Kingsland Rovers was a rugby league club in Auckland. They competed from 1920 to 1928 under the name Kingsland Rovers for 9 seasons before amalgamating with Grafton Athletic in 1929 to become Kingsland Athletic, before the club was 'forced' to join with Marist Old Boys in 1931.
History Kingsland Rovers 1920 The Kingsland club was registered by the Auckland Rugby League at their weekly meeting on 16 April 1920, and was named “Kingsland Rovers”. The club was based in Kingsland, a central Auckland suburb. They fielded teams in the 3rd and 4th grades. At the 5 May meeting it was reported that a ground had been secured for matches at Kingsland near Western Springs and was available for the beginning of the season. Their first official games were supposed to be on the Kingsland ground on 8 May, with the 3rd grade team playing Newton Rangers at 3 pm, and the 4th grade team playing City Rovers at 2 pm. However the referee (Mr. Rae) of the first game found that the ground was in such a poor condition that the game could not proceed. The meeting on the following Wednesday received a letter of protest from the City Rovers club “against the condition of the Kingsland ground … the match abandoned, the referee refusing to allow the game to go on, so bad was the condition of the ground. It was reported that the sum of 30/ had been paid for clearing the ground”. Ultimately their ground was not approved for play and all of their matches were played at grounds around Auckland. The following week the 3rd grade team played Point Chevalier at Walker Park in Point Chevalier, with the 4th grade side having a bye. The 3rd grade result was not reported, and their first reported score came in the 3rd round, where they fell to a 15–5 loss to Devonport United (North Shore Albions) on their opponents Devonport Domain ground. Only one other result for their third grade team was reported during the season, a 12–2 loss to Manukau on 29 May. Their 4th grade side also had many results not reported though 5 were. They lost 4 of their matches but on 26 June they recorded possibly the clubs first ever win when they beat Northcote 12 to 3 at the Auckland Domain on the #2 field.
Towards the end of the year the club held a Euchre and Dance evening at St. Benedicts Hall, East Street on 10 September at 8 pm. The street was later renamed St Benedict's Street and is located in Newton. Proceeds from the evening were to go to a club member who was in hospital. Their secretary for the season was Henry Fox Ludgate, an Australian who had moved to Auckland in the early 1900s. During the year they had held regular fortnightly Euchre and Dance evenings at the same location.
1921 (Growth to 4 Teams, Third Grade champions) On 23 February 1921 the Kingsland club held a meeting at Hirst's Hall in Morningside. They held another meeting on the evening of 10 March at the Scout Rooms in Kingsland, with “all members and intending members requested to attend”. Their honorary secretary at the time was J. Ball. The club fielded teams in the 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th B grade with their 3rd grade team winning the championship. The 1921 season saw Kingsland's ground now available for use with the 3rd grade side drawn to play there against Newton Rangers in a preseason match on 30 April. Relatively few scores were reported during the season once more however following a 14–3 loss to Newton on 23 July in round 11 it was stated that Newton had now drawn within 1 point of Kingsland in the championship with it drawing to a conclusion. As a result, the league required the two teams to play each other in the following round which was on 6 August to determine the title winner. The match was drawn 9-9, however as Kingsland was ahead in the standings they were awarded the Myers Cup as champions. In mid-June their 3rd, 4th, and 6th grade team lists were published in the Auckland Star and were as follows, 3rd grade: G Hassell, H Carlton, T Walker, A Lovegrove, T. Walker, F Davis, F Florry, C List, J List, Walsh, A Nightingale, C Campbell, G Lovett, G McIntyre, Peckham, J Davison, 4th grade: McNamara, Baskett, Simms, Herring, Wright, Mayes, E. Ellisdon, Atkins, Opie, Ayres, Carter, Rosamond, D Wheatcroft, Smith, Jenkins, and 6th grade: Baskett, McLachlan (2), Holt, Wiseman, Smith, Carrol, Stevens, Chapman, McQueen, Harrison, Marton, Nielson, Willey, Campbell, and Morrison. One of the players named “List” in the 3rd grade side was future New Zealand rugby league international Claude List who began playing for the club the same year. The other List was possibly his older brother Percy though they were listed as “J List” on another occasion. The 4th, 5th, and 6th grade sides did not have many scores reported though from those that were it appears that each team finished around mid table in their respective grades. On 24 September Auckland Rugby League arranged for a series of matches to be played in Thames, travelling there by boat. The Kingsland 3rd and 4th grade sides were to play matches there against Parnell and Ponsonby respectively. The games were played at Dodd's Paddock in Parawai. Ultimately the fixtures were rearranged and only the Kingsland 3rd grade side travelled and played, losing to Ponsonby 15–8. As in 1920 the club held fortnightly Euchre and Dance evenings however they were now in the Masonic Hall on Eden Terrace. Their honorary secretary later in the season was Walker.
1922 (3rd, 4th, & 6th grades) In 1922 the Kingsland Rovers fielded sides in the 3rd, 4th, and 6th A grades. The 3rd grade team finished runner up to Ponsonby United, losing what was labelled the 'final' on 23 September by 9 points to 3. Their 4th grade side only had 5 results reported but won 4 of them and likely finished mid table. The 6th A grade side had 6 reported for 1 win, 1 draw, and 4 losses. For the opening round their published teams were: (3rd grade) – Nightingale, C. List, Johann List, Lovett, Rhodes, Frankie Herring, Mayes, Calton, Rann, Stanaway, Carter, Walker (2), Simms, Campbell, Kimberley, (4th grade) – Smith, McLachlan (2), Braithwaite Smith, Quickfall, Ellisdon, Atkins, O’Neil, Paterson, Roseman, McGeachen, Lay, Scott, Elliot, (6th grade A) – Baskett, Richards, Jones, Draper, Smith, Eide, Scott, McLachlan (2), Dixon, Harrison, Crew, Campbell, and Tierney.
On 13 May a notice was published in the New Zealand Herald that Kingsland would be unable to fulfil their fixtures owing to the death of Edgar Thomas Nixon. The notice was published by their honorary secretary J. Ball. Nixon had attended Auckland Grammar School and was a well known sportsman from a young age. He represented the school's 1st XI cricket team and 1st XV rugby side before playing senior cricket and rugby for Grafton. He died from typhoid due to the epidemic, and his funeral was on a Saturday and attended by large numbers of sporting organisations and athletes including members of the Kingsland league sides who likely knew him well as he lived in Kingsland.
1923, 2nd grade side In 1923 Kingsland fielded a 2nd grade side for the first time. The club held a practice at their Kingsland ground on 14 April, with members “requested to meet at Page’s Store” at 2 pm. They finished in the top half of the competition with at least 7 wins from their 13 matches. With 2 rounds left they were reported to be tied for 3rd in the 12 team competition. At the end of the season, on 6 October the 2nd grade side travelled to Huntly to play the local Huntly club side. Kingsland won 20 points to 3 with tries scored by Simms (2), and Gubb (2), with Gubb also kicking 4 goals. Their full side published in early May was: McLachlan, Claude List, Kindley, Smith, Mayes, Herring, McLean, Simms, McGregor, Stannaway, Davidson, Gubb, Howie, and F. Davis. The 3rd and 4th grade sides were not as successful and only had a small number of scores reported.
1924 2nd and 3rd grades In 1924 Kingsland Rovers had 2nd and 3rd grade teams. On Saturday 5 April they held a practice at their “Kingsland Training Ground” at the bottom of School Road in present-day Morningside, the suburb immediately to the west of Kingsland. The ground would have been located approximately where the north-western motorway passes through at the bottom of School Road. Their honorary secretary was J. Ball once more. On 2 August the 2nd grade side played curtain-raiser to the New Zealand – England test match at Carlaw Park. Kingsland lost the match 11–0 to Devonport United. Claude List played in the game for Kingsland and exactly 4 years and 2 days later he would debut for New Zealand against England on their next tour of New Zealand on the same ground.
On 30 August the Auckland Junior side played the Hamilton representative team at Carlaw Park. There were five Kingsland players named in the 16 man squad, they were Claude List, H. Clark, E. McManus, H. McGregor, and I Simms. Auckland won 14–8. The same teams played again this time in Hamilton at Steele Park on 4 October. This time just List, Clark, and McGregor were selected. Clark and List both scored tries in a 17–8 win. On October 18 Kingsland's 2nd grade side beat Otahuhu Rovers 6 to 3 to win the knockout competition. Otahuhu had earlier won the championship. They played the final junior match of the season against the Huntly club side on October 25 on the Outer Domain. The same night they held their annual concert at the Druid's Hall, North Street, Newton. Both the 2nd and 3rd grade teams were requested to meet at the Crown Studio on Saturday, November 8 for photographs. While the 2nd grade side won the knockout competition there few 3rd grade results reported so it is unknown where they finished in the standings, though they did not win the championship or the knockout competition.
1925 B Division promotion In 1925 the Auckland Rugby League decided to introduce a B Division grade. Kingsland held their annual meeting on Thursday 5 March in the Billiard Room, Kingsland, with players interested in playing for a “senior team” invited to attend. Kingsland entered a side in the grade along with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade teams.
The B Division team played along with Ellerslie United, Otahuhu Rovers, Māngere United, and Northcote & Birkenhead Ramblers. Kingsland played 10 matches, winning 4, drawing 2, and losing 4 to finish 3rd of the 5. In their debut match on 18 April against Northcote, Kingsland won 21–3 with Claude List scoring 3 tries on Carlaw Park #2. McManus also scored a try, as did Weatherly, with McManus kicking 2 conversions and Davison 1. List repeated his hat trick feat 2 weeks later in a 13–13 draw with Māngere at Peter Moko Farm in Māngere. The first ever Kingsland senior side for the Northcote match was: Claude List, J. Carter, Sheldon Kindley, Weatherly, B. Pitman, E. McManus, E. Simms, J. List, J. Davison, R. Graham, L. Lindsay, J. Flower, L. Simms, R. Whitton, G. McDowell, B. McIntyre, and C. Pardington.
Their 2nd grade side had none of their results reported and then withdrew from the competition after 4 rounds. Their 3rd grade team had 2 draws reported and a loss to Parnell, while the 4th grade team only had 4 losses reported. On 21 May the Auckland Star made mention of the Kingsland team colours, which had not been stated previously. It was in a short article on a “junior Parnell Rugby club”. The Carlaw Park gatekeepers said that the “young fellows, whose club colours are red, the same as the Kingsland League team, had been gaining admission to Carlaw Park by giving the password “Kingsland” to the gate keepers”.