Harry Tancred
Encyclopedia
Henry Eugene "Harry" Tancred (25 May 1897 – 15 November 1961) was a rugby union
player and administrator who represented for New Zealand and Australia. He was an entreprenuerial businessman influential in meat wholesaling and exporting who together with his brothers, built Tancred Industries to become one of Australia's largest wholesale butchering firms. He was active in the thoroughbred industry as a racing administrator and racehorse owner.
, Henry was the sixth of ten children born to Thomas Tancred, a butcher from California, United States of America, and his Victorian-born wife Anna, née O'Connor. He was educated by the Christian Brothers
at St Joseph's School, Rozelle in Sydney before his father took the family to New Zealand pursuing opportunities in the meat trade. There while still a teenager Tancred worked as a drover and a slaughterman. Tancred returned to Sydney in the 1920s along with a number of his six brothers.
from 1914.
Upon his return to Sydney in the 1920s he was active as a player at the Glebe-Balmain club . He made representative appearances for the New South Wales state side
. In 1923 the New Zealand Māori rugby union team
visited and Tancred appeared in two games of the three match series in which the Waratahs were undefeated. With no Queensland Rugby Union
administration or competition in place from 1919 to 1929, the New South Wales Waratahs
were the top Australia
n representative rugby union
side of the period and a number of their 1920s fixtures, including Tancred's two appearances in Sydney in June 1923, were decreed in 1986 as official Test matches. Tancred thus claimed a total of two international rugby caps for Australia. His brothers Arnold
and Jim
were also Australian national rugby representatives both making the 1927–28 Waratahs tour of the British Isles, France and Canada. Harry would later be involved in the administration of both the Randwick
and Drummoyne Rugby Clubs.
. In 2007 Tancred was inducted into the Sydney Turf Club Hall of Fame as an associate.
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 and administrator who represented for New Zealand and Australia. He was an entreprenuerial businessman influential in meat wholesaling and exporting who together with his brothers, built Tancred Industries to become one of Australia's largest wholesale butchering firms. He was active in the thoroughbred industry as a racing administrator and racehorse owner.
Early life
Born in Balmain, New South WalesBalmain, New South Wales
Balmain is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located slightly west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....
, Henry was the sixth of ten children born to Thomas Tancred, a butcher from California, United States of America, and his Victorian-born wife Anna, née O'Connor. He was educated by the Christian Brothers
Christian Brothers
Christian Brothers may refer to:* Congregation of Christian Brothers, a Catholic lay order founded at Waterford, Ireland in 1802 by the Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice...
at St Joseph's School, Rozelle in Sydney before his father took the family to New Zealand pursuing opportunities in the meat trade. There while still a teenager Tancred worked as a drover and a slaughterman. Tancred returned to Sydney in the 1920s along with a number of his six brothers.
Rugby career
Tancred, a number eight played with the Petone Rugby ClubPetone Rugby Club
The Petone Rugby Football Club was founded in 1885 and has been the Wellington Premier Champion 39 times between 1895 and 2005. In addition to this, the club has won the Club Championship on 42 occasions between 1922 and 2005...
from 1914.
Upon his return to Sydney in the 1920s he was active as a player at the Glebe-Balmain club . He made representative appearances for the New South Wales state side
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...
. In 1923 the New Zealand Māori rugby union team
New Zealand Maori rugby union team
New Zealand Māori is a rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied. In the past non-Māori players who looked Māori were often...
visited and Tancred appeared in two games of the three match series in which the Waratahs were undefeated. With no Queensland Rugby Union
Queensland Rugby Union
The Queensland Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Queensland. It is a member and founding union of the Australian Rugby Union.-See also:*Queensland Reds*Australian Rugby Union*The Wallabies*Rugby union in Queensland...
administration or competition in place from 1919 to 1929, the New South Wales Waratahs
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...
were the top Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n 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...
side of the period and a number of their 1920s fixtures, including Tancred's two appearances in Sydney in June 1923, were decreed in 1986 as official Test matches. Tancred thus claimed a total of two international rugby caps for Australia. His brothers Arnold
Arnold Tancred
Arnold Joseph P. Tancred was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative flanker. He was prominent in the meat industry in Australia with significant family business interests in meat wholesaling...
and Jim
Jim Tancred
James Leo "Jim" Tancred was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Tancred, a prop, was born in Sydney, New South Wales and claimed a total of 3 international rugby caps for Australia.-References:...
were also Australian national rugby representatives both making the 1927–28 Waratahs tour of the British Isles, France and Canada. Harry would later be involved in the administration of both the Randwick
Randwick DRUFC
Randwick District Rugby Union Football Club, also known as the Galloping Greens, is an Australian rugby union club which competes in the Sydney grade competition. The club was formed in 1882 and since then has won 31 first grade premierships and seven Australian club championships...
and Drummoyne Rugby Clubs.
Businessman
Tancred's great-grandfather was a butcher. His grandfather Peter established himself as a wholesale butcher in Kent St Sydney in 1844 before travelling to the USA to further his prospects. Peter's son Thomas, Henry's father, branched out in 1869 and started a wholesale and retail meat business on Glebe Island in Sydney before taking the family to New Zealand. In the 1920s Henry and his six brothers returned to Sydney. Under Henry's leadership, they established the Tancred Bros meat business which by 1956 was the listed company, Tancred Bros Industries Ltd one of Australia's largest wholesale butchering firms. Henry was founding Chairman and Managing Director of the business from 1932 till 1959 and from 1946-61 was a member of the Meat Board, the national producer-owned company that regulates promotes the meat industry in Australia.Racing interests
He was elected to the Committee of the Sydney Turf Club in 1941, appointed Vice-Chairman in 1945, served as Chairman from 1953-59, and retired from the Committee in 1961. He owned the champion New Zealand bred stallion High CasteHigh Caste
High Caste was a Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion that was bred in New Zealand and was considered the best two-year-old in New Zealand after winning three of his four race starts. He was a good racehorse under handicap and weight for age conditions and combined this with wins in good races from...
. In 2007 Tancred was inducted into the Sydney Turf Club Hall of Fame as an associate.