1933–34 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain

Rugby league tour (1933–1934)

1933–34 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain

Tour captain(s)| Frank McMillan
Top point scorer(s)| Dave Brown 285
Top try scorer(s)| Alan Ridley 17
Top test point scorer(s)|  Dave Brown 15
Jim Sullivan 18
Top test try scorer(s)| 7 players with one try each
( 3 & 4)
Summary| | P|  W|  D|  L

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Total| | 37|  27|  00|  10

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Test match| | 03|  00|  00|  03

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Opponent| | P|  W|  D|  L

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England| | 3|  0|  0|  3

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Tour chronology
Previous tour| 1929–30
Next tour| 1937–38

The 1933–34 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the fifth Kangaroo tour, and took the Australia national rugby league team around the north of England, to London and Paris. The tour also featured the 11th Ashes series which comprised three Test matches and was the first to be won by Great Britain in a clean sweep. The squad's outbound journey was marred by tragedy when Sydney University centre Ray Morris contracted meningitis en route and died in hospital. The tour match played at Stade Pershing in Paris on New Year's Day 1934 was the first rugby league international played in France.

## Touring squad

[edit]

Mick Madsen, 2nd Test captain Vic Hey, three Tests at five-eighth Dave Brown set an unsurpassed touring score record

Frank McMillan was named as captain-coach of the touring squad after his Queensland counterpart Herb Steinohrt declared himself unavailable to tour (it would not be until Wally Lewis led the 1986 Kangaroos that another Queensland player would captain a Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France). George Bishop and Ernie Norman were selected but ruled out of the tour before the squad left Sydney. Vic Hey and "Mick" Glasheen took their places.

Name  | Posit.  | Club  | Tests

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|
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Dave Brown | centre | Eastern Suburbs | 3
Alan Ridley | Winger | Queanbeyan | 2
Wally Prigg | Lock | Centrals (Newcastle) | 3
Sid Pearce | Second row | Eastern Suburbs | 2
Fred Gardner | Winger | St George Dragons | 1
Vic Hey | Five-eighth | Western Suburbs | 3
Jim Gibbs | Second row | South Newcastle  | 2
Jack Why | Winger | South Sydney | 2
Joe Doyle | Second row | Brothers (Toowoomba)  | 1
Frank O'Connor | Front row | South Sydney | 2
Cliff Pearce | centre | Western Suburbs | 3
Les Mead | Halfback | Western Suburbs | 1
Fred Laws | Halfback | Newtown (Toowoomba)  | 1
Ray Stehr | Front row | Eastern Suburbs | 2
Frank McMillan (c)  | Fullback | Western Suburbs | 2
Mick Madsen | Front row | Brothers (Toowoomba)  | 3
Bill 'Circy' Smith | Fullback | Starlights (Ipswich)  | 1
Viv Thicknesse | Halfback | Eastern Suburbs | 2
Frank Doonar |  | Rialto (Ipswich)  | 0
Arthur Folwell | Hooker | Newtown | 2
Fred Gilbert  |  | Valleys (Toowoomba)  | 0
Dan Dempsey | Hooker | Booval | 1
Melville Glasheen |  | Estates (Townsville)  | 0
Fred Neumann | Winger | Fortitude Valley | 0
Frank Curran | Front row | South Sydney | 0
Henry Denny | Forward  | Western Suburbs (Brisbane) | 0
Jack Little | Hooker | Fortitude Valley | 0
Les Heidke | Second row | Tivoli | 0
Ray Morris | centre | University | 0

## The journey

[edit]

Les Heidke was suffering from leg ulcers before the squad left Sydney and Dan Dempsey was brought in to take his place. The Queenslanders in the squad all contributed £10 to enable Heidke to make the tour as a private citizen and to perhaps recover in time to play. Heidke sailed with the squad from Sydney on the SS Manduna bound for Melbourne where they boarded the SS Jervis Bay for England. At sea Heidke's condition did not improve and he was put off the ship in Perth and headed home.

Exhibition matches were played in Colombo, Sri Lanka and in Egypt. Sydney University centre Ray Morris contracted an ear infection at sea. In the Mediterranean his condition worsened and he was put off the ship in Malta and hospitalised in Valletta. Two days later he died of meningitis.[1]

### Test venues

[edit]

The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues. Two of the tests were played at Swinton.

Swinton | Leeds

|

Station Road | Headingley
Capacity: 60,000  | Capacity: 40,000

## 1st Test

[edit]

7 October 1933

The Lions | 4 – 0  |  Australia

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|

Tries:
Goals:
Jim Sullivan (2)  |  | Tries:
Goals:

Station Road, Swinton
Attendance: 34,000[2]
Referee: F Peel

The Lions  | Posit. | Australia

|
|

Jim Sullivan (c) | FB | Frank McMillan (c)
Alf Ellaby | WG | Alan Ridley
Gus Risman | CE | Cliff Pearce
Stan Brogden | CE | Dave Brown
Stan Smith | WG | Jack Why
Billy Davies | SO | Vic Hey
Bryn Evans | SH | Viv Thicknesse
Nat Silcock | PR | Ray Stehr
Les White | HK | Dan Dempsey
Jack Miller | PR | Mick Madsen
Martin Hodgson | SR | Sid Pearce
Bill Horton | SR | Frank O'Connor
Jack Feetham | LF | Wally Prigg

The Australian team enjoyed an eleven match winning streak on the tour matches leading into the first Test. For the first sixty-five minutes of the match there was no score in the muddy conditions, then Lions fullback Jim Sullivan proved the difference with two penalty goals.[3]

* * *

## 2nd Test

[edit]

11 November 1933

The Lions | 7 – 5  |  Australia

|
|

Tries:
Jack Woods
Goals:
Jim Sullivan (2)  |  | Tries:
Dave Brown
Goals:
Dave Brown (1)

Headingley, Leeds
Attendance: 29,688[2]
Referee: F Peel

The Lions  | Posit. | Australia

|
|

Jim Sullivan (c) | FB | Bill Smith
Jack Woods | WG | Fred Gardner
Billy Dingsdale | CE | Cliff Pearce
Gus Risman | CE | Dave Brown
Barney Hudson | WG | Alan Ridley
Stan Brogden | SO | Vic Hey
Bryn Evans | SH | Viv Thicknesse
Nat Silcock | PR | Mick Madsen (c)
Les White | HK | Arthur Folwell
Jack Miller | PR | Frank O'Connor
Martin Hodgson | SR | Jim Gibbs
Bill Horton | SR | Joe Doyle
Jack Feetham | LF | Wally Prigg

* * *

## 3rd Test

[edit]

16 December 1933

The Lions | 19 – 16  |  Australia

|
|

Tries:
Barney Hudson
Jack Feetham
Stan Smith
Goals:
Jim Sullivan (5)  |  | Tries:
Vic Hey
Wally Prigg

Goals:
Dave Brown (5)

Station Road, Swinton
Attendance: 10,990[2]
Referee: F Peel

The Lions  | Posit. | Australia

|
|

Jim Sullivan (c) | FB | Frank McMillan (c)
Barney Hudson | WG | Cliff Pearce
Gus Risman | CE | Dave Brown
Arthur Atkinson | CE | Fred Laws
Stan Smith | WG | Jack Why
Emlyn Jenkins | SO | Vic Hey
Billy Watkins | SH | Les Mead
Nat Silcock | PR | Mick Madsen
Thomas Armitt | HK | Arthur Folwell
Jack Feetham | PR | Ray Stehr
Martin Hodgson | SR | Sid Pearce
Jack Miller | SR | Jim Gibbs
Bill Horton | LF | Wally Prigg

In winning the match which was played in thick fog, England became the first team to post a 3–0 clean sweep in an Anglo-Australian Test series.

* * *

## Matches of the tour

[edit]

N° | Opposing Team | F | A | Date | Venue | Attendance | Status

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1 |  St Helens Recs | 13 | 9 | 26 Aug 1933 | City Road, St. Helens | 8,880 | Tour match
2 |  Leigh | 16 | 7 | 30 Aug 1933 | Mather Lane, Leigh | 4,590 | Tour match
3 |  Hull Kingston Rovers | 20 | 0 | 2 Sep 1933 | Craven Park, Hull | 7,831 | Tour match
4 |  Bramley | 53 | 6 | 6 Sep 1933 | Barley Mow, Bramley | 1,902 | Tour match
5 |  Oldham | 38 | 6 | 9 Sep 1933 | Watersheddings, Oldham | 15,281 | Tour match
6 |  Yorkshire | 13 | 0 | 13 Sep 1933 | Headingley, Leeds | 10,309 | Tour match
7 |  Barrow | 24 | 5 | 16 Sep 1933 | Craven Park, Barrow | 12,221 | Tour match
8 |  Lancashire | 33 | 7 | 20 Sep 1933 | Wilderspool, Warrington | 16,576 | Tour match
9 |  Wigan | 10 | 4 | 23 Sep 1933 | Central Park, Wigan | 15,712 | Tour match
10 |  Castleford | 39 | 6 | 27 Sep 1933 | Wheldon Road, Castleford | 4,250 | Tour match
11 |  Halifax | 16 | 5 | 30 Sep 1933 | Thrum Hall, Halifax | 10,358 | Tour match
12 |  The Lions | 0 | 4 | 7 Oct 1933 | Station Road, Swinton | 34,000 | Test match
13 |  Bradford Northern | 7 | 5 | 11 Oct 1933 | Birch Lane, Bradford | 3,328 | Tour match
14 |  Warrington | 15 | 2 | 14 Oct 1933 | Wilderspool, Warrington | 16,431 | Tour match
15 |  Hunslet | 22 | 18 | 18 Oct 1933 | Parkside, Hunslet | 6,227 | Tour match
16 |  Salford | 9 | 16 | 21 Oct 1933 | The Willows, Salford | 15,761 | Tour match
17 |  Widnes | 31 | 0 | 26 Oct 1933 | Naughton Park, Widnes | 6,691 | Tour match
18 |  Wakefield Trinity | 17 | 6 | 28 Oct 1933 | Belle Vue, Wakefield | 5,596 | Tour match
19 |  Bradford Northern | 10 | 7 | 30 Oct 1933 | Birch Lane, Bradford | 3,328 | Tour match
20 |  English League | 5 | 7 | 1 Nov 1933 | Clarence Street, York | 3,158 | Tour match
21 |  Swinton | 4 | 10 | 4 Nov 1933 | Station Road, Swinton | 13,341 | Tour match
22 |  The Lions | 5 | 7 | 11 Nov 1933 | Headingley, Leeds | 29,618 | Test match
23 |  Keighley | 14 | 7 | 14 Nov 1933 | Lawkholme Lane, Keighley | 3,800 | Tour match
24 |  Huddersfield | 13 | 5 | 18 Nov 1933 | Fartown, Huddersfield | 7,522 | Tour match
25 |  London Highfield | 20 | 5 | 22 Nov 1933 | White City, London | 10,541 | Tour match
26 |  Broughton Rangers | 19 | 0 | 25 Nov 1933 | Belle Vue, Manchester | 5,527 | Tour match
27 |  Leeds | 15 | 7 | 29 Nov 1933 | Headingley, Leeds | 5,295 | Tour match
28 |  St. Helens | 20 | 11 | 2 Dec 1933 | Knowsley Road, St. Helens | 5,735 | Tour match
29 |  Rochdale Hornets | 26 | 4 | 5 Dec 1933 | Athletic Grounds, Rochdale | 3,603 | Tour match
30 |  Cumberland | 16 | 17 | 9 Dec 1933 | Recreation Ground, Whitehaven | 5,800 | Tour match
31 |  The Lions | 16 | 19 | 16 Dec 1933 | Station Road, Swinton | 10,900 | Test match
32 |  York | 15 | 7 | 23 Dec 1933 | Clarence Street, York | 6,500 | Tour match
33 |  Hull F.C. | 19 | 5 | 25 Dec 1933 | The Boulevard, Hull | 16,341 | Tour match
34 |  Wales | 51 | 19 | 30 Dec 1933 | Wembley, London | 10,000 | International
35 |  England | 63 | 13 | 31 Dec 1933 | Stade Pershing, Paris | 5,000 | International
36 |  Oldham | 38 | 5 | 10 Jan 1934 | Watersheddings, Oldham | 4,000 | Tour match
37 |  England | 14 | 19 | 13 Jan 1934 | Redheugh Park, Gateshead | 15,576 | International

## Tour firsts

[edit]

* The first Australian side to play a rugby exhibition match in Ceylon and Egypt.
* The first Australian side to play a match under lights.
* The first English side to win the Ashes in a clean sweep.
* The first rugby international to be played in France.
* Dave Brown's tour point-scoring record of 285 points (19 tries and 114 goals) remains unsurpassed.

## Published sources

[edit]

* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
* Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Whiticker p96
2. ^ a b c Andrews The ABC of Rugby League
3. ^ Whiticker p97

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