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Kiwi of the Week

Rene Shadbolt

René Shadbolt led the only New Zealand contingent to the Spanish Civil War. She and fellow nurse, Isobel Dodds, cared for wounded soldiers, particularly those from the International Brigades, from July 1937 to November 1938.

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Today in History

22 May

1884 First NZ Rugby team in action

The first representative New Zealand rugby team played its first match, defeating a Wellington XV 9-0. The team then embarked on a tour of New South Wales, where it won all eight games, scoring 167 points and conceding a miserly 17.

The New Zealand Rugby Football Union was not established until 1892. Before that time all tours were privately organised and as such were not classified as official tours. The provincial unions that were in existence nominated players for selection. This team was led by a Canterbury barrister, William Millton, who along with Dunedin businessman S. E. Sleigh played a significant role in arranging the tour. Sleigh was the team manager on tour. Millton finished as joint top points scorer and was described by Sleigh as ‘the right man in the right place. A steady dribbling forward, always near the leather. His good-natured unselfish play tended in no small degree to make the games pleasant and at the same time successful.’ Unfortunately, Millton died in 1887 of typhoid fever.

In 1888-89 a 'New Zealand Natives' team toured Britain − the New Zealand first team to tour the northern hemisphere.

Image: 1884 NZ representative team