Our real All Blacks hero
This week it’s been 100 years since the bloody battlefield death of the country’s first All Blacks captain. Today, as the national team runs onto the field at Buenos Aires, our rugby players pay tribute. Shabnam Dastgheib reports.
Dave Gallaher’s family say they’re proud of the Kiwi hero’s legacy. And they’re especially thankful that New Zealand is still celebrating his life a hundred years after his death on a World War I battlefield.
Gallaher, who was the captain of the 1905 All Blacks, the Originals, died on October 4, 1917 after he was shot in the head during one of the country’s bloodiest campaigns ever.
All Blacks great Sir Michael Jones said it was important to remember the ‘‘ultimate sacrifice’’ made by Gallaher, one of the 13 other All Blacks who died in the Great War.
‘‘As a reference point for All Black rugby it’s still just as powerful today as it was for my era, and for Sir Colin Meads’ era, because the story keeps getting passed down,’’ said Jones.
‘‘Its relevance is so real for every generation. Certainly in terms of the All Black folklore, the story stands out. It will remain a very defining aspect of the All Black story.
‘‘The ultimate sacrifice they paid speaks to the importance of the jersey and everything it embodies.’’
Former All Black captain Wayne ‘‘Buck’’ Shelford, who is himself ex-military, having served 11 years in the Navy, will be leading a tribute haka at Eden Park on Wednesday.
‘‘I believe it does a lot of good for some of our All Blacks to actually see what these guys did for our country,’’ Shelford said.
‘‘Because that’s what you’re doing when you’re playing sport. You’re serving your country, and representing your country around the world.’’
Gallaher’s great-grandson Mike Tubbs, 49, said his family would never forget the sacrifices the great man and rugby player made back then.
‘‘On a personal level, I’m proud of what my greatgrandfather and the others did for New Zealand during the war, giving their lives,’’ said Tubbs.
In the 80s his grandmother, Nora – Gallaher’s only daughter – used to take him along to rugby matches and events at Eden Park where his greatgrandfather was usually honoured. Tubbs said his family looked up to Gallaher, but none of them was ever as ‘‘competent’’ a rugby player as the legend.
‘‘Most of us played team sports, but not nearly as well as he ever did.’’
Great-niece Kay Carter, 80, said Gallaher was always a talking point for the extended family when they gathered at family reunions. ‘‘Everybody is proud of David.’’
This week Gallaher’s name will once again light up the field.
On Wednesday, Eden Park will host a memorial in his honour. A giant poppy and 492 personalised white crosses will be erected on the field to honour each of the men killed at the Battle of Broodseinde in the months-long Passchendaele campaign in Belgium. A special feature will be 13 crosses honouring the All Blacks who lost their lives in World War I. Warbirds will fly past, the New Zealand navy band is scheduled to play, and several haka, including one by the Defence Blacks and one led by Shelford, will be performed. Gallaher and the men who fought in the Battle of Broodseinde gained a kilometre of territory and took the Gravenstafel Spur, opening up the way to Passchendaele. The victory was rare in a war that was mostly fought in the trenches but also came at a great cost – the loss of hundreds of men including Gallaher, who was the oldest and most famous All Black casualty of the war. Former All Black captains Richie McCaw, Tana Umaga and Sean Fitzpatrick have all paid tribute to their predecessor over the years. They have also either visited his grave or his birthplace in Ireland. ‘‘He died in the First World War and we as a team recognise he was the figure of the legacy that started where we are today,’’ McCaw said. ‘‘Over the years we’ve always made sure we understand and pay respects to that.’’ However, McCaw was quick to recognise that Gallaher wasn’t the only All Black to lose his life during the war. ‘‘There’s a few of them that were part of the All Black club that gave their lives in the First World War. ‘‘We’ve talked about that . . . about the guys who died. It’s something we remember as a team and Kiwis in general. ‘‘We get all worried about pressure but it makes what we do seem insignificant really.’’ As the captain of the first New Zealand national team to tour Britain, Gallaher had a huge influence on shaping the mindset and grit of the current day All Blacks. The Originals were by all accounts ahead of their time in their controversial style of play, and Gallaher was known for never backing down in the face of a threat, big or small. This attitude led the team to an almost clean sweep of the opposition during the 1905 tour of the British Isles. An immigrant who arrived in New Zealand as a child on ‘‘struggle street’’ and then made it to the top, Gallaher’s life was a success story in so many ways, Passchendaele Society president Iain MacKenzie said.
He was modest, basic, quiet and just got on with it, qualities which were very well respected in the New Zealand psyche, MacKenzie said. ‘‘New Zealanders are a bit reticent to have big heroes . . . but it’s his unique position as a rugby legend and also someone with considerable war experience.’’
Gallaher’s rugby career began in Auckland in 1895 where he played for a number of clubs before being chosen to play for New Zealand on the 1903 tour of Australia.
After the British tour, Gallaher retired as a player and became a selector for Auckland and New Zealand for most of the following decade.
Described as a pleasant, modest, likeable chap and a competent ordinary soldier, the towering rugby great shouldn’t have been in the combat zone at all, given he was in his mid-40s.
But after hearing of the death of his younger brother at war in 1916, Gallaher concealed his age and volunteered.
It was this white lie to avenge his fallen brother which eventually led to his death. On October 4, 1917, Gallaher was shot in the head and died the next day.
Since 1924, All Black teams playing in Britain and France have made pilgrimages to his grave, which bears the silver fern, at Nine Elms British Cemetery near Poperinge in Belgium.
There have been months of centenary commemorations in Europe to mark the Battle of Passchendaele. These will also include a New Zealand national commemoration to be held on October 12 in Belgium near the Tyne Cot Cemetery where more than 500 New Zealanders are buried.
Even 100 years on from Gallaher’s death, the interest hasn’t waned, Fields of Remembrance Trust secretary Juliana Austen said. ‘‘We did wonder if people would start to get commemoration fatigue, but it does still seem to be of interest. You imagine today if Richie McCaw and another 12 All Blacks died in war, the country would be appalled.’’
Austen said the rugby tour to Britain was the beginning of New Zealand establishing a sense of nationhood in a way. ‘‘It was the start of something.’’
The months-long Passchendaele offensive wasn’t widely criticised in the media, but it did begin a growing sense of unease about New Zealand’s lack of independence in the war, Austen said.
‘‘There is that sense that we were forced into something and that New Zealand should take control of its own forces in the future rather than being herded into the British Army.’’
The ultimate sacrifice they paid speaks to the importance of the jersey and everything it embodies. All Blacks great Sir Michael Jones