Wally McArthur (rugby league)

Wally McArthur (1 December 1933 – 28 August 2015) was an Aboriginal Australian rugby league footballer and track and field athlete. In 2008, the centenary of rugby league in Australia, he was named in the Aboriginal Australian rugby league team of the Century.[2][3][4]

Not to be confused with Wally McArthur (footballer).

Wally McArthur
Personal information
Full nameWally McArthur
Born(1933-12-01)1 December 1933
Borroloola, Northern Territory, Australia
Died28 August 2015(2015-08-28) (aged 81)
Sydney, Australia
Playing information
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1953–55 Rochdale Hornets 37 19 37 0 131
1955–57 Blackpool Borough 56 20 37 0 134
1957–58 Salford 46 28 90 0 264
1958–59 Workington Town 26 15 17 0 79
Total 165 82 181 0 608
Source: [1]
As of 19 October 2022

McArthur was born in 1933 in Borroloola in the Northern Territory, before he moved down to Adelaide, South Australia, in the early 1950s,[5] where he lived at St Francis House boys boarding home[6] and became a noted short-distance runner.[7]

McArthur was also interested in playing Australian rules football, but was denied this because of a "colour bar". Rugby historian Sean Fagan and Australian journalist John Pilger have claimed that McArthur was not selected for the Australian track team at the 1952 Summer Olympics because of racial discrimination, but this has been disputed.[7][5]

"There's lad up at Hornets who can catch pigeons. You've got to see him," he said. The lad was flying Aboriginal winger Wally McArthur [8]

McArthur played in the South Australian Rugby League and Western Australia Rugby League before moving to England to play a total of 165 games with Rochdale Hornets,[8] Blackpool Borough, Salford and Workington Town.[5][9]

References
  1. Workington Town RLFC Hall of Fame by Joe Holliday published by Richard Matthews Publications in 2016
  2. "Modern stars join greats in Indigenous Team of Century". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  3. Hemming, Wally (9 September 2008). "Indigenous NRL team named". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  4. "Rugby League Records".
  5. Fagan, Sean. "First Indigenous Rugby League Footballers". rl1908.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  6. Chlanda, Erwin (18 September 2013). "The Boys who made the Big Time". Alice Springs News. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  7. "John Pilger's 'Welcome to Australia'". "Media Watch", Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 October 1999. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  8. Floyd, Mike (15 May 2006). "RUGBY LEAGUE: Ray marks time as club clockwatcher". Rochdale Observer. Archived from the original on 10 December 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  9. "Vale Wally McArthur". NRL – The official site of the National Rugby League – NRL.com. 28 August 2015.
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