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 Mairwas an Australianrugby leagueadministrator & hotelier who coached theNew Zealandside on their1926-27 tour of Great Britain.
Early years
[edit]Ernest Mair was born on 15 January 1891 to a Scottish father and English mother inIpswich.[1]He played rugby league as a youth, but was much more prominent as a swimmer, becoming President of theToowoombaSwimming 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
[edit]New Zealandlost the series 0–3 against theGreat Britain Lionsand also lost a test match againstWales.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 theirHarrogatehotel, 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,Neil Mouat,John Herbert James Wright,Alphonsus Carroll,Bill Devine,Lou PetersenandFrank Henry) were banned for life by theNew Zealand Rugby League.[7]
Later life
[edit]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 inCunnamulla.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
[edit]- ^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.Retrieved25 September2009.
- ^Coffey, J. (2012) Strike: The Tour That Died of Shame, Scratching Shed Publications: Leeds p161-4
- ^Coffey, John and Bernie WoodAuckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009,2009.ISBN978-1-86969-366-4.
- ^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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