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The 1926 Chatham Cup was the fourth annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.
The competition was run on a regional basis, with five regional associations (Auckland, Wellington, Waikato, Canterbury, and Otago) each holding separate qualifying rounds. In all, 36 teams entered the 1926 competition,[1] with the overwhelming majority being from the North Island.
According to Huntly Thistle's club website, the club beat Pukemiro 6-0 and Hikurangi 4-0 before losing to the eventual finalists North Shore 3-1.[2] These teams, and those known to have qualified as regional champions and/or taken part in island finals brings the list of known entrants to 20.
One unusual feature of the 1926 competition was that three of the four semi-finalist sides were composed largely of staff from three of the country's largest mental hospitals, at Sunnyside, Porirua, and Seacliff.[3]
The 1926 final
The final was played at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, a change of venue from the previous finals which had been at Newtown Park or Athletic Park. The following year the final briefly returned to Newtown Park, before making its permanent home at the Basin Reserve, a venue which was used regularly until the 1970s.
In the final, played in front of some 4000 spectators, Sunnyside's Archie Trotter became the first player to complete a Chatham Cup final hat-trick. The match was high scoring, but contemporary reports suggest that many opportunities were missed by both teams. H. Pickering put Sunnyside in front after just seven minutes. Archie Trotter doubled the lead for Sunnyside before L. Hipkins scored for North Shore. After the half-time interval Trotter scored two further goals before John Woolley scored a late consolation for North Shore.[4]
Other notable features of the final included the appearance in the North Shore team of both Reg Baxter and Ces Dacre. Baxter was the first player to play for two different sides in Chatham Cup finals, having been part of the successful Seacliff team in the 1923 final. Dacre, while a fine player and New Zealand representative at football, is best remembered as one of New Zealand's foremost early cricketers.
