Charlie Pearce's parents were Charles Julius Pearce and Catherine McKinnon.
17 Facts About Charlie Pearce
1.
2.
In 1906 Charlie Pearce was selected for the South Island team.
3.
Charlie Pearce played in several test matches while on tour, including the first ever rugby league test match on 1 January 1908, and captained the side in the third test match against Australia.
4.
Charlie Pearce's versatility was put to good use during the tour and he played everywhere in the pack, including hooker, and even played a match at centre.
5.
Charlie Pearce played in the first ever trans-Tasman test which was the debut match of the Australia national rugby league team.
6.
Charlie Pearce was selected as captain to tour Australia in 1913 but was unable to attend for business reasons.
7.
Charlie Pearce did however play for New Zealand later in the year in both matches against the touring New South Wales side.
8.
Charlie Pearce played in a total of eight test matches.
9.
Charlie Pearce played for and captained Addington in the Canterbury Rugby League competition in 1913.
10.
Charlie Pearce made 4 appearances for Canterbury and was captain of the side.
11.
Charlie Pearce later served as a selector for the New Zealand side and was appointed the second official "coach" of the New Zealand team, during the 1925 season.
12.
Charlie Pearce was made a life member of the New Zealand Rugby League in 1920.
13.
Charlie Pearce had worked years earlier with his father as a contractor at the Christchurch Abattoir, and was later "engaged in farming operations in the Argentine".
14.
Charlie Pearce had recently worked "as a foreman butcher at the Westfield Freezing Works, near Auckland".
15.
Charlie Pearce died on 2 January 1929, aged 47, after falling ill while at work.
16.
Charlie Pearce had been seeing a doctor with a heart ailment previously.
17.
Charlie Pearce had a seizure later in the day and died before medical assistance could arrive.