Dick Vest (1897-1974) was an Australian

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 ...

footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s . An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative three-quarter back, he played in the

New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

for Sydney's Western Suburbs club.

Playing career

The son of a subject of the Austro Hungarian Empire (from Draga, Rijeka in what is now Croatia) immigrant, Vest was born Gregorio Richard Vest (original father’s name- Francesco Vecerina)in the country New South Wales town of

Barmedman Barmedman is a rural village in the Bland Shire Council, Bland Shire in the New South Wales state of Australia, located approximately half-way between West Wyalong and Temora, New South Wales, Temora. Barmedman began as a service centre for gold- ...

. Following the death of his father in a mine accident, Vest and his two older brothers were sent to a boys home in the Western Sydney suburb Westmead, playing junior rugby league for local club Parramatta. Vest commenced his

first grade career with Western Suburbs in the 1914 NSWRFL season. During the 1920 Great Britain Lions tour Vest played in all three Tests for Australia as they won the Ashes for the very first time. He was later selected to go on the

1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the third ever Kangaroo tour. Again an Australasian side rather than an Australian team alone (although the 28-man squad featured only one New Zealander) travelled to Great Britain to contest t ...

. He played for West Wyalong and Barmedman in the Maher Cup.

Death

Vest died at

Enfield, New South Wales Enfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 11 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government area of Municipality of ...

on 11 June 1974.Sydney Morning Herald - death notice "Richard Vest" 13/06/1974

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vest, Dick 1897 births 1974 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian people of Austrian descent Australian rugby league players City New South Wales rugby league team players New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from New South Wales Rugby league wingers Western Suburbs Magpies players 20th-century Australian sportsmen