1961 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand

1961 rugby league tour

1961 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand

Manager| Jack Kessey
G.W. (Jock) Allen
Coach(es)| Brian Carlson
Tour captain(s)| Brian Carlson
Barry Muir
Top point scorer(s)| Don Parish 58
Top try scorer(s)| Ken Irvine 10
Top test point scorer(s)| Don Parish 11
Top test try scorer(s)| 6 tries by 6 players (4 Aus, 2 NZ)
Summary| | P|  W|  D|  L

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Total| | 09|  07|  00|  02

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Test match| | 02|  01|  00|  01

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Opponent| | P|  W|  D|  L

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New Zealand| | 2|  1|  0|  1

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Tour chronology
Previous tour| 1953 by  to
1959 by  to
1959-60 to
1960 by
Next tour| 1962 by
1963 by  to
1963-64 to
1965 by  to

The 1961 Kangaroo Tour of New Zealand was a mid-season tour of New Zealand by the Australia national rugby league team. The Australians played nine matches on tour, including two tests against the New Zealand national rugby league team. The tour began on 17 June and finished on 10 July.[1]

## Leadership

[edit]

Brian Carlson was both the captain and the coach of the touring side. Carlson did not play in the Second Test and tour vice-captain Barry Muir led Australia in that match.
In the two matches in which neither Carlson nor Muir played, the Kangaroos were captained by Reg Gasnier (against Taranaki) and Ian Walsh (against Auckland).
The team was managed by Jack Kessey of Newtown, New South Wales and G.W. (Jock) Allen of Toowooomba, Queensland.[2]

## Touring squad

[edit]

The Rugby League News published

* details of the touring team including the players' ages and weights;[3] and
* a summary of match results and players' appearances and points scoring.[4]

Match details - listing surnames of both teams and the point scorers - were included in E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook, as was a summary of the players' point-scoring.[5]
Beattie, Day, Gehrke, Gil, Muir, Paterson and Rasmussen were selected from Queensland clubs. Beaven, Crowe and Owen were selected from clubs in New South Wales Country areas. The balance of the squad had played for Sydney based clubs during the 1961 season.

Player  | Position | Age  | Weight
st.lb (kg) | Club  | Tests

Tour | Games  | Tries  | Goals  | FG | Points

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Dud Beattie | Prop | 25 | 14.12 (94) |  Ipswich Railways | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Ray Beavan | Five-eighth | 24 | 11.2 (71) |  Tumut | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Brian Carlson | Utility Back | 28 | 14.4 (91) |  St George | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6
Ron Crowe | Prop | 27 | 14.12 (94) |  West Wyalong | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5
Ken Day | Lock | 25 | 15.0 (95) |  Brisbane Western Suburbs | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Frank Drake | Fullback | 22 | 11.6 (73) |  Western Suburbs | 1 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 27
Reg Gasnier | Centre | 22 | 12.8 (80) |  St George | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18
Bob Gehrke | Hooker | 23 | 11.7 (73) |  Brisbane Valleys | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6
Alan Gil | Centre | 22 | 12.4 (78) |  Toowoomba All Whites | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3
Ken Irvine | Wing | 21 | 12.4 (78) |  North Sydney | 2 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 32
Eddie Lumsden | Wing | 24 | 13.9 (87) |  St George | 2 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18
Ron Lynch | Second-row | 21 | 13.10 (87) |  Parramatta | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Barry Muir | Halfback | 23 | 10.11 (68) |  Brisbane Western Suburbs | 2 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16
Bill Owen | Second-row | 25 | 13.7 (86) |  Newcastle Northern Suburbs | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3
Don Parish | Utility Back | 23 | 12.0 (76) |  Western Suburbs | 2 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 0 | 58
Jim Paterson | Second-row | 25 | 14.10 (93) |  Innisfail | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6
Elton Rasmussen | Prop, Second-row | 23 | 15.4 (97) |  Toowoomba All Whites | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2
Jack Sinclair | Lock | 24 | 13.4 (84) |  Manly-Warringah | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9
Arthur Summons | Halfback | 25 | 11.0 (70) |  Western Suburbs | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3
Ian Walsh | Hooker | 27 | 13.6 (85) |  St George | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3

## Tour

[edit]

The Australians played nine matches on the tour, winning seven matches and losing the last two.

* * *

Saturday 17 June

New Zealand Māori | 13 – 25  |  Australia

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|

| [6]

Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
Attendance: 1,787

* * *

Wednesday 21 June

Wellington | 3 – 66  |  Australia

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| [7]

Basin Reserve, Wellington
Attendance: 707

* * *

Friday 23 June

National Coaching School  | 4 – 9  |  Australia

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| [8]

Rugby League Park, Christchurch
Attendance: 2,793

* * *

Saturday 24 June

West Coast | 7 – 27  |  Australia

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| [9]

Wingham Park, Greymouth
Attendance: 1,682

* * *

Tuesday 27 June

Taranaki | 0 – 34  |  Australia

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| [10]

Burnside Showgrounds, Hāwera
Attendance: 600

* * *

### First test

[edit]

Saturday 1 July

New Zealand | 12 – 10  |  Australia

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|

Tries:
Maunga Emery
Graeme Farrar
Goals:
Reg Cooke (2/2)
Field Goals
Gary Phillips | [11]
| Tries:
Ken Irvine
Don Parish
Goals:
Don Parish (2/2)

Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 11,485
Referee: Roland Avery

New Zealand

Australia

|

|  |

|

FB  | 1 |  Gary Phillips
RW  | 2 |  Brian Reidy
RC  | 3 |  George H. Turner
LC  | 4 |  Tom Hadfield
LW  | 5 |  Reg Cooke
FE  | 6 |  George Menzies
HB  | 7 |  Graeme Farrar
PR  | 8 |  Jim Patterson
HK  | 9 |  Jock Butterfield
PR  | 10 |  Maunga Emery
SR  | 11 |  Don Hammond
SR  | 12 |  Ron Ackland (c)
LF  | 13 |  Mel Cooke
Coach:
Des White |
|  |

|

FB  | 1 |  Don Parish
RW  | 2 |  Ken Irvine
RC  | 3 |  Reg Gasnier
LC  | 4 |  Brian Carlson (c)
LW  | 5 |  Eddie Lumsden
FE  | 6 |  Arthur Summons
HB  | 7 |  Barry Muir
PR  | 8 |  Elton Rasmussen
HK  | 9 |  Ian Walsh
PR  | 10 |  Ron Crowe
SR  | 11 |  Jim Paterson
SR  | 12 |  Ron Lynch
LF  | 13 |  Jack Sinclair
Coach:
Brian Carlson

* * *

Wednesday 5 July

Waikato | 8 – 26  |  Australia

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| [12]

Steele Park, Hamilton
Attendance: 886

* * *

### Second test

[edit]

Saturday 8 July

New Zealand | 8 – 10  |  Australia

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Tries:

Goals:
Reg Cooke (3/3)
Gary Phillips (1/1)  | [13]
| Tries:
Reg Gasnier (2)
Arthur Summons
Goals:
Don Parish (2/2)

Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 12,424
Referee: Roland Avery

New Zealand

Australia

|

|  |

|

FB  | 1 |  Gary Phillips
RW  | 2 |  Brian Reidy
RC  | 3 |  George H. Turner
LC  | 4 |  Tom Hadfield
LW  | 5 |  Reg Cooke
FE  | 6 |  George Menzies
HB  | 7 |  Bill Snowden
PR  | 8 |  Jim Patterson
HK  | 9 |  Tom Reid
PR  | 10 |  Maunga Emery
SR  | 11 |  Don Hammond
SR  | 12 |  Ron Ackland (c)
LF  | 13 |  Mel Cooke
Coach:
Des White |
|  |

|

FB  | 1 |  Frank Drake
RW  | 2 |  Ken Irvine
RC  | 3 |  Don Parish
LC  | 4 |  Reg Gasnier
LW  | 5 |  Eddie Lumsden
FE  | 6 |  Arthur Summons
HB  | 7 |  Barry Muir (c)
PR  | 8 |  Ron Crowe
HK  | 9 |  Ian Walsh
PR  | 10 |  Dud Beattie
SR  | 11 |  Elton Rasmussen
SR  | 12 |  Jim Paterson
LF  | 13 |  Ron Lynch
Coach:
Brian Carlson

* * *

Monday 10 July

Auckland | 13 – 8  |  Australia

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| [14]

Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 5,148

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Kangaroos Tour 1961 - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
2. ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Popular Pair As Managers To N.Z." The Rugby League News. 42 (11 (12 June 1961)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-757061231. Retrieved 17 Jan 2021 - via Trove.
3. ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Australia's Team For New Zealand". The Rugby League News. 42 (12 (17 June 1961)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-757066769. Retrieved 17 Jan 2021 - via Trove.
4. ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Aust. Team's Record in N.Z." The Rugby League News. 42 (16 (15 July 1961)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-758558770. Retrieved 17 Jan 2021 - via Trove.
5. ^ E.E.Christensen (1962). "Players' Records in N.Z.". E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook. 16. Sydney: E.E.Christensen.
6. ^ 1961 NZ Maori vs Australia – Rugby League Project
7. ^ 1961 Wellington vs Australia – Rugby League Project
8. ^ 1961 Coaching School (NZ) vs Australia – Rugby League Project
9. ^ 1961 West Coast vs Australia – Rugby League Project
10. ^ 1961 Taranaki vs Australia – Rugby League Project
11. ^ 1961 New Zealand vs Australia – Rugby League Project
12. ^ 1961 Waikato vs Australia – Rugby League Project
13. ^ 1961 New Zealand vs Australia – Rugby League Project
14. ^ 1961 Auckland vs Australia – Rugby League Project

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