THE GENESIS OF NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL.

ITHE FIRST RUGBY MATCH. NELSON V. WELLINGTON, Mr C, J. Monro, writing to the Wellington " Post " under date 15th instant regarding tho genesis of Rugby football in New Zoaland, gives the appended reminiscences, which will be read with pleasure by footballers and non-foot> j bailers alike :— l " In tho year 1870 there was a football club iv Nelson, of which I happened to il be a member. We had our colours and tbe correct rules of tiugby as played then ' in the Old Country. I had supplied them • „ to tbo club on my return from school in ► England in that yoar. Being in Wellington in the month of September I re ceived a letter from Mr K. C. Tennant, Secretary of the Nolson Club, asking me whether it would bo possible to arrange a football match with Wellington. Thore was no club at all in Wellington in thoso daysi- but thore was plenty of the raw i materiul— some of it very raw indeed. I Thero were a good many young fellofrs fresh from tho public schools ot* England, among whom 1 might mention Messrs Isherwood, Cos*, Worry, the Hou Hussey Vivian, and others, who knew all about tho game ; and there were others— native to the soil, who had never seen a football match hor kicked a Rugby ball; but they wero Btrong and active and willing, to try if wo could only show them how to do it. "On receipt of Mr Tonnant's letter I set to work at onco to gather together a scratch team from the materials at hand to do battle with tho representatives of | my native pro rinc, and in the course of a few days had received sufficient'encouragement to warrant mo in advising ■ tho INelsou Club that tho project could bo carriod through. But the hudiug of a team v. as merely an initial difficulty, and ' the best laid schemes ot mice and mon gang aft aglee.' Wellington waa little more than v villago in those comparatively primitive days, in fact no lurger than Nelson is now j thore nas no ferry service between the lft'o ports as in these comfortable times, and the small steamers plying botweon the ttvo places wero infrequent and uncertain as to their movements. The question was, how woro the Nelson men to got to "Wellington V Most fortunately it chi>nccd that tho Government steamer Luna was on hor way'to Nelson, and would return to Wellington in the course of a few days. Tbia wub our chance if only wo could work ib, and bo screwing up my courage I wont to Mr Yogel, the Colon al Treasurer, thou in the throes of propounding his great Immigration and Pubiio Works j. Sohoi»>e, and blushingly asked h:i.. .a the c name ot sport if he would give the .\ulson i team a passage in the Luna. To my n surprise, and stiil more to my joy, he at • once consented, tho only stipulation be- **" ing that the men should pay for their 1 j tucker. Not only did Mr Yogel grant Q j tho request, bub ho at oaco telegraphed 3 | to Captain bairehild to bring thorn over. ' Footballers aie generally a high-spirited ,_ ; crew, and theso particular ones, from c j Japtain Fairchild's account, wero not cxt ' coptional ; but ho was a man who lovod t ;h 8 joke, and on landing Ins charges V j 6afoly in W«llington ho wired to Nelson V ' Tho lunatics have arrived.' 3 '• The next question was, whoro should r we play. There was a vacant section off 5 ; Hobson sfireot, and another at Te Aro, familiarly known as Johnny Martin's ' paddock ; but both of thoso woro too ' ; small j and as for the Basin Reserve — the ,' ' only recreation ground — half of tlat was .' j ayellotv la*e, 'a place for tho bittern . and the stork ' rather than for an ath« v letic contest, whilst the other half was of , a variegated kia 1. being freely sprinkled - with kerosene una, pieceß of hoop^iron, , 'dial mariuop,' and such-like jetsam, 3 and therefore it was decided to look f u - b ther afield. On Saturday, the 10th cf 1 September, I walked out to the Lower 7 Hutt in quest of a fi< Ul of battle, Mr - r . Barry Goring boaring v.e 'Company, and j alter getting permission from tho lite ; Mr Ludlam to oireut our goal poets in o; c ; if his paddocks we footed it back io • town. A day or two later tho Luna, ' 'villi tho Nolson team arrived, and hir.ng • a couplo of Prosser's drags, both teams ' i wi re driven out to tho Lower Hutt. j Heavy rain had fallen meanwhile, and j j lho ground chosen was considered too | ! wet, so ivo drove back to I'etouo, and ! ' there on a dry and etony flat, in the ! neighbourhood of whore the railway sta- '. I tiou now stands, we fought it out. i J ' Tiie Wellington team having bo3n chosen by ono of tho Nelson players, • and some of thorn being absolute novices !at the ga:ne, it seems hardly worth 1 mentioning that Nolson had an easy win. There was no croivd to watch our gamo and cheor us on to victory, and the refereo with his confounded whistle was not there to ch..ck us overy half-minuto, and just as wo were on tho point of do ng some heroic deed ; nor was tho game so scientific and full of rules and ponaltios ns now, J3ut how wo did enjoy ourselves, both victors and vanquished, and how l.ttle wo thought, in thoso lemoto timvs, that football would ono day bocomo the great national game ef tho colony, or that :n tho yoar of. our Lord 1901 somo of us would form part of that vast multitude who on Saturday last cheered themselves hoarso when a crack team from England was bo signally defeated by our successors and fellowcountrymen." The names of the playerj in this first intor-prov'neial contest i tannot now remember in their entirety, tut tho faot is worth recording that in Fpit > of fche s ljng years, that h ivo tince ro lei by, so far us I know, every" one of tho Ne aon men is still in the flesh, TMs c'oes not proie that "' thorowere g ants in th >so days," but it does prove that t'uy w ;ro men of good phyßiquo and t ami ia. Isherwood, I think, ua3 capta v f the i Wellington team, whilst ours was t iat good alliound eport, Mr Alfred Dr :x, now of faim rston North. The deao iption suits him still, for there ii m New Zealand no more mtere iti d spectator to this day, at any cont -st between man and man, tlnn Mr Dre v, hough i c now has tho hoary head which on the be it authority wo* aro told to look upon as ' a crown of glory.' j " After thiß _rßt match at Petone there wero annual contes s botween Nolson and Woll ngton for sovera yeats, but . Wellington's population per " cont of whom, it was said, wore in the Civil Service) was growing rapidly, aud 1 boforo long tueir choico of players was bo great that the little town of absent sons, sunahiuo, and fair maidens could no longer compote with them upon equal >; t terms, and so tho matchos were aban- : doned."