Life Member

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31653, 13 April 1968, Page 14

Life Member

A playing, refereeing and administrative career that began 48 years ago was recognised last evening when Mr L. A. Stuart became the second life member of the 21year history of the New Zealand Rugby League Schoolboy Council.

! Mr Stuart played a leading part in the formation of the council and since 1948 he has been the South Island organiser. From 1959 until 1961 he represented Canterbury and he became deputy chairman and then president in 1961. He has been unopposed as president since then and has attended every council meeting since the body was transferred to Christchurch in 1955.

The first association that Mr Stuart had with the code was as a schoolboy player with the now defunct Avon club in 1920. He later played with Linwood and Addington and was a member of the cham-pionship-winning teams of 1932 (Linwood), 1935 (Addington) and 1938 (when he was the Linwood playercoach).

Upon his retirement, Mr Stuart concentrated on club administration and refereeing. He is a vice-president of the Linwood and Addington clubs, a life member and trustee of the referees' association and the vice-patron of the Canterbury Rugby league. In 1950 Mr Stuart was a prime mover of the Canterbury schoolboys’ board which replaced the old management committee of club delegates, and from 1947 until 1956 he held the offices of president, chairman, selector, manager and coach and still attends

board meetings as a life member. From 1950 until 1956 Mr Stuart was a South Island schoolboys selector and was a national selector for four seasons. In 1953 he visited Otago and arranged exhibition matches to establish schoolboy football there and four years ago he was the manager of the first New Zealand schoolboys’ team to tour Australia.

The only other life member :of the council was the late Mr L. Rout (Wellington), who was the secretary of the council during its first 14 years.