Edward Rennix Larkin was a man who is most remembered and
revered for his leadership qualities in everything he involved himself. He was a
constable in the police force, a journalist, a sergeant in the army, a captain
of his Rugby Union club Endeavour, a parliamentarian and the first fulltime
secretary of the NSWRL.
Born in Lambton in 1880, his family soon after relocated
to Camperdown in Sydney where Larkin attended school at St Benedict’s Broadway, where he showed a glimpse of his future self by being
named school captain in 1894. The following year he moved to St Joseph’s at
Hunters Hill where he played in the schools Rugby Union team in 1896.
All throughout his schooling days, Larkin was a very adept
athlete, showing great proficiency in swimming, Rugby Union, cricket and
cycling. He was also equally gifted academically; his place on the Literary and
Debating Club for St Joseph’s laid the early platform for his future career as
a parliamentarian. Promptly after finishing his schooling he joined the
Endeavour Rugby Union club.
In 1903 Larkin married and started a family before joining the Metropolitan Police Force where he was promoted to Constable
in 1905. 1903 also saw him appointed captain of the Newtown Rugby Union first
grade team. His form throughout the year was stellar and saw him earn
representative honours for NSW against Queensland and later against the touring
New Zealand side. It was while he was on a train from Sydney to Brisbane, where
he was seated with team mates John Maund, Alec Burdon, Denis Lutge and Peter
Moir, that it was observed that there were as many NSWRU officials on board as
there were players, and according to Maund, they were eating oysters and
drinking whisky while the players went without. This was the start of
discontent by players against the Rugby Union hierarchy that would continue to
simmer for the next few years.
Larkin’s form for NSW was good enough to see him earn a
test jumper for the Wallabies, starting as hooker against New Zealand. Larkin’s
team mates that day were future Rugby League pioneers and test players Denis
Lutge, Bill Hardcastle and Alec Burdon. The Wallabies were soundly beaten 22-3
and wholesale changes meant that Larkin’s test career was over.
By 1906, Larkin was part of a growing number of players who
had grown tiresome with the Rugby Union administration for not providing any
compensation for lost time due to injuries.
In 1907 the players had had enough and sided with James
Giltinan’s proposed rival code, Rugby League. The new code started in
1908, with the season ending in a tour to England.
The tour returned home as a financial disaster. Some
players remained in England as there wasn’t enough money to bring them all
back. The English Northern Union paid for most of the players return fares.
Edward Larkin’s growing sense of social justice saw him
join the Willoughby branch of the Labor Party in 1909.
The NSWRL 1909 season started with a volatile meeting in
which NSWRL President Henry Hoyle stood down; Treasurer James Giltinan and
Secretary Victor Trumper were sacked amidst allegations lead by Alexander Knox,
that the trio had misappropriated funds. Liberal politician Ernest Broughton
was appointed President and Larkin the first full-time secretary.
Their goal was to try and keep the game alive.
Larkin accepted the position and resigned from the Police
force. To show their gratitude, the North Sydney Police gave him a gold chain
and the Superintendent’s office gave him an inscribed gold sovereign purse, for
his services.
One of the first noticeable changes Larkin introduced was
improved advertising of games. Shortly after he began his new role rumours
surfaced that Larkin was in talks with South Africa about sending a Rugby League
team to Australia.
S George Ball, Bill Flegg, John Quinlan, Horrie Miller
and Larkin devised a plan to both promote Rugby League and improve the games financial situation by playing the Rugby Union Wallabies against the Rugby League Kangaroo’s in three matches. The plan would involve the Wallabies being paid so that they were
defined as professionals and thus ineligible to play Rugby Union, leaving Rugby
League as their only football option available.
Upon hearing of this scheme, NSWRL president Broughton
and Alexander Knox were greatly opposed, so much so that Broughton resigned
from his post when his demands to cease the scheme were ignored.
Labor politician Edward O’Sullivan took over from
Broughton and was more than happy to let the Wallabies coup go ahead. The quintet
soon found that the Wallabies pay demands were much higher than they expected
and decided to ask entrepreneur and South Sydney Hospital director, James
Joynton-Smith, for his assistance to which he agreed.
With negotiations completed the games went ahead, but after the third game there was still a financial shortfall from the purchase
of the Wallabies, so a fourth match was planned to be played on the same day as the 1909
final. Knox was publicly scathing of the new administration, but after numerous
attacks were foiled, he eventually resigned from the NSWRL board.
Days before the 1909 final, Balmain officials approached
Larkin to complain about the schedule to which Larkin suggested that if they
don’t play it would be a sign of disloyalty. Balmain refused to take the field
on game day, forming a picket line outside the ground. South Sydney was
declared premiers. The fourth game between the Wallabies and the Kangaroos went
ahead and the season ended with the NSWRL being debt free and with a very small
sum of money in the bank.
Due to ill-health O’Sullivan was forced to resign at the
end of the season and his place was taken by Joynton-Smith.
The following year, Larkin worked tirelessly to expand
Rugby League, especially at grass roots level. He successfully convinced
Catholic Schools and the Marist Brothers to adopt Rugby League over Rugby Union
in their schools. In his annual report concluding the 1910 season he even
revealed that he had begun plans to take the game to the United States.
Larkin became a Justice of the Peace in 1911 and in 1913
he decided he would run for a seat in parliament. He became the first Labor
member to win a seat on Sydney’s North Shore when he became the member for
Willoughby after a tight election that saw him win 51.61% of the vote in a
second ballot.
During his time in parliament, Larkin advocated for a
bridge to be built across the harbour. He also forged an agreement with the SCG
trust to have Rugby League games played at the SCG. Upon winning, Larkin
decided to resign his post as Treasurer, amidst many calls from within the
NSWRL for him to stay on in a part-time capacity. He was also a director at the
Royal North Shore Hospital, President of the NSW League of Wheelmen and President of the
Australian Federal Cycling Council and he was struggling to find the time to fulfill his duties at a level acceptable by his standards.
In 1914, Larkin agreed to serve as interim treasurer of
the NSWRL, but his time was cut short by the outbreak of World War I.
The Labor Prime Minister (and former Glebe Rugby League club patron) Billy Hughes, had been working tirelessly to have conscription introduced, however it was vigourously opposed by the majority of parliament and the public.
On August 17, 1914, Edward Larkin enlisted to join the
Armed Services. Many of his colleagues urged him not to go, as his leadership
abilities would be required on home soil. Larkin enlisted because he felt it was
his duty as an athlete and as a leader of athletes to volunteer to serve for
the country so as to inspire other athletes to do the same. Some also saw his decision to join as a way of helping to promote more men to join the war effort as soldiers.
Shortly after enlisting, Larkin was promoted to Sergeant.
On October 18 he departed for Egypt, where he was prominent in organising Rugby
League games amongst the soldiers. In early 1915 while still in Egypt he fell
ill and was granted permission to return home. Larkin refused and just weeks
later joined the 1st Battalion, which contained his brother Martin, and disembarked for Turkey.
On the first day of battle at Gallipoli, Larkin’s
battalion was one of the very first to set foot on shore. His battalion made it to the top of a ridge before they were gunned down by heavy
machine gun fire. When approached by the stretcher bearers, Larkin reportedly
waved them away and said “There’s plenty worse than me out there.” They later
found him dead. His body was so badly mutilated that many soldiers believed he
had been tortured, which infuriated the Australians, before they learnt of his
true demise. His brother died beside him.
Upon hearing of Larkin’s death, many memorial services
were held. His old school, St Joseph’s, held a service followed by a meeting of its officials who decided that a scholarship would be created to put Larkin’s eldest
son through school. The scholarship hoped to raise £1,000, with any extra funds
to be used to put the children of other former students, who fell at war,
through school.
His parliamentarian colleagues also set up a trust fund
for his widow and children, which raised enough to pay £180 off his overdraft
and £50 to his wife.
The NSWRL also donated a total of £171 to his wife, which
were the profits from the City Cup Final of 1915.
A commemorative tablet honouring the fallen MP’s Sergeant
Edward Larkin and Lieutenant-Colonel George Braund, was unveiled in November
1915.
There is no known grave for Edward Larkin.
All that remains is a small inscription upon a memorial
at Lone Pine, Gallipoli, just metres away from where he died.
