
William ‘Bill’ Reedy was a successful club rugby player at the turn of the last century who won Senior Championship titles with both Petone and Athletic, played for Wellington across several seasons and played two tests for the All Blacks in 1908.
Reedy earned his two test caps playing in his usual position of hooker in the old 2-3-2 scrum formation against the touring Anglo-Welsh tourists. Reedy played the second and third tests of the series, which the All Blacks won 2-0.

He was born in 1880 in the West Coast town of Ross, later playing club rugby for the White Star club in Westport and winning the Buller Senior Championship in 1904, 05 and 06. He never gained any representative honours whilst living in his home province Buller.
Aged 27, Reedy moved to Wellington and gained employment as a blacksmith at the Petone railway workshops, joined the growing Petone club and his rugby career suddenly struck gold, like the town he was born in.
For a start, Petone were the hottest ticket in town, having won three consecutive Wellington Senior Championship titles between 1904-06.
Then came 1907, and he became a regular player in this side that completed a four-peat of titles and probably their best yet. The 1907 title was won by beating a strong Poneke side that included returning All Blacks Frank Mitchinson and Billy Wallace in their XV. Petone, who had started the year strongly before getting the wobbles mid-season when they lost to Melrose and drew with Athletic in successive weeks, won this final game of the season without six leading players who had joined up with the “All Golds” Rugby League team that toured England and Australia.
1907 was a triumph for the entire Petone club, not just its top team. Five Petone teams entered into the Wellington competition and all five finished clear winners of their respective championships. In all, these teams played 57 games and won 51, lost three and drew three of them, scoring a combined 921 points and conceding only 123.
Success rubbed off on Reedy, because he was also selected in the Wellington team in 1907, playing the first six of an eventual 25 games for his adopted union. He was in Wellington teams that beat Wairarapa, Auckland and Southland and also in the match on 31 August of that year in Wellington against Taranaki what was abandoned at halftime owing to weather conditions.
He reached greater heights in this second season in Wellington in 1908. Although Petone were defeated by new champions Melrose in club rugby, Reedy played for the North Island in a 12-5 win over South Island and for most of Wellington’s rep series of matches. Reedy was in Wellington’s team on 27 May that beat the Anglo-Welsh tourists 19-13 in front of 18,000 fervent home supporters at Athletic Park.
Having beaten the Anglo-Welsh 32-5 in the first test in Dunedin 10 days after Wellington’s win, the All Black selectors made several changes for the next test. Reedy was selected, to partner Whanganui’s Peter. Murray at hooker. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t play ball, and it was a 3-3 draw in appalling conditions.
Reedy was retained for the third test, this time partnering Southland’s Frank Glasgow (who was educated at Wellington College and played for Wellington in 1999-1900) in the hooker’s role. The All Blacks won this match 29-0 in Auckland, winning the series 2-0.
Reedy never played for the national side again, but continued to appear for Wellington sporadically for the next several seasons up to the outbreak of the first world war when he retired in 1915 aged 35.
One of his last games for Wellington was on 10 September 1914, when he was in the team that beat Taranaki 12-5 to win the Ranfurly Shield. They weren’t to know it at the time, but this was the last shield match for five years owing to the outbreak of the first world war.

It was in 1909 that he also transferred to town club Athletic for the first of seasons with them (1909 and 1911). He played for the North Island team in the annual inter-island fixture, this time the South winning 19-13 in Christchurch.
In 1911, Reedy helped Athletic win the Senior Championship for the first time since 1891. Athletic won 14, lost three and drew one of their 18 matches, scoring 167 points and conceding 56.
Athletic would win or share the title for the next four years, but Reedy transferred back to Petone for the remainder of his career.
Reedy passed away on 1 April 1939, aged 58.

References:
- Akers, Clive. New Zealand Rugby Register 1870-2015. New Zealand Rugby Museum, 2016.
- All Blacks A-Z profile William Reedy
- Chester, Rod, Palenski, Ron, McMillan, Neville. Men in Black Commemorative 20th Century Addition, Moa Beckett, 2000, Auckland
- Donoghue, Tim. Athletic Park : a lo
- st football ground Tim Donoghue Publications in association with the Wellington Rugby Football Union, 1999.
- Griffin, Don and Gallagher, Peter. True blue” : the first 100 years of the Petone Rugby Football Club Incorporated, 1885-1985 [Petone, N.Z. : The Club, 1985]
- Tindill, Eric. History of the Athletic Football Club, 1877-1976. Wellington, N.Z. : Athletic Football Club, 1977] (Wellington Prestige Print)
Great article on William Reedy. Family legacy lived on through his son and grandsons, both with Petone and HV Marist.