Johnno Stuntz
Encyclopedia
For the American
historian
, see Jean A. Stuntz
.
Johnno Stuntz (1884–1917) was an Australian pioneer rugby league
footballer and soldier who served in World War I
and died on the Western Front
. A national and state representative winger, his club career was played with Eastern Suburbs
, Western Suburbs
and South Sydney
in Australia, as well as one season with English club, Warrington Wolves
.
'All Golds' in the series that helped to establish rugby league football in Australia
. He played 14 matches (all grades) with Easts in the years (1908–10). In Easts' first match - the opening game of club rugby league in Australia, he scored four tries
. This tally remains, equally, the most tries scored on debut in Australian premiership history. In the following season Stuntz was selected to represent Australia against a touring New Zealand
Maori side. In 2004 the Australian Rugby League
granted Stuntz and his teammates retrospective representative status for the international games played against the Maori.
During the Australian off-season at end of 1909, Stuntz signed with the Warrington Wolves
club for 125 pounds
and a further 3 pounds 5 shilling
s a week for the 1909-10 English season,. Stuntz returned to Australia and played for both the South Sydney (1911) and Western Suburbs (1913) clubs. While playing for South Sydney in 1911 Stuntz represented for New South Wales
.
in 1916. He embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A18 Wiltshire in August 1916 as a Private
in the 14th reinforcement raised for the 17th Battalion of the 5th Brigade (New South Wales).
In 1917, the 17th Battalion was involved in the attack on German
forces after their retreat to the Hindenburg Line
. Stuntz was killed in action on 3 May 1917 being the first day of battle of Second Bullecourt. Hs has no known grave but is commemorated at the Commonwealth Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, see Jean A. Stuntz
Jean A. Stuntz
Jean Allison Stuntz is a professor at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, where she specializes in women's studies and the history of Texas, the Spanish Borderlands, and the American West. She holds the rank of associate professor...
.
Johnno Stuntz (1884–1917) was an Australian pioneer 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...
footballer and soldier who served 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 died on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. A national and state representative winger, his club career was played with Eastern Suburbs
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
, Western Suburbs
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
and South Sydney
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
in Australia, as well as one season with English club, Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
.
Rugby league career
One of Australian rugby league's founding players, Stuntz was a member of the 1907 rebel side ("the 1907 Pioneers") that played against the New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
'All Golds' in the series that helped to establish rugby league football in 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...
. He played 14 matches (all grades) with Easts in the years (1908–10). In Easts' first match - the opening game of club rugby league in Australia, he scored four tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
. This tally remains, equally, the most tries scored on debut in Australian premiership history. In the following season Stuntz was selected to represent Australia against a touring New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Maori side. In 2004 the Australian Rugby League
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
granted Stuntz and his teammates retrospective representative status for the international games played against the Maori.
During the Australian off-season at end of 1909, Stuntz signed with the Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
club for 125 pounds
Australian pound
The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 13 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.- Earlier Australian currencies :...
and a further 3 pounds 5 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s a week for the 1909-10 English season,. Stuntz returned to Australia and played for both the South Sydney (1911) and Western Suburbs (1913) clubs. While playing for South Sydney in 1911 Stuntz represented for New South Wales
New South Wales Rugby League team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Administered by the New South Wales Rugby League, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against arch-rivals, the...
.
War service
Stuntz enlisted in the first AIFAustralian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
in 1916. He embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A18 Wiltshire in August 1916 as a Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
in the 14th reinforcement raised for the 17th Battalion of the 5th Brigade (New South Wales).
In 1917, the 17th Battalion was involved in the attack on German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
forces after their retreat to the Hindenburg Line
Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
. Stuntz was killed in action on 3 May 1917 being the first day of battle of Second Bullecourt. Hs has no known grave but is commemorated at the Commonwealth Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway.-History - World War I:...
.