Rochdale Hornets legend Wally McArthur dies aged 81

Wally McArthur

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Rochdale Hornets legend Wally McArthur has died at the age of 81.

Wally was born in the township of Borroloola in the Northern Territory of Australia in 1933 to an Aboriginal mother and a white police officer father at a time when interracial relationships were frowned upon.

Wally was taken by the authorities and sent to a church mission in Alice Springs and later ended up in Adelaide, where his athletic talents were discovered. He went on to become the South Australia under 19 sprint champion at 100 and 200 yards.

Even though he went on to win the state championship, Wally experienced institutional racism and was overlooked for the Australian side for the Helsinki Olympics in 1952.
Following this, he turned his attention to Rugby League.

As a player, Wally scored 900 points for Semaphore Rugby League Club in the South Australian competition and went on to represent South Australia at state level. He was then scouted to play rugby league in England.

Wally made his debut for Rochdale Hornets on 12 December 1953 in a game against Salford, where he kicked three goals. He stayed at Hornets for 14 months between 1953 and 1955. He went on to become a fan's favourite and equalled the points scoring record for the club. He left Hornets for Blackpool on 1 February 1955.

He also played for Salford and Workington Town before moving back to Australia.

He was inducted into the Aboriginal and Islander Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and in 2008 and was named in the Aboriginal Australian Rugby League team of the century.