56-688: Evans Head is a town in Richmond Valley Council of the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales , Australia. At the 2016 census , Evans Head had a population of 2,843 people. It is 726 kilometres north of Sydney , and 11 kilometres east off the Pacific Highway from Woodburn . Evans Head is situated on the traditional lands of the Bandjalang clan of the Bundjalung people . Evans Head
112-453: A native title determination was made over 7.2 square kilometres (2.8 sq mi) of land, consisting of 52 separate areas of land. The application had been launched in 1996, and the first determination made in 2013. Included in the land is a bora ring of great cultural significance near Coraki . According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 2,843 people in Evans Head. It
168-643: A boat shed. He also spent some time living with an aunt in South Melbourne , Victoria where he attended the Albert Park Public School. It was there he recalled playing Australian Rules Football . He credited skills he learned at Albert Park as contributing to his later success at Rugby Union and Rugby League. Dally was one of eight children. His younger brother by seven years, Walter (Wally) also became an Australian representative footballer. In Sydney, Messenger attended Double Bay Public School in
224-466: A freakish ability to kick goals from almost any part of the ground. He was a teetotaller and non-smoker during his career and other than breakfast, Messenger would rarely eat before a match. Messenger was born in the Sydney waterfront suburb of Balmain, New South Wales , and grew up in another of Sydney's waterfront suburbs, Double Bay , where his father, Charles Amos Messenger , a champion sculler, owned
280-577: A grandson of Dally Messenger , the rugby league superstar of the early 20th century, Montford set out on his epic journey. The Friendship R was originally contracted by the CSIRO to teach the fishermen at Shark Bay near Carnarvon WA , the art of trawling for prawns. Leaving Evans Head the trawler journeyed south, stopping at Coffs Harbour , Broken Bay , Sydney , Eden and on to Port Fairy in Victoria. They then headed West to Port Lincoln and then across
336-469: A professional New Zealand team, the ' All Golds ' as they were referred to, and was invited to tour England with the New Zealand professional side. It remains unclear whether this was a result of the form he showed in the series or if it had been agreed on as part of his sign-on fee with the new code. It was said, and believed as Messenger family folklore for years, that the signing of Messenger to rugby league
392-677: A second premiership in 1912 and followed that with a third consecutive premiership in 1913 . Easts were given permanent possession of the NSWRFL's first trophy, the Royal Agricultural Society Shield . On announcement of his retirement, the Eastern Suburbs club presented the shield to Messenger in appreciation. He was awarded Life Membership of the New South Wales Rugby League in 1914. In July 1914, just before
448-425: A then record total of 270 points. In one interstate match for NSW he scored 32 points (from four tries and 10 goals). That record has only been equalled in recent years, with tries now being worth 4 points as opposed to 3. He amassed a total of 72 points for the three match series. The Coronation of King George V took place on Thursday, June 22, 1911. There were festivities all around Australia. The prevailing mood at
504-598: A third match against New Zealand. The match ended in a 22–22 draw, with Messenger scoring nine of the 22 points. The 1908 Interstate rugby league series saw the first ever match between New South Wales and Queensland and Messenger scored a goal for the Blues in their 43-0 victory over the Maroons in Sydney. During the 1908 New Zealand Māori rugby league tour of Australia Messenger was selected to play for New South Wales and Sydney against
560-454: Is tourism with sugar cane growing just inland from the town. The town has a small industrial estate near the airport. The town was traditionally a fishing village, with snapper fishing and prawning forming the basis of the town's local economy. From the 1950s Evans Head has been distinguished as the first dedicated base of the oftentimes perilous prawn trawling industry in Australia. There
616-571: Is a local government area on the Northern Rivers region of north-eastern New South Wales , Australia . RVC services an area of 3,051 square kilometres (1,178 sq mi) and draws its name from the Richmond River , which flows through most of the council area. The area under management is located adjacent to the Bruxner Highway , Pacific Highway , and the North Coast railway line . It
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#1732851684169672-603: Is a coastal town and a holiday resort, playing host to one of the largest holiday parks in NSW. It is sandwiched between Bundjalung National Park and Broadwater National Park . There is a wide curved beach that is popular for fishing, surfing and swimming . Evans Head is home to the Illawong Hotel, an RSL club and one of the largest holiday parks in NSW, parts of which are pet-friendly. The Evans Head Holiday Park (formerly known as 'Silver Sands Caravan Park' ) has almost 600 sites and
728-529: Is a rural area for the most part, with most industries involving cattle and crop growing, such as sugar cane , wheat , and pecan plantation. The mayor of the Richmond Valley Council is Cr. Robert Mustow, an independent politician. Following a petition of 76 ratepayers, elections were held 22 March 1880 for the Casino Council. Tomki Shire Council merged with Woodburn in 1976 to become
784-429: Is located within walking distance of all the town amenities. The town has two supermarkets, two butchers, a number of clothing stores, cafes and other eateries that cater for the tourist population. Whilst the population is less than 3,000 people that number swells in school holidays. The 1874 wreck of a timber schooner, Pilot, is visible on the beach north of the town in times of high erosion. The aerodrome hosts one of
840-525: Is named after a marine surveyor , Lt Evans, RN who carried out the first marine survey of the coastline in the area. The Evans Head Air Weapons Range is located near the town. It has been used by the Royal Australian Air Force since 13 July 1949. Evans Head has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: In late April 2021, the Federal Court of Australia convened at Evans Head, where
896-509: The 1909 NSWRFL season , playing in just a few representative matches towards the end of the year. Messenger also rejected an offer to play with English club, Warrington , during the Australian off-season that year. Messenger was captain of Australia when they hosted the 1910 Great Britain Lions tourists . The 1911 season has been acclaimed as Messenger's greatest. In 21 matches played he amassed
952-862: The Eastern Suburbs club of the newly formed New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL), although a heavy representative schedule saw him play only a handful of matches for the club. Messenger's popularity helped showcase the new game and the NSWRFL took full advantage of this. He was selected to play in the first ever trans-Tasman test , which was the debut match of the Australia national rugby league team . In rugby league's first year, besides playing for his club, Messenger made representative appearances for Metropolis (Sydney), New South Wales and Australia as well as for New Zealand and, in one case, Queensland , he also represented Australasia . Following two heavy defeats, Messenger agreed to play for Queensland in
1008-466: The Great Australian Bight to Western Australia aided only with a compass and a book of charts. They negotiated extremely hazardous reefs on their way into Fremantle . As it turned out the fishermen at Shark Bay had already had been mentored by Jack Drinan, a skilled Queensland prawner who was in charge of six trawlers all named Nor but numbered one to six. This was the same Jack Drinan who
1064-559: The National Museum of Australia collection. In 2007, a century after he was shunned by rugby union for switching to rugby league for 180 pounds, his playing record was formally reinstated. In February 2008, Messenger was named in a list of Australia's 100 greatest ever players (1908–2007) commissioned by the NRL / ARL to celebrate the code's Australian centenary year. Messenger went on to be named in Australian rugby league's Team of
1120-676: The Rambler sensed something was wrong, doubled back, found the Friendship R and towed it into the port of Darwin. When all was repaired and overhauled in Darwin the Friendship R set out across the unpredictable Gulf of Carpentaria . They stopped at Elcho Island where they received enthusiastic hospitality from the locals. They were similarly welcomed at Thursday Island . They then proceeded back to Evans Head via Cairns and Tin Can Bay . The Friendship R
1176-681: The Richmond River Shire Council, which amalgamated with the Municipality of Casino into the Richmond Valley Council in February 2000. The Richmond Valley Council has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: At the 2016 census , there were 23,164 people in the Richmond Valley local government area, of these 49.5 per cent were male and 50.5 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.6 per cent of
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#17328516841691232-460: The 1906 representative footballer Paddy Moran wrote that Messenger's play "was full of surprises, unorthodox, flash" and "directed largely by the unconscious mind". He said that Messenger "never became a slave to copybook practices" because his "instinct enabled him to see and take an opening in that operative second which is all-important". Moran compared him to Bradman in terms of their mutual ability to instantaneously co-ordinate their bodies into
1288-598: The 660. NSW TrainLink operates a daily coach between Grafton and Byron Bay via Evans Head. The town has a bowling club and surf club. Evans Head Bombers rugby league club was established in 1999 and draws players from Broadwater, Woodburn and Coraki. The club fields junior and senior teams in the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League competition. Golf is played at the Woodburn-Evans Head course with 11 holes and 18 tees. The main industry today
1344-450: The 75 yards' mark and secured a goal....." In the second test Messenger is said to have scored one of the greatest individual tries ever witnessed in Test rugby league. At the end of the tour Messenger had again topped the aggregates, this time by just under 100 points. Returning home from the tour with injury and following a hectic schedule over the past few years, he elected to sit out most of
1400-479: The Century . Announced on 17 April 2008, the team was a selection panel's majority choice for each of the 13 starting positions and four interchange players. In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also, naming Messenger on the wing. If he were playing today, however, because of the increased average size of footballers, he would probably play as a halfback ( scrum-half ). Messenger
1456-405: The Richmond Valley area between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 4.9 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, the population growth was 3.4 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively, population growth in the Richmond Valley local government area was significantly lower than
1512-504: The Richmond Valley at the 2011 census nominated no religious affiliation, compared to the national average of 22.3 per cent. Meanwhile, affiliation with Christianity exceeded 66 per cent, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. As at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Richmond Valley local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (3.3 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average
1568-574: The World War I began, Dally was persuaded to come out of retirement to enter "The Kicking championship of the Commonwealth" sponsored by the Australian Rules administrators. This was knockout competition from all states ending in a final between Dally and Herbert Lim. Kicks between the posts from 45 yards out along the touchline and a fifty yard kick from the centre. Dally won this accuracy section. In
1624-438: The city's eastern suburbs. It was here that he initially honed his rugby skills, while also playing cricket and indulging in his other great sporting love, sailing. Messenger worked, too, at his father's boat shed. By this juncture, he had gained the nickname of "Dally". It derived from a prominent politician of the 1880s, the then Attorney-General of New South Wales , William Bede Dalley , whose most conspicuous physical feature
1680-402: The club's second-grade team, but showed sufficient promise to earn promotion to the first-grade side on two occasions that season. In that same season, he also purportedly played Australian rules football club in a number of first-grade matches in the Sydney competition. Messenger began the 1906 season in first grade with Easts as a 'standoff' ( five-eighth ). He swiftly won a following amongst
1736-460: The club's supporters due to his mesmeric ball skills, cheeky tricks, blistering acceleration and accurate short- and long-kicking game off either foot. Messenger moved to what would become his customary position of centre following his selection there for the New South Wales team in 1906. By the time of his Wallaby debut in 1907, he had made that position his own. In his book Viewless Winds ,
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1792-484: The code, namely Jean Galia (France), Albert Baskiville (New Zealand) and James Lomas (Britain). In the 1988 Bicentenary year, "Heritage 200" listed the 200 people who had most contributed to the development of Australia since 1788, Dally Messenger was named and recognised for his contributions to Australian sport. The Dally M. Medal is awarded annually to Australian rugby league's best player, as judged by an expert panel of commentators, whose votes are tallied at
1848-683: The conclusion of each regular playing season. A stand at the Sydney Cricket Ground was also named after Messenger, in recognition of his many outstanding games of club and representative football. In 2003 he was admitted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame. In 2004, the original (first 6 years) premiership trophy, the Royal Agricultural Society Shield, presented to Dally Messenger personally in 1914 and held by Messenger's family became part of
1904-573: The end of his rugby league career, he ran a couple of hotels in Sydney and Manilla, New South Wales and a banana plantation in Mount Buderim , Queensland . He later worked as a carpenter in the NSW Department of Public Works. None of his various business opportunities proved to be successful. In his later years, he lived in the New South Wales Rugby League's club in Phillip Street. It
1960-475: The few retired F-111 aircraft in Australia and a museum with a number of authentic aircraft on display. The town's airport , the Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome , formerly a RAAF base is heritage listed. Northern Rivers Buslines operates two routes from Lismore, the 690 and 695, where the 695 also continues to Grafton from Evans Head. Ballina Buslines operates one route to Ballina via Woodburn,
2016-476: The first match run by the newly created New South Wales Rugby Football League , which had just split away from the established New South Wales Rugby Football Union . Messenger had a stocky build, and while standing only about 172 centimetres (5 ft 8 in) in height, he was a powerful runner of the ball and a solid defender. According to his peers, the centre's greatest attributes were his unpredictability and astonishing physical co-ordination, coupled with
2072-511: The longest kick section Dally was up against the giant champion, Dave McNamara, from the Essendon and St Kilda teams in Melbourne. McNamara kicked 67 yards (61+ metres) from boot to landing point. Dally, although he had kicked many longer distances in his playing career could not quite make it on the day. In addition to his rugby prowess, Messenger was a talented cricketer, canoeist and sailor. After
2128-423: The national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Richmond Valley area was marginally lower than the national average. At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Richmond Valley local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 86 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 16 per cent of all residents in
2184-488: The new professional code on Sunday 11 August 1907. As the premier rugby footballer of the time, Messenger's signing is considered an integral moment in the foundation of rugby league. After he became a professional rugby league footballer, Messenger's rugby games were struck from the record books of the New South Wales Rugby Union and not restored for 100 years. Messenger played in the rebel series against
2240-627: The next few years Messenger continued to play with the Warrigals, persistently rejecting calls by officials of the Eastern Suburbs RUFC to move up to the higher standard of Sydney's grade competition. In 1904. aged 21, Messenger played no football at all. He decided to spend this year working for the Messenger family boatbuilding business in Double Bay. In 1905 Messenger began playing for Easts in
2296-402: The other side of half way, including one from the sideline on his own 25-yard line that appeared in earlier versions of the ' Guinness Book of World Records ' as measuring over 80 yards (73m). Another from over 75 yards is mentioned in an English newspaper under the heading 'A Wonderful Kick' ". " Quite a sensation was caused at last Saturday's football match when Mr Messenger kicked the ball from
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2352-527: The population, which was significantly higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Richmond Valley area was 42 years, which was marginally higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 20.8 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 19.6 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 47.6 per cent were married and 13.7 per cent were either divorced or separated. Population growth in
2408-422: The right position in apparently ample time before the ball would arrive. When talk of a professional rugby competition, or a Rugby League , was being aired, Messenger was instantly interested by the development. He was approached by a consortium that included Test cricketer, Victor Trumper with friend J. J. Giltinan , who knew getting Messenger on board would be a major boost for the new code. He signed on with
2464-472: The semi-final that year against South Sydney Messenger scored 20 of Easts' 23 points. For each of the three consecutive seasons 1910 , 1911 and 1912 , he was the NSWRFL's top point scorer. In 1911 he overtook Arthur Conlin 's record for the most points scored in an NSWRFL (101); Messenger's eventual total of 379 stood as the new career record until it was bettered by Harold Horder in 1918. After retirement from representative football, he led his side to
2520-521: The time was one of kindness, and the Sydney Cricket Ground hosted the first Rugby League match there between New South Wales and New Zealand. Dally became the first captain to lead a Rugby League side onto the SCG as he led his team onto this holy ground. Recently married Messenger stood down from the 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain , leading his club Eastern Suburbs to its first premiership. In
2576-478: The top end of the Australian continent. In the company of two other boats, the Toowoon Bay and the Rambler , they proceeded along the coastline north to Exmouth Gulf and then east to Darwin . On this leg of the trip, a crisis occurred when, in a calm sea, their engine failed. The sails, gifted by Sydney yachtsman Englebert “Boy” Messenger, were not helpful as there was no wind. Fortunately, Reg Massey, skipper of
2632-517: The tourists. Towards the end of the 1908 season Messenger was again selected to tour England, this time with the first Kangaroos , or 'Pioneers'. He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No. 10. Having toured with the New Zealand professional team the previous year, Messenger was well known in the North of England and on arrival attained celebrity status. Placards bearing
2688-424: The words 'Messenger Will Play' were erected outside of grounds. Messenger was offered contracts by leading soccer clubs, including Glasgow Celtic , Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur , but refused them. Messenger captained Australia in the first two tests of the tour, missing the third through a knee injury incurred after regular field goal attempts. On tour Messenger was credited with numerous goals from
2744-415: Was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (93.8 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent). Richmond Valley Council is composed of seven councillors , including the mayor , for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is directly elected while the six other councillors are elected proportionally as one entire ward . The most recent election
2800-588: Was a prawn fishing fleet permanently moored in the estuary. Messenger recalls that many fisherman lost their lives. One instance in the 1960s was the trawler Wyowna was lost at sea with all hands on board. At ca. March 1963 the Fisherman’s Cooperative of Evans Head was the base starting point of the journey of the Friendship R , the first fishing trawler to circumnavigate Australia. It was built in nearby Ballina by K.F. Barlow for Rex Montford, an experienced seaman and fisherman. With crewman Ken Messenger,
2856-413: Was a splendid pot belly – an anatomical augmentation that Herbert Henry Messenger happened to boast, too, when he was a small child. Fortunately, little Herbert Henry shed his pot belly as he grew older, together with the "e" from the spelling of his nickname. Messenger first took up competitive rugby in 1900, playing for a local rugby union club called the Warrigals in a semi-social club competition. Over
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#17328516841692912-440: Was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council, including the mayor, is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2021, is: Dally Messenger Herbert Henry Messenger , nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers , recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played for New South Wales in
2968-462: Was negotiated with Messenger's mother Annie, and the promised amount for playing, at first, in three All Golds' games, was 50 pounds (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £18,210 in 2015). It was in the North of England that Messenger became more acquainted with the new game. By the completion of the tour Messenger had topped the tour aggregates by more than 100 points. On arrival back in Australia, Messenger played with
3024-599: Was reported in the press that Messenger had suffered a heart attack on 18 November 1959 and he died in Gunnedah six days later. His body was returned to Sydney for a large funeral and was buried on 26 November 1959 at the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park : Anglican section FM DDD - Grave 321 The Courtney Goodwill Trophy , international rugby league's first trophy, was presented initially in 1936 and depicted Messenger, along with three other pioneering greats of
3080-539: Was shipwrecked on 26 April 1963 and declared lost, but was sensationally found seventeen days later, in the open sea, clinging to the trawler’s refrigerator door. Montford and Messenger were part of the search party. In the company of Drinan and his surviving boats the Friendship R saw out the rest of the fishing and prawning season, while domiciled at the Shark Bay whaling station. In October 1963 Montford and Messenger decided to leave Carnarvon and return to Evans Head by
3136-457: Was the first fishing trawler or similar vessel to circumnavigate Australia. It is considered a pioneer voyage in Australia's history. Messenger left for other pursuits and Rex Montford lived out his life in Evans Head, honoured and respected by the local population. He is buried in the local cemetery. [REDACTED] Media related to Evans Head, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons Richmond Valley Council Richmond Valley Council (RVC)
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