Wayne Marjoribanks always knew his father, Horace, was a talented football player who nearly joined the Manly Sea Eagles in the 1950s. However, it wasn’t until after Horace’s passing that Wayne discovered his father had captained the Blues in what some rugby league historians consider the first-ever State of Origin game.
This renowned sporting rivalry had its unlikely beginnings in a Papua New Guinean seaside village at the end of World War II. On September 16, 1945, weeks after Japan’s surrender but before Australian soldiers returned home, Queensland and New South Wales troops—many of them first-grade footballers—played the first of two rugby league games at Torokina on Bougainville Island.
These games were unique as they marked the first time interstate teams were selected based on birthplace rather than residence or enlistment—a concept that would not be seen again until the modern State of Origin series began in the 1980s. Queensland won the series at Torokina’s Medco Oval, securing victory in both games and receiving a trophy made from a 120mm Japanese naval shell.
Tonight, at Origin II, this trophy will be displayed at the MCG alongside the State of Origin shield, marking the first time the NRL has officially recognized the historical significance of the series.
