Beschreibung:

BILL KELLY'S AUSTRALIAN TEST TEAM JERSEY, 1914 with a kangaroo and the year embriodered in silk on the left breast; framed & glazed; overall 99 x 88.5cm. A highly important and extremely rare relic from the second tour to Australia and New Zealand of the Great Britain Lions. Born in Westport, New Zealand in 1892, Kelly played first class rugby union for Buller when he was 18 and later represented Wellington. He switched to rugby league with the launch of the Wellington Rugby League competition in 1912 and played for Athletic in their grand final loss to Petone. He became a Wellington representative and toured Australia in 1912 and 1913 with the New Zealand national side. No test matches were played, with the Kiwis meeting New South Wales and Queensland and a number of regional sides. He played in Wellington's 1913 victory over Auckland. He joined the Balmain Tigers in Sydney in 1914 and that same year made his sole international Test appearance as a centre for Australia in the first Test against England at the Royal Agricultural Ground. He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No. 90. Kelly made further representative appearances for New South Wales in 1915 and captain-coached an undefeated Balmain Tigers side to the club's first premiership victory in season 1915. He was the first New Zealander to appear in an NSWRL grand final. The first test of the 1914 Great Britain Lions Tour was notable for a number of reasons: future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee Harold Horder was selected to make his Test debut for this match. On the other wing was the only Queenslander selected in the home side, Henry Bolewski. Also selected to debut for his adopted country was New Zealander, Bill Kelly, after whom the trophy contested in the ANZAC Test would be named.