Tim Peckham
William Frederick Peckham, better known as Tim Peckham was a New Zealand international rugby league player. He played 2 tests for New Zealand in 1928 becoming the 198th Kiwi in the process. He also played representative rugby league in the 1920s for Auckland, the sub unions of Lower Waikato, Hamilton, and South Auckland, and in 1926 and 1927 for the North Island. He played club rugby league for City Rovers, Huntly United, Athletic Ponsonby United, and Richmond Rovers.
Early life
Tim Peckham was born on 8 December 1900 to Fanny Clara Peckham, and Henry William Peckham who had married in 1888. He had 10 siblings; Kate, Harry, Bert, Joseph, John Ashby, Ivy May, Lillian Mary, Kenneth, Edith Myrtle, and Marjory. His father Henry was killed in the Ralph Mine disaster in Huntly on the morning of 12 September 1914 which claimed the lives of 43 miners. Henry was aged 45 at the time of his death with Tim aged 13.Playing career
City Rovers and Auckland debut’s
Tim Peckham was a diminutive halfback who began his playing career for Huntly in 1920. He was chosen in the Lower Waikato side to play the visiting Maritime club from Auckland on July 3. At the start of the 1921 season he had moved to Auckland and joined the City Rovers rugby league club in the junior grades, starting with their 5th grade side. He debuted for the senior team in 1921 and went on to play 14 matches, scoring 4 tries. That season City won the Monteith Shield for winning the 1st grade championship. They also won the Roope Rooster knockout competition when they defeated Maritime 30–14 and took the Thacker Shield off Ponsonby United with a 25–10 win. Peckham had impressed the representative selectors enough to be chosen for the Auckland team for their Southern Tour. He debuted against Wellington on 20 August. He scored a try in a 23–21 win at the Basin Reserve, in Wellington. He played again against the West Coast on 24 August at Greymouth in a 47–7 victory before playing 3 days later against Canterbury at Sydenham Park in Christchurch. Auckland won 39 to 14 with Peckham kicking a conversion.Move to Waikato, Huntly, Athletic, and representative football
In early 1922 Peckham moved to live in the Waikato region and joined the Huntly rugby league club where he debuted for them in a 6 May match against Ngaruawahia. His father had been killed in a mining accident in Huntly 8 years earlier. Huntly won the match 51 to 8. He was selected for the Lower Waikato representative team for a 27 May match with King Country which was for the Endean Shield. Lower Waikato won 24 to 4 with Peckham kicking a penalty goal. Peckham was then chosen in the full Waikato side to play the touring Australian University side at Ngaruawahia. The Australian team was made up of players from Sydney University and Brisbane Universities but rested some of its first choice players after two wins over Auckland. They were thrashed by the local team 25–0 with Peckham scoring twice, the first after “fast following up” and the second when he received a pass then “dummied and put in a fine swerving run, beating several men and diving across the line”. Two weeks later he played another Endean Shield match for Lower Waikato against King Country before a crowd of 1,000 in Huntly. Lower Waikato won 28 to 0 with Peckham scored the first try or the game and kicked 2 conversions. Huntly had won the Lower Waikato competition and on 19 August they played a match with United from the Hamilton competition for the right to play the Auckland champions. He scored a try for Huntly in a 25–6 win over United. Their match with City was played on 21 October at Carlaw Park and saw the City side win easily by 42–14 though Peckham did cross for a try after running in support of Sullivan who had broken through.Peckham two months earlier, on 26 August had played for the South Auckland representative team against Hawke's Bay at Steele Park in Hamilton. South Auckland won the match 17 to 15 after trailing 8–10 at halftime. He was unable to play for the South Auckland team against the touring New South Wales team as he had injured his arm. On 2 September he was included in the South Auckland team to challenge Auckland for the Northern Union Challenge Cup at Carlaw Park. In an upset South Auckland won 21–20 with Peckham kicking a penalty and a conversion. It was the first ever time that Auckland had lost a challenge match. On 6 September South Auckland journeyed to Palmerston North to play Wellington. They won 24 to 6 with Peckham converting one of their tries. Then on 20 September, Peckham played for the Auckland Province side which played the New South Wales team at the Auckland Domain before a crowd of 5,500. A week later he played the same New South Wales side for South Auckland at Steele Park in Hamilton. The home team lost 17–12 with Peckham kicking 2 conversions for the losers. It was said that he was “the best back on the field” for South Auckland where “he wormed his way into every possible chance to get the leather”. His final representative match of the 1922 season came when South Auckland travelled to Waihi to take on the local team at the Waihi Recreation Ground. South Auckland won the match by 20 to 9 in heavy rain before 400 spectators.
The 1923 season saw Peckham move to Hamilton and join the Athletic rugby league club. His debut for them saw him score 2 tries and kick a conversion in a 44 to 8 win over the City side based in Hamilton. He played 10 matches for them during the season scoring 9 tries and kicking 3 goals. Controversially he appeared to turn out for the Marist rugby side in early May with the newspaper reporting “Peckham, or league fame, played half, and showed cleverness. However, he seemed to get confused with the rules, but after a game or two will be all right, and will strengthen the team”. It was also reported that “a persistent rumour is being circulated that Tim Peckham, Athletics’ half-back, and South Auckland rep., is applying for reinstatement to rugby”. However the reporter had said that Peckham denied this when they asked him directly. He then played several rugby league matches for Athletic over the coming weeks to confirm this. His first representative match was for the Hamilton sub union side who played against the Marist Old Boys club team from Auckland. Hamilton won 28 to 13 at Hinemoa Park in Hamilton with Peckham kicking a conversion. He then captained the Hamilton side against the Lower Waikato team on 7 July at Ngaruawahia in something of a historic encounter. Hamilton defeated Lower Waikato to lift the Endean Shield off the home side for the first time in the shields history which had been held by Lower Waikato since it was inaugurated in 1911. Peckham scored a try between the posts to give Hamilton a 16–11 lead and they went on to win 24–22. They defended the shield 2 weeks later against Taumarunui 43 to 7 at Hinemoa Park. On 4 August Hamilton hosted Lower Waikato at Seddon Park as part of a charity event to raise money for the Waikato Hospital Patients’ Sunshine League. Lower Waikato won the match 11–0 to win the Sunshine Challenge Cup. His final match of the season for Hamilton was against Lower Waikato once more, on 1 September.
Peckham was then selected for the South Auckland side to play Wellington at Steele Park in Hamilton on 18 August. The home side won 27 to 11 to retain the Northern Union Challenge Cup before a “record crowd”. It was said after the match that Peckham “should have been on the side-line. He was not fit, and a rest would have done him no harm. In the first spell he played well, even if not with his customary dash. In the second half his leg “went” on him, and thereafter he was a “lame duck”. Peckham is diminutive, but fit and well it is doubtful is there is a more tricky or heady half playing league in New Zealand”. Two weeks later he was fit to play again in Hamilton's defence of the Endean Shield against Lower Waikato at Steele Park. They won the match 27–20 with Peckham playing in his usual position at halfback.
He was then selected for the final two representative matches of the season, both between South Auckland and Auckland. The first was for the Northern Union Challenge Cup to be played at Steele Park in Hamilton. In a hard-fought match a 20–20 draw resulted. Then on 13 October South Auckland travelled to Auckland to play at Carlaw Park. The Cup was not on the line and Auckland won easily by 35 points to 11.
His 1924 season was marred by a bad injury midway through meaning he only played 11 games in total. Earlier in the year he had competed in several running races at the Hamilton Borough Picnic as he was an employee of the council. On 23 February he won the 100 yard Municipal Handicap, the 220 yard Municipal Handicap, and the 100 yard Municipal Running Championship in a time of 11 1-5s. On 17 April he competed at a Selwyn Club meeting at Mangatapu and he won the 100 yard Handicap in a time of 10 seconds, and finished 3rd in the 220 yard Handicap.
When the league season commenced he was still playing for the Athletic senior side. He played 5 matches for them scoring a try against City. On 27 May he played for Hamilton against Marist from Christchurch who were on a northern tour. He was captaining the Hamilton side and was said to be “their outstanding man” whoever they still went down 25–3 to the visitors at Steele Park before 700 spectators. A week later he played for black and white of Hamilton against the red, white and blue of Lower Waikato. Hamilton won 16–13 with Peckham made a “brilliant solo run, beating the opposition badly, to score between the posts”. Then with Hamilton trailing 13–12 he kicked 2 penalties late in the match to gain the win before a “record crowd” at Hinemoa Park. The Waikato Times gave this description of Peckham, "he was “just the inimitable “Tim”. His play was full of the spectacular movement enthusiasts look for. Peckham is always there when wanted, and his meteoric runs remind one of a hare dashing for an objective with foes seemingly everywhere. One try on Tuesday was a ‘corker’. A player in the five-eighth positions, alongside Peckham, will seldom be able to follow the latter, but by running right through he would find himself very often just in the right position to take Peckham's pass, with better results than by endeavouring to go with the player".
The teams had essentially been trialing for the South Auckland side to play the touring Australian Universities team. Peckham unsurprisingly made the side and kicked 2 penalties and a conversion to help his side to a 12–9 win at Steele Park before a large crowd.
Peckham then played 3 club matches though he missed 2 others for injury. On 12 July he turned out for Hamilton versus ‘the rest’ and they won 20–10. The match was preparation to play Auckland B at Carlaw Park on the following Wednesday. The Auckland B team ran out winners by 28–18. Then 3 days later Peckham played his last game for the season for Hamilton against Lower Waikato. He badly strained his ankle and had to be helped off the field in a 19–13 loss. The injury ruled him out of the match with the touring England side.