nz & empire - rugby

NZ & Empire

RUGBY

How & when did Rugby become such an important part of New Zealand’s identity?

Group Questions

1. What was the Natives Tour?2. How many games did they play?3. What were the rules?4. How were they treated by the British?5. Did the Natives’ tour affect NZ society?6. Who were The Originals of 1905?7. What impact did the Originals have on NZ’s

national identity?

NZ Natives 1888-1889 Tour

1905 Originals

Punch Cartoon:The cub defeating the Lion

Why are the All Blacks shown as a “cub”?

Why are the English shown as a lion?

What is the cartoonists opinion of the Original’s team?

Is this a primary or secondary source?

What does this source tell us about the admiration the Welsh had for the New Zealand side?

Was there a link between Rugby and War?

Read the following quotes and decide what they mean/why rugby and war are linked.

Do you agree? Why, why not?

“Rugby is a soldier-making game!”, Tom Ellison, Maori rugby player and Natives’ Team captain

“For a small country, starting to be noticed on the battlefields of Empire was very important. To that extent, rugby became a superb training ground fro making New Zealanders the territorials of the empire”, Jock Phillips, Historian

“Suddenly the British looked at the New Zealanders in South Africa and said ’Here are these enormous, tough, colonial men; they are the great hope of Empire!’ And so New Zealanders began to think of themselves as much more physically strong than men in England”, Jock Phillips, Historian

“The natural and healthy conditions of colonial life produce stalwart and athletic sons of whom New Zealand and the Empire are justly proud”, NZ Prime Minister Seddon

“Rugby, I think, was a very good trainer because it provided a model of how to work as a team…you learnt that if you worked together you were more successful than if you worked as individuals” Jock Phillips, Historian