Geoffrey Thomas Alley
| Full name | Geoffrey Thomas Alley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 February 1903 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Amberley, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 25 September 1986 (aged 83) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Upper Hutt, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 100 kg (220 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Christchurch Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Canterbury University College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) |
Rewi Alley (brother) Gwen Somerset (sister) |
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| Occupation(s) | Librarian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position(s) | Lock | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand No. | 327 | ||
| Provincial / State sides | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1925–26 1927–30 |
Southland Canterbury |
() | |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1926–28 1927 |
New Zealand NZ Universities |
3 | (0) |
Geoffrey Thomas "Geoff" Alley OBE (4 February 1903 – 25 September 1986) was a New Zealand rugby union player and librarian. He played three test matches for the All Blacks and was New Zealand's first national librarian.
Born in Amberley, North Canterbury, in 1903, Alley was the fifth child of Clara Maria Alley (née Buckingham) and her husband Frederick James Alley. His siblings included Rewi Alley, the activist and educator who went to China, and Gwen Somerset, a noted educator. He was educated at Christchurch Boys' High School, and left in 1921 to manage a farm near Lumsden owned by his father. In 1926, Alley began studying at Canterbury University College, from where he graduated with a Master of Arts with first-class honours in 1932. His thesis was entitled Experiment in rural adult education. He was also awarded a Diploma of Social Sciences in 1930.
In 1930 Alley married Euphan Margaret Jamieson in 1930; they had two sons and two daughters.
A lock, Alley represented Southland and Canterbury at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, in 1926 and 1928. He played 19 matches for the All Blacks including three tests.
Alley wrote a book on the 1930 tour of New Zealand by the British Lions, entitled With the British rugby team in New Zealand, 1930.
In the lead-up to the 1960 All Blacks tour of South Africa, Alley was a member of a pressure group, the New Zealand Citizens' All Black Tour Association, that opposed the exclusion of Māori players from the team imposed by the South African authorities.
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