Alexander William Stanaway (14 July 1886 – 27 June 1972), also known as Ariki Haira, was a New Zealand

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

player who represented

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 ...

. His brother, Jack Stanaway, was also a professional

footballer and international referee. While their younger brother Montrose (Monty) played for Otahuhu Rovers and City Rovers in the 1910s and died as a victim of the influenza epidemic in 1918.

Playing career

Stanaway toured Australia in 1908 with the first

New Zealand Māori rugby league team The New Zealand Māori rugby league team is a rugby league representative side made up of Māori people, New Zealand Māori players. With some controversy, the team participated in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup, 2000 World Cup as Aotearoa M ...

. He again toured Australia in 1909 with a New Zealand Māori side. Also in 1909, Stanaway played for the new

City Rovers The City Newton Dragons are a defunct New Zealand rugby league club that was based at Victoria Park, Auckland. The club was created in 1948 by a merger of two original clubs, the City Rovers and Newton Rangers. Both the Rovers and the Rangers par ...

club in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

competition and represented

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. In 1910, the Great Britain Lions toured New Zealand. Stanaway played for Auckland against the Lions. In 1911, Stanaway was selected to represent

in their tour of Australia. No test matches were played on the tour. In 1912 Stanaway played for the Auckland side that lost to New Zealand 16-38.

Later years

In 1916, Stanaway was called up to serve in the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

. He died on 27 June 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanaway, Alex 1886 births 1972 deaths 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team players City Rovers players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand military personnel of World War I Rugby league players from Dargaville Rugby league props