Mythic claim to the silver fern
To understand how the Feilding Rugby Club came to believe their club colours were black jerseys with silver ferns, we need to look back to events of the time.
Rugby arrived in the Manawatū when a handful of Feilding lads helped found the Feilding club in 1878. Palmerston North then founded a rugby club to play them. In those days themain football games being played were under rugby rules. Feilding was simply the Feilding Football Club, and similarly their main opponents were the Palmerston Football Club.
The towns of Feilding and Palmerston were still quite small and getting together 15 youngmen for a team was a challenge. And it wasn’t just the players who caused a problem.
The first game between the two teams was abandoned when the teams arrived and realised that no side had a rugby ball. A ball had to be sent for from Wellington and the rescheduledmatch took place later that year. As the population gradually grew other teams popped up, and in 1885 a regular inter-club competition began, between Feilding, Palmerston, Marton and Foxton.
The following year in 1886 the Manawatū Rugby Unionwas founded to arrange matches and rule on disputes. One of the other responsibilities was to approve team colours.
Three years later in 1889 Feilding chose to ‘‘alter the colours of the club to blackwith a silver on the breast’’.
It was from here that the incorrect rugby myth of Feilding being the home of the All Blacks jersey began.
One version of the myth was when the New Zealand Rugby Football Union was founded in 1892 they adopted the black jersey and silver fern and had to seek Feilding’s permission.
Another mythwas Feilding were granted the right to use the Silver Fern in their club motif.
A third mythwas that Feilding club were forced to change their colours because the unionwere using them for the New Zealand side.
The myth first surfaced so far as we know in History of New Zealand Rugby Football Vol. One 1870-1845 (published in 1948) by rugby historian Arthur Swan.
It stated: ‘‘It is not generally known that one club in New Zealand sported the black jersey, with silver, before that regalia was adopted for All Black sides; on Thursday, March 16, 1889, Feilding Club decided on the now famous uniform, no doubt getting the idea from the Native Team’s Dress.’’
Perhaps tellingly he does not link Feilding’s purported use of the silver fern to the union’s uniform choice. Swan spent several years travelling New Zealand to compile first class rugby records. It is likely he recorded the following quote incorrectly.
The Feilding Star March 16, 1889, reported: ‘‘The question of altering the colours of the club was discussed at considerable length, and ultimately it was decided to adopt black with a silver on the breast.’’
The minutes of the union 1891-99 are stored at the New Zealand Rugby Museum. At its meeting of April 27, 1893, ‘‘It was resolved that the New Zealand Representative colours should be black jersey with silver fernleaf, black cap with silver monogram, white knickerbockers and black stockings, on themotion of Mr Ellison, seconded by Mr King.’’
There is no mention in the minutes of Feilding club. Mr Ellison is commonly known as Tom Ellison and was amember of the famous New Zealand Native Rugby Football Team. That teamwore a black jerseywith a silver fern. They toured New Zealand, Australia and the UK in 1888 and 1889. Aside from their incredible yearlong rugby tour, they travelled widely and were able to report to the union any colour clashes there might be with other nations.
As well as being on the union council, Tom Ellison was the first official captain of the All Blacks. The choice of a black jerseywith the silver fern clearly came from Tom Ellison and the influence of the NZ Natives.
The silver fern on a black jersey did exist in club rugby in 1891, but it wasn’t Feilding wearing it. It was Suburbs club, in Auckland.
Being an Auckland club, it is more than likely union councillors were aware of the team and yet no provision was made in the minutes to ask permission or ask the Suburbs club to change. The Suburbs club were still wearing the black jersey and silver fern in 1902 well after the union had adopted the colours.
It appears the union had no legal say about club colours or emblems. The first time the union had the silver fern trademarked was 1986, when Andy Haden, a former All Blacks player, was employed by the union. Haden enlisted designer Dave Clark who came upwith the new design.
Prior to 1986 any individual, club or corporation could have a silver fern of their choosing and use it. After 1986, clubs could still use a fern; however, it couldn’t be the official trademarked version.
The Feilding club did play in a black jersey with a silver between 1889 and 1894. That shield was essentially amonogram FFC that stood for Feilding Football Club. These were the years the club’s centennial booklet incorrectly stated they played in black with a silver.
The minutes of the 1894 Feilding Football Club annual meeting are in the Feilding Star and there is no reference to the change in colour being caused by the union: ‘‘It was decided that the colours to be worn by the team should be black with gold hoops.’’
The Feilding club now goes by the nickname the Yellows and countsAll Black star Aaron Smith among its members. Feilding is the oldest surviving club in Manawatū, with Kia Toa the second oldest surviving club founded in 1902.
Many rugby clubs around New Zealand have ferns in their emblems. Temuka, the Barbarians and the Cantabrians are three of them.
In recent years the Feilding club has backed away from their claims, but occasionally the story pops up again. It’s time tomove on as the Yellows and let the myth be just that, amyth.