# 1956 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia

The 1956 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia was the eighteenth tour by New Zealand's national rugby league team, and the thirteenth tour to visit Australia. The fifteen-match tour included three Test Matches.
The touring team began with a pair of wins but then lost the next two, against Newcastle and the First Test in Sydney. Five strong performances in Queensland followed, with wins by wide margins in high-scoring matches. In contrast, the Second Test was a low-scoring match, Australia winning 8 to 2 to secure their first Trans-Tasman series win since 1935. New Zealand lost the Third Test, and thus the series three-nil, and also the two tour matches that followed.

## Leadership

The team was captained by Tommy Baxter.
The touring team was managed by Ron McGregor.

## Squad

The Rugby League News published a Team Photo, Player Details (Occupation, Age, Height and Weight) and pen portraits of the tourists: Backs and Forwards which listed their provincial team.

## Matches
### 1st Test

* June 9 2.30pm
| Australia | 12–9 | New Zealand |
| Tries: 4 Don Adams (2) Dick Poole Ian Moir Goals: 0 | Program Result Database | Tries: 3 Sel Belsham Vern Bakalich Bill Sorensen Goals: 0 |
* Sydney Cricket Ground Attendance: 46,766 Gate: AU£ 15,905 Referee: John Casey

### 2nd Test

* June 23
| Australia | 8–2 | New Zealand |
| Tries: 2 Dick Poole Alex Watson Goals: 1 Gordon Clifford | Result Database | Tries: 0 Goals: 1 Des White |
* Brisbane Attendance: 28,361 Gate: AU£ 9,827 Referee: Darcy Lawler

### 3rd Test

* June 30 2.30pm
| Australia | 31–14 | New Zealand |
| Tries: 7 Don Adams (3) Alex Watson (2) Keith Holman Darcy Henry Goals: 5 Norm Pope (5) | Program Database | Tries: 2 Vern Bakalich Cliff Johnson Goals: 4 Des White (4) |
* Sydney Attendance: 46,735 Gate: AU£ 14,806 Referee: Darcy Lawler

## Sources

| Acronym | Item | Years | Database App | Notes |
| Direct Online Access |||||
| RLN | Rugby League News | 1920-1973 | Trove | Match Program in Sydney, Team Lists, Team Photos, Articles |
| RLP | Rugby League Project | 1907–present | RLP Website | Test Match teams & scorers. |
| CQH | The Central Queensland Herald | 1930-1956 | Trove | Short match reports. |
| CT | The Canberra Times | 1926-1995 | Trove | Short match reports. |
| Offline Resources |||||
| EECYB | E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Year Book | 1946-1978 | Copies at State Library of NSW | Teams, Point Scorers, Report. 1953 Yearbook covers the 1952 tour. |
| QRLG | Queensland Rugby League Gazette | 1950-1955 | Copies at State Library of Qld | Program for matches in Brisbane. Collection is predominantly of representative matches. |
| RRLG | Rockhampton Rugby League Gazette | 1951-1968 | Copies at State Library of Qld | Program for matches in Rockhampton. Collection includes club as well as Rockhampton and Central Queensland representative matches. |
| - | Ipswich Versus International Teams | 1913-1975 | Copies at SLQ & NLA | Match Report, Given Names & Club of Ipswich Players |
| - | The Bulimba Cup Era | 1925-1972 | Copies at SLQ & NLA | Clubs of Ipswich, Toowoomba and Brisbane players. This book includes Bulimba Cup match reports and team lists. |
| - | A History of Mackay Rugby League | 1919-2015 | Author's Website | Given Names & Club of Mackay Players |
| - | More Than The Foley Shield | 1908-2014 | Author's Website | Match report, team photos. Given Names & Club of North Queensland Players |