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About The Club

History
Football, or soccer as it is known in New Zealand, made its first appearance in Rangiora at the annual New Years Day sports in 1864. During the remainder of that decade, and into the early 1870's, soccer grew as a casual social pastime fuelled by increasing immigration from England.

Newspaper Articles The Mail Weekender 10 May 1990 North Canterbury News 22 May 1990 The Northern Outlook 28 May 1990 North Canterbury News 12 June 1990 North Canterbury News 29 March 1993 Website Links Ultimate NZ Soccer

The first Rangiora Soccer Club was formed on 7 April 1875. The first arranged game was to be played against the Christchurch Football Club on 10 June 1876, however confusion reigned as the Christchurch team arrived intent on playing rugby! A mixture of rugby and soccer was played as a compromise and thereafter the new club played rugby.

Soccer continued to be played casually over subsequent years. In May 1913, as a part of a sports day organised in Rangiora for teams to play against the crew of the cruiser HMS New Zealand, the navy beat a Rangiora team 3-1.

In March, 1965 the Rangiora Association Football Club was founded by Allan Fraser OBE (awarded for his services to Soccer Administration), Mr and Mrs Barry Jones, Mr L E Farr (inaugural Club Patron) and Mr and Mrs Jack Carr. Jack was the club's first President.

With four teams (Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 and Seniors) the Rangiora AFC shared a home at the Rangiora Recreation Ground with the cricket and gun clubs. As the soccer club grew the junior teams ventured to other grounds such as Dudley Park and Ashgrove Park and the need for a dedicated home ground became increasingly pressing.

Maria Andrews Park was a parcel of land that had been donated to the local council by Samuel Andrews of Exeter, Devon, to be named after his wife, Maria, and used as a park. However, the land was very wet and was frequently flooded, and it remained unused until 1942 when it was declared a lawn cemetery by Order of Council.

In 1976, tireless voluntary work helped drain that riverbed wasteland and transform it into the playing fields we have today, as originally intended by Samuel Andrews. The club then moved to those grounds and, in 1993 following years of fundraising activities, the club purchased a large recreation room from the Balmoral State Forest headquarters and relocated it onto Maria Andrews Park. During 2005 the clubrooms have undergone a major refurbishment programme with a new shop, toilets and changing rooms.

Names that are worthy of a mention for their inspired contribution and development of the club as a whole include Allan Fraser, Thelma Hawkins, Bruce and Leila Reeves and John Breitmeyer.

Today Rangiora Soccer Club, with it's 34 teams in 2005, is thought to be the biggest sporting club in the District. The club's base will remain at the same park into the future - Maria Andrews Park is the home of Rangiora soccer.