John Henry Meibusch

John Henry (Jack) Meibusch was born on 11 December 1878 in Surat, Queensland. He died on 17 February 1955. He was one of eleven children, five of whom played for Queensland. Only Jack and his brother Lou went on to play for Australia. He worked as a labourer and was an excellent runner, pigeon shooter, race club secretary, and started the Dalby Gun Club. He was Queensland’s hooker from 1902 to 1905, was a player/coach/captain for the Toowoomba team, and also played at the Rangers club.

Jack Meibusch’s career ended when he was disqualified for life in 1906, for supporting a team-mate he claimed had been sent off unfairly. Officials agreed later to lift the disqualification, but Jack had suffered cartilage damage in both knees and refused to make a comeback. He played as a prop-forward in one international Test match in 1904. The game was played against Great Britain in Sydney, on 30 July; Australia was defeated 16 to 0. He toured New Zealand in 1905, but did not play a Test match. His Wallaby number was 61.