun 1959. p. 8. Retrieved 23 Oct 2020 – via Trove.
  5. ^ a b J.E., Christinson (2012). Ipswich Versus International Teams. J.E. Christinson.
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