Edward Larkin
Encyclopedia
Edward Rennix "Teddy" Larkin (21 September 1880–25 April 1915) was an Australian parliamentarian and a national
representative rugby union
player who saw service in World War I
and was killed in action on the first day of the Gallipoli Campaign. He was one of only two serving members of any Australian parliament to fall in World War I
. He was the member for Willoughby
in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
from December 1913 until his death.
, New South Wales
, to William Joseph Larkin, a quarryman and his wife Mary Ann, née Rennix. His family moved to Camperdown
in Sydney where the young Ted Larkin was schooled at St Benedict's Broadway, run by the Marist Brothers
. For his last two years of senior schooling he boarded at St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill
where played in the college's 1896 first rugby XV.
After school he worked in journalism before joining the Metropolitan Police Force in 1903 as a foot-constable, later being promoted to first-constable in 1905.
playing first grade with the Endeavour Rugby Club at Newtown in Sydney. In 1903 he was captain of that club and made his representative debut for New South Wales
against Queensland
and the touring New Zealand national rugby team
before being selected for Australia
in the first test of 1903 at Sydney on 15 August, against those same All Blacks
. Larkin played hooker for the Australian representative side, in a pack featuring future rugby league pioneers and dual-code rugby internationals Alex Burdon
, Denis Lutge
and Bill Hardcastle
. The Australians were soundly beaten 22-3.
, over rejection of compensation payments for injuries and lost wages. The breakaway in Australia took place in 1908, as it had earlier in 1895 with the Northern Union
in Northern England
. A gifted public speaker, Larkin had continued to develop a strong sense of social justice during his years in the police force. After the financial failure of the 1908/09 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain
and claims of mismanagement by the League's founding fathers James Joseph Giltinan, cricketer Victor Trumper
and Labor politician Henry Hoyle
, the pioneer code looked to be in jeopardy before it had barely begun.
In June 1909 Larkin left the police force and was appointed the first full-time secretary of the almost bankrupt New South Wales Rugby League
. He was an excellent organizer and had success in promoting the new game evidenced by the crowd of 42,000 who filled the Agricultural Oval in June 1910 to see the Australia v Great Britain
Test. During his administration which lasted till 1913, he convinced the Catholic education hierarchy and the Marist Brothers
in particular to adopt rugby league
as their winter sporting game. The code benefits from this legacy to this day in New South Wales and Queensland.
candidate for the conservative seat of Willoughby
winning 51.61% of the vote in a second ballot. He was living at Milsons Point
at the time and became the first Labor Member of Parliament
elected from the north side of the harbor. He was appointed as the government representative on the board of the Royal North Shore Hospital
and was vocal in his support for proposal to build a bridge across Sydney Harbour Larkin was the member for Willoughby in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
from December 1913 until his death.
(New South Wales
) of the First Australian Imperial Force
's 1st Division
. Gray quotes a brief poem published in the Sydney Sun in 1918 acclaiming Larkin for his virtue in enlisting.
The battalion left Australia in October 1914, arriving in Egypt
on 2 December. Larkin's brother Martin also embarked on the Transport A19 Afric for Egypt where Ted, a sergeant
was active in promoting games of rugby league amongst the troops.
The battalion landed at Anzac Cove
at dawn on 25 April 1915 as part of the second and third waves. It took part in the desperate struggle for the dominating hill known as Baby 700. The Turks wrested control of the hill and counter-attacked to drive the Australians from the high ground. That afternoon Ted Larkin died in a hail of machine gun fire. Heads and Middleton quote from the war memoir Imperishable Anzacs by Harold Cavill "Wounded and dying he lay, yet when the stretcher-bearers came to carry him in, he waved them on, saying 'There's plenty worse than me out there'. Later they found him dead". His brother Martin aged 37 also lost his life that day on the heights above Anzac Cove
. Neither body was recovered until the burial Armistice of 24 May but there is no known grave for either of the Larkin brothers and their names are recorded on the Lone Pine Memorial commemorating 4,934 Australian and New Zealand troops killed in the sector who have no known grave.
attended by many distinguished citizens including the Premier and the Governor of New South Wales. Ted and Martin were both awarded posthumously the 1914-15 Star
, the British War Medal
and the Victory Medal
.
The 1915 Sydney rugby league City Cup
grand final was held as a testimonial for Ted Larkin's widow and sons and raised £171. The St Joseph's College Old Boys' Union set up the Sergeant Larkin Bursary to help finance his sons fees at the College. The family eventually declined the offer but the bursary has survived to this day as the Old Boys' Bursary.
On 30 November 1915, in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
, the Speaker unveiled a commemorative tablet in honour of Lieutenant-Colonel George Braund
, Member for Armidale and Sergeant Edward Rennix Larkin, Member for Willoughby who both fell at Gallipoli. The plaque reads:
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Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
representative rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player who saw service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and was killed in action on the first day of the Gallipoli Campaign. He was one of only two serving members of any Australian parliament to fall in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He was the member for Willoughby
Electoral district of Willoughby
Willoughby is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Gladys Berejiklian of the Liberal Party of Australia.-History:...
in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
from December 1913 until his death.
Early life
Larkin was born at North LambtonNorth Lambton, New South Wales
North Lambton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area.North Lambton is a mostly housed area close to the Lambton City Centre....
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, to William Joseph Larkin, a quarryman and his wife Mary Ann, née Rennix. His family moved to Camperdown
Camperdown, New South Wales
Camperdown is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Camperdown is located 4 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Inner West region...
in Sydney where the young Ted Larkin was schooled at St Benedict's Broadway, run by the Marist Brothers
Marist Brothers
The Marist Brothers, or Little Brothers of Mary, are a Catholic religious order of brothers and affiliated lay people. The order was founded in France, at La Valla-en-Gier near Lyon in 1817 by Saint Marcellin Champagnat, a young French priest of the Society of Mary...
. For his last two years of senior schooling he boarded at St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill
St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill
St Joseph's College is a Roman Catholic, Secondary, day and boarding school for boys. It is located in Hunters Hill, a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
where played in the college's 1896 first rugby XV.
After school he worked in journalism before joining the Metropolitan Police Force in 1903 as a foot-constable, later being promoted to first-constable in 1905.
Rugby union career
He maintained an active involvement in sports after completing his schooling and participated in cricket, swimming and rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
playing first grade with the Endeavour Rugby Club at Newtown in Sydney. In 1903 he was captain of that club and made his representative debut for New South Wales
New South Wales Waratahs
The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...
against Queensland
Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...
and the touring New Zealand national rugby team
New Zealand national rugby team
New Zealand national rugby team may refer to national teams in the different varieties of rugby:* New Zealand national rugby union team, better known as the All Blacks, administered by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union....
before being selected for Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
in the first test of 1903 at Sydney on 15 August, against those same All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
. Larkin played hooker for the Australian representative side, in a pack featuring future rugby league pioneers and dual-code rugby internationals Alex Burdon
Alex Burdon
Alexander "Alex" Burdon was a pioneer Australian rugby league and rugby union footballer - a dual-code rugby international....
, Denis Lutge
Denis Lutge
Denis "Dinny" Lutge was a pioneer Australian rugby league and rugby union player, a dual-code international...
and Bill Hardcastle
Bill Hardcastle
William Robert "Bill" Hardcastle born in Wellington, New Zealand was a pioneer New Zealand and Australian rugby union player and an Australian rugby league player. He represented both countries in union and Australia in league...
. The Australians were soundly beaten 22-3.
Rugby league administrator
Larkin knew and sympathised with a number of the senior rugby union players who in 1906 and 1907 became louder in their discontent with the administration of the New South Wales Rugby UnionNew South Wales Rugby Union
The New South Wales Rugby Union is the organisation responsible for the sport of rugby union in most of the state of New South Wales, Australia...
, over rejection of compensation payments for injuries and lost wages. The breakaway in Australia took place in 1908, as it had earlier in 1895 with the Northern Union
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
in Northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
. A gifted public speaker, Larkin had continued to develop a strong sense of social justice during his years in the police force. After the financial failure of the 1908/09 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain
1908/09 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain
A Kangaroo tour is a rugby league tour of Great Britain and France by an Australia representative squad. Traditionally Kangaroo tours took place every four years and involved a three-Test Ashes series against Great Britain and a number of tour matches...
and claims of mismanagement by the League's founding fathers James Joseph Giltinan, cricketer Victor Trumper
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found unplayable. Archie MacLaren said of him, "Compared to Victor I was a cab-horse to a Derby...
and Labor politician Henry Hoyle
Henry Hoyle
Henry "Harry" Clement Hoyle was an Australian politician and rugby league football administrator of the 1890s and 1900s...
, the pioneer code looked to be in jeopardy before it had barely begun.
In June 1909 Larkin left the police force and was appointed the first full-time secretary of the almost bankrupt New South Wales Rugby League
New South Wales Rugby League
The New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided...
. He was an excellent organizer and had success in promoting the new game evidenced by the crowd of 42,000 who filled the Agricultural Oval in June 1910 to see the Australia v Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
Test. During his administration which lasted till 1913, he convinced the Catholic education hierarchy and the Marist Brothers
Marist Brothers
The Marist Brothers, or Little Brothers of Mary, are a Catholic religious order of brothers and affiliated lay people. The order was founded in France, at La Valla-en-Gier near Lyon in 1817 by Saint Marcellin Champagnat, a young French priest of the Society of Mary...
in particular to adopt rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
as their winter sporting game. The code benefits from this legacy to this day in New South Wales and Queensland.
Parliamentary career
In December 1913 Larkin stood as the Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
candidate for the conservative seat of Willoughby
Electoral district of Willoughby
Willoughby is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Gladys Berejiklian of the Liberal Party of Australia.-History:...
winning 51.61% of the vote in a second ballot. He was living at Milsons Point
Milsons Point, New South Wales
Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. North Sydney is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney Council....
at the time and became the first Labor Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
elected from the north side of the harbor. He was appointed as the government representative on the board of the Royal North Shore Hospital
Royal North Shore Hospital
The Royal North Shore Hospital is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has approximately 740 beds. It is the referral hospital for Northern Sydney and the Central...
and was vocal in his support for proposal to build a bridge across Sydney Harbour Larkin was the member for Willoughby in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
from December 1913 until his death.
Active service and death
Ted Larkin's promising career was cut short with the outbreak of World War I on 4 August 1914. Demonstrating a patriotic fervor Larkin enlisted within ten days of war's declaration joining C Company of the 1st Battalion, 1st BrigadeAustralian 1st Brigade
1st Brigade is a formation of the Australian Army intended as its primary mechanised formation. Raised for service initially in 1914 for service during World War I, the brigade fought at Gallipoli and on the Western Front before being disbanded in mid-1919. In 1921, the 1st Brigade was re-raised as...
(New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
) of the First Australian Imperial Force
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
's 1st Division
1st Division (Australia)
The 1st Division is the main formation of the Australian Army and contains the majority of the army's regular forces. Its headquarters is in Enoggera, a suburb of Brisbane...
. Gray quotes a brief poem published in the Sydney Sun in 1918 acclaiming Larkin for his virtue in enlisting.
The battalion left Australia in October 1914, arriving in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
on 2 December. Larkin's brother Martin also embarked on the Transport A19 Afric for Egypt where Ted, a sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
was active in promoting games of rugby league amongst the troops.
Landing at Anzac Cove
The landing at Anzac Cove was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915. The landing, north of Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast of the Peninsula, was made by soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and was the first...
at dawn on 25 April 1915 as part of the second and third waves. It took part in the desperate struggle for the dominating hill known as Baby 700. The Turks wrested control of the hill and counter-attacked to drive the Australians from the high ground. That afternoon Ted Larkin died in a hail of machine gun fire. Heads and Middleton quote from the war memoir Imperishable Anzacs by Harold Cavill "Wounded and dying he lay, yet when the stretcher-bearers came to carry him in, he waved them on, saying 'There's plenty worse than me out there'. Later they found him dead". His brother Martin aged 37 also lost his life that day on the heights above Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...
. Neither body was recovered until the burial Armistice of 24 May but there is no known grave for either of the Larkin brothers and their names are recorded on the Lone Pine Memorial commemorating 4,934 Australian and New Zealand troops killed in the sector who have no known grave.
In memoriam
Confirmation of Larkin's death didn't reach Australia until June, whereupon a requiem mass was celebrated at St Mary's Cathedral, SydneySt Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
The Metropolitan Cathedral of St Mary is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell. The cathedral is dedicated to "Mary, Help of Christians", Patron of Australia...
attended by many distinguished citizens including the Premier and the Governor of New South Wales. Ted and Martin were both awarded posthumously the 1914-15 Star
1914-15 Star
The 1914-15 Star was a campaign medal of the British Empire, for service in World War I.The 1914-15 Star was approved in 1918, for issue to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served in any theatre of the War between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915 .Recipients of this medal also...
, the British War Medal
British War Medal
The British War Medal was a campaign medal of the British Empire, for service in World War I.The medal was approved in 1919, for issue to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who had rendered service between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918...
and the Victory Medal
Victory Medal (United Kingdom)
The Victory Medal is a campaign medal - of which the basic design and ribbon was adopted by Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Siam, Union of South Africa and the USA in accordance with decisions as taken at the Inter-Allied Peace Conference at...
.
The 1915 Sydney rugby league City Cup
City Cup
The City Cup was a rugby league competition involving Australian premiership teams. The post season tournament was a regular feature in the years 1912 - 1925. City Cups were also played in 1937, 1942 and 1959....
grand final was held as a testimonial for Ted Larkin's widow and sons and raised £171. The St Joseph's College Old Boys' Union set up the Sergeant Larkin Bursary to help finance his sons fees at the College. The family eventually declined the offer but the bursary has survived to this day as the Old Boys' Bursary.
On 30 November 1915, in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
, the Speaker unveiled a commemorative tablet in honour of Lieutenant-Colonel George Braund
George Braund
-Life:Braund was born in Bideford, Devon, England and was educated at Bideford Grammar School and migrated with his family to New South Wales, when he was 15. In 1889 his family moved to Armidale....
, Member for Armidale and Sergeant Edward Rennix Larkin, Member for Willoughby who both fell at Gallipoli. The plaque reads:
Honours and awards
- 1914-15 Star1914-15 StarThe 1914-15 Star was a campaign medal of the British Empire, for service in World War I.The 1914-15 Star was approved in 1918, for issue to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served in any theatre of the War between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915 .Recipients of this medal also...
- British War MedalBritish War MedalThe British War Medal was a campaign medal of the British Empire, for service in World War I.The medal was approved in 1919, for issue to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who had rendered service between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918...
- Victory Medal
Blbliography
- St. Joseph's College News 2008 Volume 46#2 article by James Gray, College Assistant Archivist
- Heads, Ian and Middleton, David (2008) A Centenary of Rugby League, MacMillan Sydney
- Williams, Terry (1993) "Out of the Blue: The History of Newtown RLFC", Newtown RLFC, Sydney
- Williams, Terry (2008) "Through Blue Eyes - A Pictorial History of Newtown RLFC", Newtown RLFC, Sydney
See also
External links
- Edward Larkin at the ADB online
- Online Austn Parliamentarian Biographies
- Edward Larkin at the AIF Project