Ed St George

Allen Alfred "Ed" St George (24 April 1910 – 30 June 1949) was a rugby league player who represented New Zealand in 1932 in one Test match against England.

Ed was the youngest of six children, his older siblings being: the eldest was born in 1886 and was unnamed in the New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages records, followed by Neville St George (b.1897), Stewart Lyell (b.1899), Lillian Edith Melba (b.1903), Laurel Margaret (b.1906), Ella Mavis (b.1908).

It appears that St George was playing for one of the Ellerslie United club teams in the Sixth grade of the Auckland Rugby League junior competitions in 1925.

The Devonport side won 5–0 with the Auckland Star reporting that Neville had a good game for them while “another St George was one of the shining lights in the Newton pack”.

[17] Then in a surprise 13–5 loss to Kingsland Athletic he set up a try after “eluding [Claude] List transferred to [Ray] Middleton, who dived over just outside the posts”.

Devonport won 20 points to 5 with the Auckland Star saying that “St George again upheld the family name as a good rake”.

St George was then chosen in a 20-man practice squad for Auckland who were preparing for a match against Northland on September 26 at Carlaw Park.

[48] In their 8–8 draw with Devonport in round 3 on May 21 he was said to be “full of pep” along with the rest of the forwards and he, Trevor Hall, and Ray Middleton “commanded much admiration”.

[51] The Herald made similar remarks stating “the Newton forwards all worked hard, Hall, St George, Allen and Kirkup being the most prominent”.

The England rugby league team was touring New Zealand later in the year and so a series of representative matches and trials were planned.

R. Stephenson of the South Auckland (Waikato) league had been selected at hooker for the North Island while St George was playing for the Possibles side opposite Gordon Campbell in the Probables.

[56] His Possibles side won easily by 37 points to 16 with St George scoring a first half try after good play by Crook.

[57] Following the inter-island and trial matches St George was a surprise selection for New Zealand to play England in the first test at Carlaw Park on July 30.

[58] The selectors, [Scotty] McClymont, A Ferguson, and J Sanders had chosen St George to play between props Jim Calder and Bob Stephenson who had both debuted for New Zealand in 1930.

[59] The Auckland Star wrote “four very young players who will be wearing the All Black [rugby league] jersey for the first time are [Albert] Laing, [Peter] Hart (who has just turned 18 years of age), [Jonas] Masters and St George.

The last mentioned, a member of the Newton Rangers club and brother of Neville St George, the well-known Devonport and Auckland hooker a few years ago, had not played for the North Island, in which Laing made his first appearance at the week-end”.

With Calder and Stephenson, North Island and “Kiwi” hookers, to aid him, St George should have a fair chance to rake the ball successfully.

[62] In the Auckland Star commenting on the match later on “Bunty” said “the worst feature of St George’s failure to rake the ball, was his persistence in putting his leg out across the tunnel.

The visiting half [Bryn Evans] shrewdly threw the ball against that offending leg so that it quickly rebounded in favour of the Englishmen, who were given the benefit of the advantage rule.

While the same article went on to say that “St George cannot be solely blamed for being beaten by Lowe, who was in front of a powerful vanguard” which collectively weighed over 5 stone more than the New Zealand forwards.

Lunn had been sent off for punching, while a short time later St George and Stevens, who were the opposing hookers “staged an impromptu wrestling bout, and were sent off by the referee”.

The referee's report was considered and they decided to administer a “severe caution” while “St George was suspended until he appears before the league”.

[72] They then won their third consecutive game to start the season, 11–8 against Devonport with St George “outstanding in the vanguard” along with Nathan and Hall.

In the May 27 match against Ponsonby there was friction between St George and Stevens, the player he had been sent off for fighting with previously, and both forward packs in general.

[76] Then on February 9, 1931, he “was fined £10 for unlawfully converting to his own use a motor cycle valued at £40 belonging to E. A. Aldred” at the Onehunga Court.

[77] The Police Gazette in their records stated that he was a labourer, and was 5 foot 9 with a pale complexion, black hair, brown eyes, and had a broken nose.

[79] In 1935 there was a brief report in the New Zealand Police Gazette that St George had breached the Unemployment Act however a later note mentioned that there was to be no further action taken after he had been interviewed in early 1948.

The report mentioned that he was an engineer's fitter “strong build, light brown hair inclined to be curly, with blue eyes”.

It stated "Estate: William H. Neville, Allen Alfred St George, previously of New Zealand and Sydney; will he or anyone knowing his present whereabouts please communicate with the Public Curator, Brisbane".

[88] It was reported that fourteen months prior to the murder-suicide St George had come “home, knocked down his father-in-law, who is about 65 years old, and injured Mrs. Crawford’s hand by jamming it in a door”.