Richie Gillham
The first reports of a team in Auckland, New Zealand called Everton, appeared in the first decade of the twentieth century, but the club was only in existence for a short period before a second Everton team would be formed in Auckland in 1911.
The Auckland Football Association was founded in 1887, following the formation of several football clubs, but it would not be into the next century before Everton Auckland would become part of the organisation. The roots of the club lay in church football, just as it did for Everton FC and St Domingo. At an event in 1903 to celebrate forty-eight years’ existence of the Auckland Baptist Tabernacle Church, it was reported that the church had held Sunday athletics games and had a football club for boys run by their teachers. They soon amalgamated with another local church team to form a larger club.
At a meeting of the team held in the Young Men’s Club Room at the Tabernacle, with a Mr L. Moses presiding, the secretary (Mr A. Turley) read the annual report, which stated that the senior team had occupied the position of runners-up for the Championship Shield, while the first juniors had not been very successful. It was decided to enter a first and a second junior team for the association championships.
In 1907, there was a split in the Tabernacle side, and Everton Association Football Club of Auckland was born. The local Auckland Star, commented that out of the ashes of a defunct combination came Everton, also stating that they hoped Everton would become as successful as the English team which had won the FA Cup the previous season, and it had promised, “that the effort would be second to none.”
The reason why the Auckland club was directly named in honour of the English team is not entirely clear, but almost half the players were born in Liverpool before emigrating to New Zealand, and may have supported Everton FC back in their homeland. Other players were from Natal in South Africa, while some of the squad came from the defunct Tabernacle club. The club had twenty players, their colours being black shirts with white facings.
During a meeting of the newly found club with a Mr G. McNair in the chair, the election of officers took place with the result that Mr A. Dugmore was to become president, with Dr Roland Aicken, Dr Goldstone, Mr C. Myall, Rev A. North, Reverend J. Clark, and Mr C. J. Hemery to be vice-presidents.
It was decided that the players should elect the captain and vice-captain, and Mr R. Takle became the secretary. The treasurer was Mr C. H. Skipper, and the rest of the management committee was made up from Messrs Smith, C. Glenister and Bradshaw. The selection committee for the first game would be Messrs J. Clark, A. Dugmore and G. McNair. Furthermore, Mr. J. Clark was elected along with the captain and vice-captain as the permanent selection committee for all the future games. Delegates to the Auckland Football Association were also selected, namely Messrs C. Myall and R. Takle.
(photo: Terry Maddaford, The First 100 Years; the Official Centenary History of the Auckland Football Association)
Among the original team players were C Glenister, a prominent player and former secretary of the Taranaki Football Association, and F. Gamble, who played for Petone near Wellington. The local press reported that C.H. Skipper was back in the city and that he would play for Everton, alongside two of his old Tabernacle teammates, plus two players tipped for the future, Keene, and Gould, both of whom came from the W.Y.M.I. team.
(photo: Terry Maddaford, The First 100 Years; the Official Centenary History of the Auckland Football Association)
The amount of interest in the ‘association’ game over rugby was reflected in the number of applications for club membership in the Auckland region. In this district, six new clubs took part in the competitions during the coming season. Throughout the city and its suburbs, clubs were springing into being. One bright prospect for the future of the association game was the fact that so many juniors had taken to it.
The photograph shows Spectators at the New South Wales v New Zealand rugby league match played on the Domain, Auckland (Auckland Weekly News 11 September 1913).
(Image courtesy of www.flickr.com, Phil Braithwaite, 25 April 2012 )
Everton’s first official game was on 4 May 1907, against the Corinthians at the Domain Cricket Ground. The club had problems fielding players, for in a knockout competition they lost against North Shore’s second-string side, as they could only field six players, although they had a squad reported in the Auckland press consisting of the following players: McNair, J. Dinen, F. Gamble, B. Erney, F. Baker, J. Maxwell, C. Skipper, J. Wallet, Smith, Gould, Keene, and R. Takle.
The Auckland Star of 4 May reported that Everton were pushing forward with all efforts in signing top players. They had signed Allan Edmonds, formerly of the Thistle club, as goalkeeper, and J. Wallet, a promising forward from Caledonians club of Durban, Natal, who also was a champion hurdler at 220 yards for the Durban Athletic Club.
The squad on the 11 May for a game at Point Chevalier was A. Edmonds, G. McNair, J. Dinen, W. Bradshall, B. Erney, F. Baker, H. Smith, J. Maxwell, C. H. Skipper, J. Wallet, W. Harding, T. Keene, and Gamble, with Mr. M. Knight as the match official.
Their next fixture was against Ponsonby, with Everton recording a 3-1 win.
The rest of their first season’s reports are patchy, garnering little interest in the pages of the Auckland press. The next match report revealed that North Shore and Ponsonby drew, leaving North Shore and Everton to fight it out for the runners-up spot after the Corinthian’s had stormed the championship.
On 2 August, the press reported that the league tournament was to be suspended, and knockout competitions would commence. Everton were drawn against North Shore second XI.
The Everton side: Edmonds, McNair, Dineen, Skipper, Bradshaw, Baker, Smith, Ernie, Harding, Southern, T. Keene, and J. Wallet. Unfortunately, only six players turned up, and Everton were thrown out of the cup giving their opponents a walkover.
The last apparent match report for that season was in the Auckland Star on 24 August 1907, in which it was reported that full-back McNair had been picked to play at Alexandria Park, the home of Auckland rugby union club for the Auckland representative team. The report also stated that McNair was a ‘cool, steady player whose kicking could be relied on under trying conditions,’ and that he had been ‘Everton’s saviour.’
In 1908, the Everton side were next reported as playing at the fifth-grade level in a 1—1 draw against the Richmond side.
As the club disbanded, many of the Everton players were to return to their former club, indicated by a representative match between the Tabernacle Former Players v Present Players. Notably, Takle and Skipper appeared for the Former Players, and F. Baker represented the Present Players.
It would not be until 1911 before a second Everton Auckland would be relaunched.
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Sources
Terry Maddaford, The First 100 Years the official centenary history of the Auckland football association
Auckland Weekly News
Auckland Star
