From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1923 Chatham Cup
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| year | 1923 |
| title | Chatham Cup |
| dates | 22 September – 1 October 1923 |
| venue | Athletic Park, Wellington |
| winners | Seacliff (1st title) |
| second | Wellington Y.M.C.A. |
| next_season | 1924 |
The 1923 Chatham Cup was the first annual nationwide football competition in New Zealand.
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, Y.M.C.A. (Wellington), Hospital 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. 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, Harbour Board, Brotherhood, Auckland Thistle, 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 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 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 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
- Auckland Thistle
- Auckland YMCA
- Northcote
- North Shore
- Ponsonby
- HMS Philomel ;South Auckland (Waikato)
- Huntly ;Manawatu
- Dawbers' Motor Depot. (Foxton)
- Palmerston North Rangers
- St. Andrews ;Wellington
- Diamond
- Hospital
- Waterside
- Wellington YMCA ;Wairarapa
- Post and Telegraph
- Masterton YMCA
- Masterton
- Waingawa ;Nelson
- Redwood Valley
- Nelson Athletic
- Nelson Wanderers
- Nelson Thistle ;North Otago
- Oamaru Rangers ;Otago
- Seacliff
Results
Auckland Qualifiers
Northcote won Auckland's Division One league second round and thus qualified as Auckland's Chatham Cup representative.{{football box
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 Hanlin
Wellington YMCA: Arthur Tarrant, W. Pearson, Les McGirr, George Wotherspoon, Bill Rarity, Charlie Trott, Les Smith, Edgar Phillips, George Campbell, Harry Hindmarsh, Charles Ballard
References
References
- [http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19230804.2.136.2&srpos=8&e=-06-1923--10-1923--10--1-byDA---0%22chatham+cup%22-- Papers Past — Evening Post — 4 August 1923 — SOCCER]
- (19 November 2021). "Soccer - Wharfies Outplayed".
- (19 November 2021). "Amusements - Association Football - Basin Reserve".
- (19 November 2021). "Association Football - Management Committee - Chatham Cup".
- (20 November 2021). "Association Football - Management Committee - Fixtures for Saturday".
- (20 November 2021). "Association Football - Management Meeting".
- (17 August 1923). "Football - Association". Huntly Press and District Gazette.
- (18 November 2021). "SPORTING - New Zealand Football Association".
- (19 November 2021). "Meetings and Amusements - Wairarapa Football Association".
- (25 November 2021). "Soccer Tournament".
- [http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19230811.2.168.2&srpos=12&e=-06-1923--10-1923--10--11-byDA---0%22chatham+cup%22-- Papers Past — Evening Post — 11 August 1923 — SOCCER]
- (4 September 2020). "First Chatham Cup football final". NZ History.
- (1991). "An Association with Soccer: The NZFA Celebrates Its First 100 Years". [[New Zealand Football]].
- (19 November 2021). "Chatham Cup Final - Presentation of the Cup".
- Blackwell. (1 August 1923). "Association Football - The Championship". Auckland Star.
- Houston, J., (1952) ''Association football in New Zealand.'' Wellington: A.H. & A. W. Reed. p. 34.
- (19 November 2021). "An Easy Win".
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1923 Chatham Cup — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report