The 1923 Chatham Cup was the first annual nationwide

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

competition in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The competition was run on a regional basis, with separate northern and southern tournaments, with the winners of the two meeting in the final. Very few teams entered the competition, including only two from the southern South Island; Seacliff easily won the only match played there, thumping Oamaru 7–0, and repeated this in the final, accounting for Wellington's YMCA 4–0. Of the teams taking part, it is known that four were from Wellington; contemporary reports indicate that

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...

, Y.M.C.A. (Wellington),

Hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

and Waterside took part. The Wellington FA scheduled their first Chatham Cup fixture for 11 August, between the Y.M.C.A. (Wellington) and Waterside at the

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve, also known as the Cello Basin Reserve for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the Basin, is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It is used for Test cricket, Test matches, and is the main home ground of t ...

. Admission to the match cost one shilling. The management committee of the Auckland Football Association (A.F.A.) announced at its meeting on 5 June that Chatham Cup entries had closed with the North Shore,

Philomel Philomel is another name for Philomela, a character from Greek mythology. It may refer to: Nature * A nightingale Arts and Letters * An abbreviated form of the name Philomela, a figure in Greek mythology often invoked as a symbol in literature. * ...

, Harbour Board, Brotherhood,

Auckland Thistle Auckland Thistle is an association football club in Auckland, New Zealand formed in 1903. Thistle won its first Auckland Football Association championship in 1914. The club disbanded in 1915 due to World War I until reforming in 1923. Thistle w ...

, Northcote and Ponsonby clubs entering. Meeting again on 12 June, the A.F.A. decided the second round of fixtures for the Auckland League Championship would count toward Chatham Cup qualification, with League Championship second round commencing on 16 June. Y.M.C.A. (Auckland) was admitted to compete for the Chatham Cup by the A.F.A. at its management committee meeting on 19 June.

Huntly Huntly ( or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlements include Keith ...

qualified as the South Auckland Football Association representative as local league champions and were scheduled to face the Auckland Football Association qualifier, Northcote at Huntly. The

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

Football Association clubs, Waingawa, Post and Telegraph, Masterton and Y.M.C.A. (Masterton) sent entrance fees to join the 1923 Chatham Cup, which were received by the N.Z.F.A. in early June. The first two Chatham Cup fixtures held by the Wairarapa FA took place on June 30, with Post and Telegraph (P & T) versus the Masterton Y.M.C.A. at Masterton's Park Oval, and Waingawa playing Masterton at the Cole Street Ground. The Dawbers' Motor Depot. side changed its name to Athletic (Palmerston North) in 1925. There is some confusion about the earlier rounds of the competition, with various Charity Cups being held to decide entrants to the Chatham Cup, and with regional qualification finals, island finals, and the national final all simply being referred to in contemporary reports as "finals". Compounding this, different regional football associations were allowed to choose their champion team by whatever method they liked, meaning that some regions (such as Auckland) used league position to determine their entrant for the inter-regional matches, rather than a knockout competition. Compounding matters further are the incomplete records held by the NZFA, which omit several matches (including the semi-final between Seacliff and Oamaru Rangers).

The 1923 final

Played at Athletic Park,

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on 1 October 1923, Seacliff met YMCA Wellington in the first Chatham Cup final. In the final, YMCA had the better of early possession, but Seacliff gained the upper hand as the match progressed. Centre-forward Bill Hooper scored the first goal just before the half-time interval. Shortly after the break Reg Baxter doubled the lead. Late on right wing Malcolm McDougall scored again, followed only a minute later by a second from Hooper. The line-up of the first Chatham Cup winning side was as follows: Charlie Rivers, Jock Anderson, George Anderson, Bill Rogers, Hugh McKechnie, Bill Murray, Malcolm McDougall, Reg Baxter, Bill Hooper, R. "Tommy" Burns, Wattie Hanlin. The Mayor of Wellington, Robert Wright presented the cup to Seacliff on the ground after the match.

Participants

;Auckland *

Auckland Harbour Board The Auckland Harbour Board was a public body that operated the ports of both Auckland and Onehunga from 1871 to 1988 and was dissolved in 1989. Its successor organisation is Ports of Auckland, which assumed the possessions and responsibilities o ...

* Auckland YMCA *Northcote * North Shore * Ponsonby * HMS Philomel ;South Auckland (Waikato) *

;Manawatu *Dawbers' Motor Depot. (Foxton) *Palmerston North Rangers * St. Andrews ;Wellington *

Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

* Waterside *Wellington YMCA ;Wairarapa *Post and Telegraph *Masterton YMCA *Masterton *Waingawa ;Nelson *Redwood Valley *Nelson Athletic *Nelson Wanderers *Nelson Thistle ;North Otago *

Oamaru Oamaru (; ) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast; State Highway 1 (New Zealand), Sta ...

Rangers ;Otago *

Seacliff Seacliff comprises a beach, an estate and a harbour. It lies east of North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. History The beach and estate command a strategic position at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, and control of the area has been conte ...

Results

Auckland Qualifiers

Northcote won Auckland's Division One league second round and thus qualified as Auckland's Chatham Cup representative.

Wairarapa Qualifiers

Manawatu Qualifiers

Wellington Qualifiers

Nelson Qualifiers

Semi-final (Island Finals)

Final

Teams Seacliff: Charlie Rivers, George Anderson, Jock Anderson, Bill Rogers, Hugh McKechnie, Bill Murray, Malcolm Macdougall, Reg Baxter, Bill Hooper, Tommy Burns, Wattie HanlinHouston, J., (1952) ''Association football in New Zealand.'' Wellington: A.H. & A. W. Reed. p. 34. Wellington YMCA: Arthur Tarrant, W. Pearson, Les McGirr, George Wotherspoon, Bill Rarity, Charlie Trott, Les Smith, Edgar Phillips,

George Campbell George Campbell may refer to: Sportsmen *George Campbell (rugby union) (1872–1924), Scotland international rugby union player * George Campbell (footballer, born 1957), Scottish footballer * George Campbell (footballer, born 1864) (1864–1898) ...

, Harry Hindmarsh,

Charles Ballard Charles Ballard was an association football player who represented New Zealand, playing in New Zealand's first ever official international. Ballard made his full All Whites debut in New Zealand's inaugural A-international fixture, beating Aust ...

References

Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation New Zealand 1923 page
{{Chatham Cup seasons Chatham Cup

Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are Wellington Olymp ...

September 1923 in Oceania October 1923 in Oceania 1920s in Wellington