Tiraumea Rugby Club

Club History

Tiraumea Rugby Club

Origins & Early Years

• Early Activity (1900s): Rugby was played in the isolated farming district of Tiraumea (in the Tararua region) starting in the early 1900s. Originally, local players had to travel to neighbouring Alfredton to play competitive matches.

• Predecessor Club: In the early 1900s, players in the surrounding area also formed the Rakaunui Rugby Club. Following Rakaunui’s collapse in the 1920s, local players migrated toward organizing a dedicated club in Tiraumea.

• Official Formation (1934): Tiraumea Rugby Football Club officially fielded its first organized team in 1934. They achieved immediate success by winning all available sub-union trophies and sharing the seven-a-side cup in their inaugural year.

Competition & Affiliation

• Sub-Union Structure: Tiraumea played within the Puketoi Rugby Sub-Union, an isolated rural competition under the umbrella of the old Bush Rugby Football Union (which later amalgamated into the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union).

• Local Rivalries: The Puketoi Sub-Union featured small, tight-knit rural communities, including teams from Pongaroa, Coast, United, Weber, Excelsior, and Ruahine.

Amalgamation & Legacy

• Player Shortages (1986–1987): Due to rural depopulation and a decline in player numbers across the Tararua back country, the Puketoi Sub-Union struggled to field standalone club teams by the mid-1980s.

• Transition to Puketoi Rugby Club: The Puketoi Sub-Union competition folded after 1986. In 1987, Tiraumea officially ceased to operate as an independent club, combining forces with other local sub-union teams to form the unified Puketoi Rugby Club.

• Documentation: The history of Tiraumea RFC and the surrounding farming community’s rugby roots is formally recorded in the historical book Tiraumea – The History of Tiraumea and Districts by Ngaire Burns.

tiraumea-rugby-club-the-history-of-tiraumea-and-districts

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Tiraumea – The History of Tiraumea and Districts

Club:

Year published:

Author:

Page count:

Notes:

Tiraumea Rugby Club

2006

Ngaire Burns

444 pages

A beautiful book, written by Ngaire Burns, on the history of the Tiraumea region, situated in the old Bush rugby union territory. There are 20 pages on the Tiraumea rugby club, formed in the early 1934 but who became defunct in the 1980’s, with the players moving to the newly formed Puketoi Rugby Club. 7 of the pages from the book are reproduced here.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Tiraumea – The History of Tiraumea and Districts

Club:

Tiraumea Rugby Club

Year:

2006

Author:

Ngaire Burns

Pages:

444 pages

Notes:

A beautiful book, written by Ngaire Burns, on the history of the Tiraumea region, situated in the old Bush rugby union territory. There are 20 pages on the Tiraumea rugby club, formed in the early 1934 but who became defunct in the 1980’s, with the players moving to the newly formed Puketoi Rugby Club. 7 of the pages from the book are reproduced here.

Club History