Every great sporting code has its pioneers. In the Northern Territory, rugby wasn’t born with a committee meeting or a glossy development plan. It was built by a small group of blokes with vision, humour, and just enough stubbornness to believe that if rugby could survive in the deserts of Alice and the rebuild of Darwin after Cyclone Tracy, it could survive anywhere.
The names of these founding fathers, David “Coops” Cooper, Nick Dondas, Warren Snowdon, Bernie Bree, Richard “Dick” Norris, Dennis Bree and others still echo through Territory rugby. They weren’t professional administrators. They weren’t even sure how many people would turn up to training some weeks. But together, they set the foundations for what has now become 50 years of NT Rugby Union.
David “Coops” Cooper – The Builder with a Hammer
If rugby needed a practical man, it found one in Coops. A Kiwi carpenter by trade, Cooper arrived in Darwin as part of the rebuilding workforce after Cyclone Tracy. While most people were worried about housing and electricity, Coops was worried about something else entirely: where to find a game of rugby.
In late 1975, he put up a handwritten sign outside his house on Bagot Road: Anyone interested in playing Rugby Union, come and meet here.” A ragtag bunch turned up, the Bree brothers, a couple of political hopefuls named Dondas and Snowdon, and Dick Norris among them. That sign was the birth certificate of NT Rugby.
But Coops wasn’t just an ideas man he was a doer. When the Union needed facilities, he literally built them himself, hammer in hand, crafting the early infrastructure at Rugby Park. Leaning walls and wobbly verandahs aside, his legacy remains in every blade of grass at Marrara.
Nick Dondas – The Door-Knocker
Before politics made him a household name, Nick Dondas was rugby’s greatest salesman. Persuaded by community leader Harry Giese to get involved, Nick’s recruitment strategy was simple but effective: door-knocking.
At Tracy Village, he went from demountable to demountable asking workers if they’d ever played rugby. Enough said yes to form the nucleus of the Casuarina Cougars. Later, as President of the NT Rugby for seven years, Nick donated the Union’s first perpetual trophy, the Dondas Cup and used his political connections to secure land for Rugby Park.
In hindsight, Nick’s political career was inevitable. After all, if you can convince exhausted tradies to swap steel-caps for footy boots, convincing voters is a breeze.
Warren Snowdon – The Player-Politician
Like Dondas, Warren Snowdon would go on to national politics. But before parliament, there was rugby. Snowdon was part of those first meetings in 1975 and an enthusiastic player in the fledgling competition.
Snowdon’s love for the game continued long after his playing days. His presence ensured that rugby had an advocate in Canberra, someone who understood the challenges of building a sport in one of the most remote corners of Australia.
Bernie and Dennis Bree – Family at the Core
If Territory rugby has always been about community, the Bree brothers embodied it. Bernie and Dennis were among the first through Coops’ front gate on Bagot Road, and they never looked back.
They weren’t just strong players — they were builders of clubs and culture. In the years that followed, their fingerprints were all over the rise of Palmerston rugby. They coached juniors, mentored new players, and made sure families felt welcome around the club.
The Bree legacy is one of continuity. In 1997, three generations of the Bree family played in the same Palmerston match — a living symbol of how rugby had become more than a pastime. It was a family tradition, woven into the Territory’s fabric.
Richard “Dick” Norris – The Character
Every founding story needs a character, and in NT Rugby that was Dick Norris. A larger than life figure, Dick’s enthusiasm for rugby matched his booming personality. He was one of the early regulars at Coops’ Bagot Road meetings and soon became a fixture around the game.
Dick brought laughter to the sideline and kept spirits up when numbers were low and facilities were scarce. Territory rugby has always thrived on characters like Dick, men who remind everyone that rugby is supposed to be fun.
More Than Just Names on a Page
Together, these men created something far bigger than themselves. They didn’t just start a sport they created a community. They scrounged jerseys, lined fields, found referees, and made sure someone always had a whistle and a ball. They were administrators, coaches, players, and sometimes even the groundskeepers, all rolled into one.
Fifty years later, rugby in the NT boasts thriving senior and junior competitions, women’s rugby, representative pathways, and international tournaments like the Hottest Sevens. None of it would have been possible without the stubbornness, humour, and sheer hard work of those first men who decided rugby had a place in the Top End.
The Founding Fathers may not have set out to make history — but history is what they made.
Sources:
- Rah-Rah in the Never-Never – Founding Fathers section (Coops’ Bagot Road sign, Dondas’ presidency and Dondas Cup, Snowdon’s early role, Giese’s encouragement, Norris’ involvement).
- NT Rugby Union historical archives.
