Born 21 January 1945, passed Away 1 December 2011.
Arthur Beetson was a colossus of Rugby League. Not only did he play 28 Test matches for Australia but he also captained and coached his country. Born in the Queensland town of Roma, which is about 480 kms west north west of Brisbane, Arthur made his Test debut at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 23 July 1966 in the 19-14 win over Great Britain. His last Test was at the same venue on 25 June 1977 when he captained Australia to a 13-12 win over Great Britain in the Final of the 1977 World Championship.Altogether he captained Australia in eight matches, two Tests and six World Cup games. In 1983, the big prop coached Australia in two Tests against New Zealand.
Arthur began playing with Roma in 1963 and then moved to Brisbane club Redcliffe in 1964 for two seasons. Redcliffe defeated Valleys 15-2 in the 1965 Brisbane Grand Final and Balmain secretary Kevin Humphreys, along with other Tigers officials were at the match to see Arthur play a dominating role. He came to Sydney to join Balmain in 1966 and in five seasons at Leichhardt, played 74 first grade matches. He then moved to Bondi Junction in 1971 and after eight seasons with the Roosters played 131 first grade games, including the winning 1974 Grand Final. Under coach Jack Gibson, Arthur captained the Roosters in their 1974 Premiership win. In 1979 he joined Parramatta for two seasons, playing 18 games with the Eels. When he left Sydney for one last season with Redcliffe in 1981, he had played 223 matches in Sydney football. He also had a season with English club Hull Kingston Rovers in 1968/69 playing 12 games.
Arthur played in the 1968 and 1972 World Cups, the 1975 and 1977 World Series and was a 1973 Kangaroo. He played a total of 19 minor games for Australia from 1972 to 1975. He also played 18 games for NSW, three matches for Queensland, nine games for City Firsts, one game for City Seconds and one match for Sydney in 1966 against Great Britain.
Altogether he played 314 senior matches scoring 32 tries. One of his most notable games was when, at 35 years of age, he captained Queensland at Lang Park on 8 July 1980. This was the very first State of Origin fixture and Arthur led by example as Queensland beat NSW 20-10.
Later he coached Queensland in 16 State of Origin games from 1981 to 1990, for 11 wins and five defeats. Under Arthur's coaching, Queensland won the series in 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1989.
He also coached the Roosters in 1977-78 and 1985-88, guiding them to the finals in 1977 and 1987. He coached the Cronulla Sharks in 1992-93.
Arthur was named as one of the game's immortals in 2003, one of the game's greatest 100 players and is in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, as well as the Rugby League Hall of Fame. He was also chosen as a prop in the Team of the Century.
Proud of his aboriginal heritage, Arthur was Australia's first Indigenous captain in any sport. He suffered a heart attack will riding his bike at Paradise Point on the Gold Coast just after 9am on Thursday 1 December. He will certainly be missed by all in Rugby League and the Men of League extend our deepest sympathies to Arthur's family and many friends.