Makomako Rugby Club - The Published Histories of New Zealand Rugby Football

Club History

Makomako Rugby Club

The history of the Makomako Rugby Club is a brief but nostalgic piece of New Zealand’s early grassroots rugby heritage.

Because it operated at a local country level over a century ago, details are scarce, but its legacy is preserved in the regional history of the Manawatū-Whanganui and Tararua areas.

Origin and the Bush Rugby Union

The Makomako Rugby Club was a country club based in the small rural settlement of Makomako, located in the Ballance district (near Pahiatua) in the North Island.
The club competed in the Bush Rugby Football Union, a minor provincial union founded in 1889 that eventually merged with Wairarapa in 1971 to form what is now the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Football Union.

A Short-Lived History

Like many small, hyper-local farming community clubs of the early 20th century, Makomako Rugby Club faced intense pressure as local populations shifted.

• The Golden Era: The club played through the early decades of the 1900s, serving as a social and athletic hub for local farmers, shearers, and laborers.

• The Disestablishment: While an exact closure date isn’t recorded, it is understood that Makomako—much like its neighboring rival, the Ballance Rugby Club—went into recess and quietly dissolved around the onset of World War II, as young men from the district left to serve overseas.

Historical Records

The primary historical footprint of the club exists in a regional centennial book published in 1990 titled: Ballance – Between The River & The Range 1890 – 1990: Incorporating Makomako and Mangahao Districts.

Compiled by a local book committee, this record preserves a formal team photograph of the Makomako Rugby Club from its playing days, ensuring that the men who wore the jersey are not entirely forgotten by New Zealand rugby history.

ballance-between-the-river-&-the-range-1890-1990b

makomako-rugby-club

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Ballance – Between The River & The Range 1890 – 1990 Incorporating Makomako and Mangahao Districts

Club:

Year published:

Author:

Page count:

Notes:

Makomako Rugby Club

1990

The Book Committee (Mrs J Eddie (editor))

184 pages

While predominantly a book about the Ballance District, within the Bush rugby union, the full title of the book is Ballance – Between The River & The Range 1890 – 1990 Incorporating Makomako and Mangahao Districts. There is a photo of the Makomako rugby club, but no text or history.

ballance-between-the-river-&-the-range-1890-1990b

makomako-rugby-club

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Ballance – Between The River & The Range 1890 – 1990 Incorporating Makomako and Mangahao Districts

Club:

Makomako Rugby Club

Year:

1990

Author:

The Book Committee (Mrs J Eddie (editor))

Pages:

184 pages

Notes:

While predominantly a book about the Ballance District, within the Bush rugby union, the full title of the book is Ballance – Between The River & The Range 1890 – 1990 Incorporating Makomako and Mangahao Districts. There is a photo of the Makomako rugby club, but no text or history.