David Richmond Gage: A Rugby Football Champion.

Free Lance, Volume XVI, Issue 850, 20 October 1916, Page 19

David Richmond Gage: A Rugby Football Champion.

THE passing of D. I\. Gage last week removes from■ this scene of care and trouble one of the finest players who .ever donned a Rugby football jersey. There have been many Rugby Champions in New Zealand —equal to rani- with the best the world lias produced —-but not a solitary one can be placed on a higher pedestal than this half-caste Maori. He was born at- Kiliikihi, in the South Auckland district. 48 years ago. Ms father being Captain Gage, who ' fought on the pakeba side in the Maori wars, and was an assessor of the INative Land Court when the war was over. "Davy's" , mother is a Maori woman, and a good, mother at that. . The old captain himself only died a few months ago, well past the allotted three score and ten. . * * * ■ ■ * . His Schooldays. ; Davy Gage was a scholar at the St. Stephen's School for Maori boys in Parnell, Auckland, a place that has produced many fine athletes at one time or another. Gaining a scholarship that entitled him to attend Te Aute College, in Bawke's Bay, the subject of this sketch "rt'as educated at this famous Maori educational institution at the same time as the late T. R. Ellison. T. G. Pou, Hiroa, Taaku, Friday Tomoana. and James were being taught the higher branches of knowledge, and inoideiitally laying the foundation for the greatness they attained in the Rugby world. . *3f - A Good Story that has been retailed to me is worth telling just here. When Mr. Thornton was principal of Te Aute College he

made it a hard and fast rule that the scholars in speaking of and to one ..another should not abridge their Christian names in any way. This by way of preamble. The late Tom Ellison arrived in Wellington and joined the Poneke Club in 1885. and one day the following year a fellow player noticed him hurrying down Willis-street towards the wharf. Through communication by rail between Wellington and Napier was not an accomplished fact those days, and the only way to get from the Hawke's Bay town to" the Empire City was by boat. "Where are you going to in such a hurry, Tom?" .'was the way the old Poneke forward tried to stop Ellison. "I'm going to meet David." "Who's David?" "David Gage." The Poneke boys did not have to.r.sk who David was once he got into a red and black jersey, but it was remarkable that both these, half-caste. Maoris for man}' years spoke of and addressed each other as Thomas and David. It is also a tradition in the Poneke Club that they .had a supreme faith in each other's abilities. If the opposition got into their stride, Ellison was wont to remark. "It's all right. David is there to stop them." and with Thomas in the forwards" Davy was perfectly satisfied that it would not be long before the tables were turned. -* • * * ■ * As a Wellington Player Davy Gage' soon made his mark, and in iris first year as a member of the Poneke Club he gained his cap as a Wellington representative player. From 1887 to 1901 lie played in the black and gold jersey on twenty-nine occasions as follows ; - v. Hawke's Bav. 1887-91-92. v., Wairarapa.' 1887 (twice 1 ). 1889-92-96. ■' ' ■ v. Canterbury. 1887-91-92-9 G. v. Maiiawatu, 1887-92. v. Otago. 1887-91-96. v. England. 1888. v. Auckland,. 1889-9-1-1901. v. Queensland, 1896. v. South Canterbury, 1894. v. Poverty Bay, 1894. v. Taranaki.. 1894-1901. " . v. New South Wales, 1894-96. v. Wanganui. 1896. •9 * • S The New Zealand Native Team organised by Mr. T. Eyton and the i-.te J. A. Warbrick, left for England early in the 1888 season, and Davy Gage was

one of tho team. He was originally chosen as reserve full-back to the late • W. Warbrick, but before the tour finished he had played in every position among the backs, and was generally voted the best all-round back in the team. That is what George Williams. • a member of the team, and now in charge of the. Police District of Seddon, in the Marlborough Province, says of D. R. Gage,.in his book of the "Tour of the Native Team": — "D. Gage (list 21b)— 'Pony' was one of the best plums (gage) in our football basket. As full, three-quarter, or halfback he seemed equally at home, and invariably played a first-class game. - His record of 68 .matches played in out of 74 in Great Britain shows the great service he rendered, and no other member of the team can equal him in this respect." E. McCatisland, the well-known Auckland centre three-quarter of the eighties, who acted as secretary of the Native Team on this tour, declared, on his return to New Zealand, that he was -the best all-round player in the combination . * * '* » ' It is just twenty-eight years since this team of Maoris' and native-born New Zealanders started out on their famous tour, a tour that will stand as a monument to the - stamina of the members composing the party. The 1905 "AIL Blacks.-" made New Zealand famous by the quality of the Rugby they playedy but it is agreed that when they met Wales in the only match in which they were defeated they were showing signs of staleness. ' Comparisons are- odious, it is true, but the full programme of the "All '-Black's'-' consisted of thirtythree matches, while the Native Team's record was : — - Matches played ... ••• 108 Matches won - ... •■• 80 . Matches lost , 2§ Matches drawn ... ... 5 The above were played, between July. 1888, and .August, 1889. out of- which period about four months were spent in travelling, so that the average .all through'was' about three matches a week.' In Great Britain alone, from October 3rd, 1888, to March 27, 1889, 7-4 matches were played. * * * '''*'" The Grim Reaper. Death has been busy in the ranks of the native plavers since the completion of their tour. "Of the original twentysix the following have passed away : — J A. Warbrick, captain and organiser, ' whose death was the result of a. premature explosion of the Wainiangu Geyser many vears ago: he was acting as_gni.de to a party, and heroically lost his lite in endeavouring to get into safety those he was in charge of ; William Warbrick, who died in Australia after a long innings at the game both m New South Wales and Queensland after leaving New Zealancl: Arthur Warbrick. who met his death as the result of a boating accident on one of the rivers of the East Coast; D. R, Gage. C. Madigan Taare (C. Goldsmith), H. Lee, T R. Ellison, W. Anderson. D. Stewart Rene, RMaynard. A- Webster, and Karauna. " x * * * Of the Others, Alfred Warbrick is the tourist guide at Rotorua.; W. T. \\ynvard is Wellington district agent ot tne Agricultural Department • H J. Wynvard is in the service of the Gear Company at Petone; Q. Wynxaxd is an ejn--hloTee o fthe Sydney Harbour -Trust E ScCausland was, the last I heard of him. the manager of a bank in a country district of New South Wales P Keogh is in the Dunedm Mental Hospital - W. Elliott is- in the Railway Workshops at Newmarket Auckland; Ihiiiiaira (Smiler) went back to the Pah in' Hawke's Bay as soon as he from the "jaunt round the world and has been lost to sport and almost to memory ever since; George A. Williams invariably drops in to have a chat about old times when on a ?* u sJS*™ or official duties calls him to Welhngton from his police duties oyer Marlborough way; W. Nehua ..is m Wha-no-aref; and R. Taiaroa isnn Dunedm.

After this Digression, which may or may not have been warranted, but which I hope has proved interesting. I will get back to the history of Davy' Gage as a Rugby footballer. He was a member of the. New Zealand team, that toured to Australia in 1893 under the captaincy of the late T. R. Ellison,and with Mi-. G. F. C. Campbell as manager. In 1894 he was a member of the North Island team that played against the New South Wales representatives that toured New Zealand that year. Davy Gage then went to Auckland for n while, and the.next year returned to Wellington as an Auckland .representative, taking part in that memorable match in 1890 on the Newtown Park. Mr. G. H. Dixon, the present Chairman of "the New Zealand Rugby Union, was the" then-secretary of the Auckland Rugby Union, and was manager of .the visitors. He had under his charge some of the finest players who ever donned a jersey, but the Wellington side was also a. strong one, .and the Aucklanders had to submit, to a 9 to 5 points defeat. Some clay the occasion may arise to tell the history of that game- and the players that took part in it, but "this is not a. suitable time, although I feel inclined to let my pen run riot. -..» * # » Back in Wellington in .1896. Davy Gage was at the top of his form, play- - ing against Otago, Canterbury, Wairarapa, and Queensland, and also for New Zealand against Queensland in one of the first matches played on the Athletic Park. He drifted to Hawke's Bay after this, and it was not until 1901 that he again figured in' Wellington football, playing his last match against Auckland that yea.r. And this ends a cursory' summary of the activities as a player of a great half-caste Maori on the fields of Rugby football.

Some Incidents in Davy Gage's Rugby Career. One could fill a book in the telling of incidents of. Davy Gage's playing.-, days. It has: bean told before* that he potted three goals one afternoon for Poneke against a. strong Athletic team. As a matter of fact, four goals was his tally on that occasion, but the referee was not 'in a position to determine the .matter. The game was played with two umpires and a referee those days, and nnless two of the parties were in agreement a . decision could not be given. On this occasion Harry Roberts was one of the umpires, and he was the only one of the three officials, who was able to give a decision, and he unhesitatingly said it was a goal. The referee (the late J. Eman Smith) was too fax- away to say whether, it was a goal or not, and so also was : the other umpire, and, therefore, i,t could not be" awarded. It hardly matters probably at this late stage to discuss it, but the three potted goals - do not constitute- a record for New Zealand football, as J. Breen (now a Union Company official on the Wellington. Wharf) playing for Porisqnby against Grafton in Auckland in the long ago potted three goals from the field. That, by the way, but the point I am striving for is that if that" fourth goal of Davy Gage's had been awarded the performance would have been a .record one. , ■'«"'## s In. 1894 the Wellington team looked like winning- the senior championship, having disposed of Melrose and Athletic in cavalier fashion. It was in that year that Ken Duncan pat.up a New 'Zealand record -by convea-ting eight tries into goals in the one match, not missing a solitary snot. Dr. Newman—"then as now President of the Poneke Club —got into an argument with some of his friends at the Wellington Club, with the result that he appealed to T. R. Ellison, who was standing by through an injury to his knee, which, as a matter of fact, caused that player's retirement long before- he was played out. The Wellington team were playing at Petone, and Ellison went out to watch them. He concluded that Ken and Arthur Duncan at half and fiveeighths respectively and Harley in the three-quarter line were the strong men in the.-.Wellington-team, and - if they could be scotched the win would come the way of Poneke. The late' Archie Merlet-^—a. real fine tackier—was -set the task of coping with Arthur Duncan, .and the Poneke front-rankers were - given instructions to let the Wellington men have the ball every time;'in the early stages of the game. So effective ..were the tactics suggested by Ellison that the attack by the opposition was thrown right out of gear. Davy Gage was the Poneke half-back, and directly the Wellington men were at sixes and sevens he called,<?n his forwards to give him the ball, ,dnd' in the end the strong Wellington team were beaten by three tries to nothing. One of the tries was a real beauty. Davy made a fine run right up to Strang, a big, strong Wellington three-quarter (14st was his weight). He gathered

the'nuggety half-caste in all right,, but his face was a study when' he noticed Galloway, Poneke's three-quarter, streaking for the line with the ball in his possession. He could not understand how and when Gage had made his pass.