Ernest Mair
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ernest Hartley Mair | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 January 1891 Ipswich, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 12 January 1957 (aged 65) Brisbane, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ernest Hartley Mair was an Australian rugby league administrator & hotelier who coached the New Zealand side on their 1926-27 tour of Great Britain.
Early years[]
Ernest Mair was born on 15 January 1891 to a Scottish father and English mother in Ipswich.[1] He played rugby league as a youth, but was much more prominent as a swimmer, becoming President of the Toowomba Swimming Association and also the Queensland Amateur Swimming Association.[2]
In 1920 he married Mildred Readshaw and with her ran several hotels in Toowoomba.[3]
After becoming President of the Valley club in Toowoomba and Toowoomba Junior Rugby League, Mair was appointed New Zealand Rugby League representative on the Australian Rugby League board of control.[4]
1925-26 New Zealand Tour[]
New Zealand lost the series 0–3 against the Great Britain Lions and also lost a test match against Wales. The tour of Britain involved several skirmishes within the Kiwi party.[5] Problems began on the boat journey over, with disputes developing about aspects of the trip and a rift developed between Mair and seven forwards. The disputes continued once the party arrived in Britain, with one of the rebels being involved in a street fight with another member of the tour party after the opening match. At a meeting with English Rugby League authorities in on 8 November, following further disturbances which almost led to the tour party being evicted from their Harrogate hotel, it was decided that Mair would withdraw from team selection and match tactics for a period of a month.[6]
The tour, and the costly disputes, continued with the rebels eventually setting sail for home a week earlier than their colleagues. Three months later all seven players (Arthur Singe, , , Alphonsus Carroll, Bill Devine, Lou Petersen and ) were banned for life by the New Zealand Rugby League.[7]
Later life[]
Mair returned to Toowoomba in March 1927, becoming one of the district team selectors and was made a life member of the Toowoomba Rugby League in November 1927.[8]
In September 1929, Mair was charged with attempting to convince two men to set fire to a hotel he owned, the Commercial Hotel in Cunnamulla. Mair was discharged after the case against him collapsed.[9] 1938 Ernest Mair was in Cairns, Queensland and the team manager of Past Brothers Minor Juniors who won the 1938 Premiership in the local C.R.L (Cairns Rugby League) [10] He died on 12 January 1957 after injuries sustained after being struck by a car in Brisbane.[11]
References[]
- ^ Coffey, J. (2012) Strike: The Tour That Died of Shame, Scratching Shed Publications: Leeds p31
- ^ Coffey, J. (2012) Strike: The Tour That Died of Shame, Scratching Shed Publications: Leeds p31-2
- ^ Coffey, J. (2012) Strike: The Tour That Died of Shame, Scratching Shed Publications: Leeds p32
- ^ Coffey, J. (2012) Strike: The Tour That Died of Shame, Scratching Shed Publications: Leeds p35
- ^ Baker, Andrew (20 August 1995). "100 years of rugby league: From the great divide to the Super era". Independent, The. London: independent.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
- ^ Coffey, J. (2012) Strike: The Tour That Died of Shame, Scratching Shed Publications: Leeds p161-4
- ^ Coffey, John and Bernie Wood Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009, 2009. ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4.
- ^ Coffey, J. (2012) Strike: The Tour That Died of Shame, Scratching Shed Publications: Leeds p264
- ^ Coffey, J. (2012) Strike: The Tour That Died of Shame, Scratching Shed Publications: Leeds p265-6
- ^ 1938 Past Brothers Premiership team photo, Thomas(Hank) McGeechan (1920-2018)member of team.
- ^ Coffey, J. (2012) Strike: The Tour That Died of Shame, Scratching Shed Publications: Leeds p266
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- 1891 births
- 1957 deaths
- Australian rugby league coaches
- New Zealand national rugby league team coaches
- Road incident deaths in Queensland
- Australian rugby league biography stubs
- New Zealand rugby league biography stubs