| Full name | Thomas Gibson Pauling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 17 June 1873 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Doyleston, Canterbury, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 30 September 1927 (aged 54) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Clovelly, Sydney, NSW, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 89 kg (196 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Tom P. Pauling (son) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thomas Gibson Pauling (17 June 1873 — 30 September 1927) was a New Zealand international rugby union player.
A forward from Wellington club Athletic, Pauling made his national team debut in 1896 when Queensland visited the New Zealand capital. He subsequently gained a place on New Zealand's 1897 tour of Australia and scored four tries in eight uncapped appearances over the course of the trip. [1] As he had to leave his job as a saddler in order to make the tour, Pauling afterwards opted to settle in Sydney, where he found work as a police officer. [2] He continued his rugby with Randwick and earned New South Wales representative honours. [3]
Pauling became a referee after suffering a knee injury and had charge of the two Test matches the 1904 British Lions played in Sydney. He also refereed an international during New Zealand's tour of Australia in 1914. [1]
Active in local politics, Pauling served as an Alderman for Randwick municipality in his later years. [4]
Pauling was the father of 1930s Wallabies centre Tom Pauling junior. [5]