William Thomas Wynyard (13 September 1882 – 21 August 1932) was a New Zealand

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

player who was part of the professional

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 ...

1907–08 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain The 1907–1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain was made by a group of New Zealand rugby footballers who played matches in Australia, Ceylon, England and Wales between 1907 and 1908. Most of the matches were played under the ...

Background

He was the brother of

Richard Wynyard John Richard "Dick" Wynyard (10 May 1885 – 7 April 1915) was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain. Richard was the brother of William Wynyard. He had 2 sisters, Ka ...

. He was born and died in Auckland.

Early years

Wynyard was from a sporting family that included three uncles that were part of the

1888–89 New Zealand Native football team The 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand rugby union team that toured Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889. It mostly comprised players of Māori ancestry, but also included some Pākehā (white N ...

that conducted a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

tour of Great Britain. One of these three, Tabby Wynyard, went on to represent

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 ...

on their 1893 tour of Australia. Richard followed the family tradition, becoming a noted

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

player and a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

clerk by trade.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Golds: Rugby League's Pioneers'', Christchurch, Ryan and Haynes, 1996.

Rugby football career

Living in Devonport, Wynyard was part of the North Shore Rugby Club. He went in the 10th New Zealand contingent to the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

, and played rugby there. He won

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 ...

selection later than his brother Richard did, but by 1907 was firmly established in the Auckland side.

Rugby league career

Wynyard was selected to be part of the professional All Blacks 1907–08 tour of Australia and Great Britain. He was one of the last two players selected, along with Charlie Dunning, and joined the squad late during the first Australian leg of the tour. Wynyard became a valuable member of the squad, scoring six tries, however injury meant he had to wait until the squad returned to Australia to make his test debut, playing in the first ever trans-Tasman test which was the debut match of the

Australia national rugby league team The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Com ...

. He played in two of the test matches against Australia. Unlike many of the touring party Wynyard opted not to return to a professional contract in Britain and instead stayed in New Zealand to help establish rugby league. He, along with his brother, helped found the North Shore Albions Rugby League Club – which broke away from the North Shore Rugby Club. He largely acted as a coach and selector for the North Shore club though he did come out of retirement to play a match for them in Round 7 of the 1913 season and scored a try in a 10–7 win.

Later years

When the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league, rugby league football in New Zealand.#SPARC-2009, SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a 1910 Great Britain Lions tour o ...

was formed on 25 April 1910 Wynyard was elected to the New Zealand Council. He served as a

selector between 1910 and 1919.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909–2009'', 2009. , p.24. He was also an active member of the North Shore Rowing Club and was a founder of the Devonport Orphans' Club. For 34 years he was connected with the firm of P/ Hayman and Sons, Ltd. Wynyard later became the President of the

and was made the organisations first life member.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' He died at his home at 22 May Street, Devonport, Auckland leaving behind a wife, 4 daughters and 2 sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wynyard, William 1882 births 1932 deaths 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland cricketers Auckland rugby league team players Auckland rugby union players Cricketers from Auckland Military personnel from Auckland New Zealand cricketers New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand military personnel of the Second Boer War New Zealand Rugby League board members North Shore Albions players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league wingers Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Auckland