Kevin Malisse, Mick Millard, Mark Gooden

“Two major factors contributed to the formation of the Waratahs. Although Leeton and West Wyalong had joined the competition, it was focused on teams from Wagga Wagga. Wagga City was the dominant team winning five of the first eight premierships. Ag College had won one, and CYM’¹. The most important factor was that only students could play for Ag College. The second was that CYM could not field a team in 1959. This meant that, as all the other clubs belonged to institutions, the only club that could accommodate local players was Wagga City, which was already the strongest club. So the competition would have been even more lopsided. 

Players of note who had played for Ag College, still in the district were John Purcell and Mick Millard playing for City. Tate Heggaton and Sam Moses were playing with CYM, while Bob Conolly was playing with Leeton. Also Beres Ellwood, Col Wood and David Hamilton played their final game for Ag College in the grand final against City.

The demise of CYM, then called St. Michael’s, meant that players of the calibre of Lynton and Mat Gooden, Lloyd Ryan, Ken McLean and Jeff Francis would be without a club. At that stage Jim Lenehan was playing with St Michael’s in school holidays. If all those were to join Wagga City, the competition would be very lopsided.

This inspired Bob Conolly to initiate the formation of the new club with the support of the ex Aggies, including Corky Walker, Jack Slater, Bob Williams and Bill Trimmer (all former Hawkesbury players), Jim Lenehan (who had played in Sydney with St George and toured the British Isles with Wallabies in 1958), several former St. Michael’s players and Phil Bassingthwaighte who was just out of school.

Of these 19 players whose average age was 21, fourteen played rep football either then or later, with Elwood and Lenehan both playing for Australia and each rated the best in the world in their respective positions of inside centre and fullback at some stage in their careers. Bob Conolly, the inaugural captain, had previously played fullback for NSW².

The meeting to form the club was under the patronage of Mr Cec Toy, the owner and licensee of the Has Hotel Australia which was on top of the Fitzmaurice Street hill. The name Waratah’s Rugby Football Club was adopted on the resolution of Tom Berrigan who recalled that there had been the name of the first rugby union club in Wagga and the name of the first touring team. The aim of the club was to foster rugby union in Wagga and to maintain interest in the code. 

Dudley Taylor was elected President, a position he occupied for ten years, with Bob Comolly as coach. Frai Bastion was inaugural secretary/treasurer, followed the next year by Bernie Weir.

Fortunately, Richard ‘Corky’ Walker, one of the original team, had returned to Wagga Wagga in his employment with the Soil Conservation Service. He did much to recruit players and was Secretary/Treasurer for many years, making the club run efficiently and deserves a good deal of credit for its management.

It was a real struggle to field 15 players in the first couple of years and it was usual to do a round of the pubs on Saturday mornings to recruit a couple of players. The Gooden brothers were still farming early in the season and Phil Bassingthwaighte had commitments with the Picnic Races. The club was fortunate to secure the services of Neville Lucas and the Pender brothers, all three from Tarcutta. The team for the game played after the Bachelor’s Ball was sometimes picked on the way home from Kyeamba Smith Hall.

Up until 18 May 1959 Waratahs had been undefeated. Their first ever defeat by Wagga City occurred on this date with City scoring 12 to Waratahs 0.

The first year in the competition the Waratah’s won the grand final with their captain Bob “Herb’ Connolly in hospital, having been burnt with petrol a day or two before. To keep check on the score as the progressed, he phoned the radio cab base and passing drivers relayed the score to base and thence back to Bob on the phone. The hospital staff was a bit taken aback when the team arrived complete with the cup and champers, but Jim charmed the nurse with a winning smile to let them stay a while – long enough to down all the grog they had taken”. 

In their first decade, the team won the Byrnes Cup 1st XV competition eight times. 

“Of the original 19 players Beres Ellwood, Jim Lenehan, Mark Gooden and Mick Millard played every year for ten years. 

This amazing run of grand final wins was achieved without training with players coming from as far afield as Berrigan, Narrandera, Ardlethan and Humula and places in between.

Mick Millard, one of the most consistent of the original Waratah players, saw his last game the day before he died in August 2008.

INAUGURAL OFFICE BEARERS 1959

Patron – Cec Toy 

President – Dudley Taylor 

Vice Presidents – Bob Conolly, Frank Bastion, Tom Berrigan, Peter Border, Jim Lenehan

Hon Secretary – Bill Trimmer 

Assist Secretary – Dick Walker 

Hon Treasurer – Bernard Weir 

Selectors – Bob Conolly (Coach), Bill Trimmer, Bob Williams

Delegates –   Messrs Conolly and Trimmer; Bob Williams (alternate)
Executive Members – Jim Lenehan, Beres Ellwood (to act with president, secretary and treasurer) 

Social Committee – Jeff Francis, Ken McLean, Lloyd Ryan and Jim Lenehan 

Clubs fielding teams for the 1959 District Rugby Union Competition included:

City, Teachers’ College, Agricultural College, RAAF, Leeton, West Wyalong, Waratahs and Young.

On paper the Waratahs were regarded as being the strongest team in the 1959 competition with a well balanced team which was strong in both backs and forwards.”

1 Catholic Young Men 
2 Mick Millard’s private papers 28-9-1981
3 The Daily Advertiser, Geoff Dixon, Monday, March 9, 1959
4 The Daily Advertiser, Geoff Dixon, Monday, March 9, 1959

Source: A History of the Wagga Wagga Waratahs’ Rugby Club 1959-2015 (2018)

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