1953 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand

The 1953 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 three tests against the New Zealand national rugby league team. The tour began on 24 June and finished on 18 July.[1]

1953 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand
ManagerDudley F. Locke
George McLeod
Coach(es)Clive Churchill
Tour captain(s)Clive Churchill
Top point scorer(s)Noel Pidding 63
Top try scorer(s)Des McGovern 19
Top test point scorer(s)Noel Pidding 13
Des White 24
Top test try scorer(s)Ken McCaffery 2
Harry Wells 2
Ron McKay 3
Summary
P W D L
Total
09 07 00 02
Test match
03 01 00 02
Opponent
P W D L
 New Zealand
3 1 0 2
Tour chronology
Previous tour1949 to
1952 to
1952-53 to
Next tour1956 to
1952-53 to
1961 to

Leadership

Clive Churchill was both the captain and the coach of the touring side. He appeared in eight of the nine matches.
In the one game in which Churchill was absent, against Northland, Ken McCaffery captained the Australian team.
The team was managed by Dudley Locke of Wollongong and George McLeod of Maryborough.[2]

Touring squad

The Rugby League News published the touring team including the players' ages and weights.[3] 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.[4]
Crocker, Davies, Drew, Hornery, Banks, McCaffery, McGovern and Watson were selected from Queensland clubs. Carlson, Gill and Paul were selected from clubs in New South Wales Country areas. The balance of the squad had played for Sydney based clubs during the 1953 season.

Player Position Age Weight Club Tests
on
Tour		 Games Tries Goals FG Points
Ferris AshtonSecond-row2614 st. 8 lb. (93 kg) Eastern Suburbs1545022
Roy BullProp2314 st. 4 lb. (91 kg) Manly-Warringah36206
Brian CarlsonWing2013 st. 3 lb. (84 kg) Newcastle Northern Suburbs2616558
Clive ChurchillFullback2611 st. 7 lb. (73 kg) South Sydney381003
Les CowieLock2813 st. 4 lb. (84 kg) South Sydney150000
Harold CrockerLock2415 st. 0 lb. (95 kg) South Brisbane350000
Brian DaviesProp2215 st. 0 lb. (95 kg) Brisbane Brothers373009
Bernie DrewSecond-row2413 st. 7 lb. (86 kg) Ipswich Railways1592031
Charlie GillProp3013 st. 12 lb. (88 kg) Newcastle Northern Suburbs371105
Greg HawickFive-eighth2113 st. 0 lb. (83 kg) South Sydney261309
Keith HolmanHalfback2511 st. 9 lb. (74 kg) Western Suburbs1422010
Alan HorneryHooker2713 st. 6 lb. (85 kg) Brisbane Western Suburbs051105
Ken KearneyHooker2714 st. 2 lb. (90 kg) St George340000
Bob BanksFive-eighth2212 st. 6 lb. (79 kg) Toowoomba Newtown3742016
Ken McCafferyCentre2313 st. 0 lb. (83 kg) Toowoomba Souths3680024
Des McGovernWing2413 st. 4 lb. (84 kg) Toowoomba Newtown16191059
Albert PaulSecond-row2514 st. 2 lb. (90 kg) Lakes United051105
Noel PiddingWing2612 st. 6 lb. (79 kg) St George38918063
Alex WatsonCentre2013 st. 4 lb. (84 kg) Brisbane Western Suburbs0561020
Harry WellsCentre2114 st. 2 lb. (90 kg) Wollongong3770021

Tour

The Australians played nine matches on the tour, winning seven matches and losing two, both being tests against the Kiwis.

Wednesday 24 June
West Coast 11 – 17 Australia
[5]
Wingham Park, Greymouth
Attendance: 2,003

First test
Saturday 27 June
New Zealand  25 – 5  Australia
Tries:
Ron McKay (2)
George Davidson
Jimmy Edwards
Des White Goals:
Des White (4/4)
John Bond (1/1)		 [6]
 Tries:
Ferris Ashton
Goals:
Noel Pidding (1/1)
Rugby League Park, Christchurch
Attendance: 5,509
Referee: Wally Wilkinson New Zealand
New Zealand
Australia
FB 1 Des White
RW 2 Jimmy Edwards
RC 3 Ron McKay
LC 4 Tommy Baxter
LW 5 Bevin Hough
FE 6 Bill Sorensen
HB 7 Jimmy Haig (c)
PR 8 John Bond
HK 9 George Davidson
PR 10 Bill McLennan
SR 11 Bob Neilson
SR 12 Frank Mulcare
LF 13 Alister Atkinson
Coach:
New Zealand Jim Amos
FB 1 Clive Churchill (c)
RW 2 Brian Carlson
RC 3 Harry Wells
LC 4 Ken McCaffery
LW 5 Noel Pidding
FE 6 Bob Banks
HB 7 Keith Holman
PR 8 Roy Bull
HK 9 Ken Kearney
PR 10 Charlie Gill
SR 11 Brian Davies
SR 12 Ferris Ashton
LF 13 Harold Crocker
Coach:
Australia Clive Churchill
Tuesday 30 June
South Island 9 – 66 Australia
[7]
Tahuna Park, Dunedin
Attendance: 2,956

Second test
Saturday 4 July
New Zealand  12 – 11  Australia
Tries:
Ron McKay
Bob Neilson
Goals:
Des White (3/3)		 [8]
 Tries:
Ken McCaffery
Brian Carlson
Goals:
Noel Pidding (1/2)
Basin Reserve, Wellington
Attendance: 5,394
Referee: Wally Wilkinson New Zealand
New Zealand
Australia
FB 1 Des White
RW 2 Cyril Paskell
RC 3 Ron McKay
LC 4 Tommy Baxter
LW 5 Jimmy Edwards
FE 6 Bill Sorensen
HB 7 Jimmy Haig (c)
PR 8 Bill McLennan
HK 9 George Davidson
PR 10 John Bond
SR 11 Bob Neilson
SR 12 Frank Mulcare
LF 13 Alister Atkinson
Coach:
New Zealand Jim Amos
FB 1 Clive Churchill (c)
RW 2 Brian Carlson
RC 3 Harry Wells
LC 4 Ken McCaffery
LW 5 Noel Pidding
FE 6 Bob Banks
HB 7 Greg Hawick
PR 8 Roy Bull
HK 9 Ken Kearney
PR 10 Charlie Gill
SR 11 Brian Davies
SR 12 Harold Crocker
LF 13 Les Cowie
Coach:
Australia Clive Churchill
Monday 6 July
Taranaki 3 – 62 Australia
[9]
Pukekura Park, New Plymouth
Attendance: 1,950
Wednesday 8 July
South Auckland 11 – 63 Australia
[10]
Davies Park, Huntly
Attendance: 1,044
Saturday 11 July
Auckland 4 – 26 Australia
[11]
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 8,556
Wednesday 15 July
Northland 7 – 98 Australia
[12]
Okara Park, Whangarei
Attendance: 1,051

Third test
Saturday 18 July
New Zealand  16 – 18  Australia
Tries:
Jimmy Edwards
Frank Mulcare
Bob Neilson
Des White
Goals:
Des White (2/4)		 [13]
 Tries:
Harry Wells (2)
Bob Banks
Noel Pidding
Goals:
Noel Pidding (3/4)
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 16,033
Referee: Roland Avery New Zealand
New Zealand
Australia
FB 1 Des White
RW 2 Jimmy Edwards
RC 3 Ron McKay
LC 4 Tommy Baxter
LW 5 Vern Bakalich
FE 6 Cyril Eastlake
HB 7 Jimmy Haig (c)
PR 8 John Bond
HK 9 George Davidson
PR 10 Bill McLennan
SR 11 Bob Neilson
SR 12 Frank Mulcare
LF 13 Alister Atkinson
Coach:
New Zealand Jim Amos
FB 1 Clive Churchill (c)
RW 2 Des McGovern
RC 3 Harry Wells
LC 4 Ken McCaffery
LW 5 Noel Pidding
FE 6 Bob Banks
HB 7 Greg Hawick
PR 8 Roy Bull
HK 9 Ken Kearney
PR 10 Charlie Gill
SR 11 Brian Davies
SR 12 Bernie Drew
LF 13 Harold Crocker
Coach:
Australia Clive Churchill

References
  1. "Kangaroos Tour 1953 - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  2. New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Manager For N.Z." The Rugby League news. Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League (Vol. 34 No. 5 (18 April 1953)). nla.obj-643706177. Retrieved 17 Jan 2021 – via Trove.
  3. New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Sound Side For N.Z." The Rugby League news. Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League (Vol. 34 No. 16 (20 June 1953)). nla.obj-643864189. Retrieved 16 Jan 2021 – via Trove.
  4. E.E.Christensen (1954). "Players' Records in N.Z.". E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook. Sydney: E.E.Christensen (Vol. 8).
  5. 1953 West Coast vs Australia – Rugby League Project
  6. 1953 New Zealand vs Australia – Rugby League Project
  7. 1953 South Island vs Australia – Rugby League Project
  8. 1953 New Zealand vs Australia – Rugby League Project
  9. 1953 Taranaki vs Australia – Rugby League Project
  10. 1953 South Auckland vs Australia – Rugby League Project
  11. 1953 Auckland vs Australia – Rugby League Project
  12. 1953 Northland vs Australia – Rugby League Project
  13. 1953 New Zealand vs Australia – Rugby League Project
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