Syd de Melker
 The 1906 South African rugby team. De Melker is in the back row, fourth from the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Sydney Clarence de Melker 31 March 1884 Kimberly, Cape Colony | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Died | 1 November 1953 (aged 69) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Kimberly Boys High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sydney Clarence de Melker (31 March 1884 – 1 November 1953)[1] was a Cape Colony international rugby union player who played as a centre.[2]
He made two appearances for South Africa from 1903 - 1906.[3][4][5]
After retiring from rugby, de Melker worked as a plumber at a gold mine at Germiston, near Johannesburg. In 1930, de Melker was a widower and had a 19-year-old daughter named Eileen Norah. On 21 January 1931, de Melker married the twice-widowed Daisy Louisa Sproat, who took the name Daisy de Melker.[6]
Daisy's 20-year-old son, Rhodes Cecil Cowle, died on 5 March 1932. Daisy was arrested and charged with using arsenic to kill Rhodes, as well as with using strychnine to kill her two previous husbands, William Alfred Cowle and Robert Sproat. Daisy was found guilty of murdering her son, but she was acquitted of murdering her husbands.[7] Sydney de Melker and Eileen visited Daisy in prison[8] before she was executed on 30 December 1932.[9]
Sydney de Melker married two more times after 1932.[6]
References
- ↑ "Syd de Melker - South Africa". ESPNscrum. ESPN Inc. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ↑ "South Africans in England". Evening News. Sydney, Australia. 28 September 1906 – via Trove.
The South African team in England is a very powerful one, and in view of possible contingencies consist of no fewer than 29 men. These are:— [...] Three-quarters: Krige, Loubser, De Villiers, J. Stegmann, and Le Roux (Western Province), Morkel (Transvaal), De Melker (Griquas), Hirsch (Eastern Province).
- ↑ "Springbok Hall of Fame". Springbok Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ↑ "South Africans in England: Their Ninth Victory". Saturday Observer. Brisbane, Australia. 8 December 1906 – via Trove.
- ↑ "South Africans in Scotland: Scots Badly Beaten". Saturday Observer. Brisbane, Australia. 29 December 1906 – via Trove.
- 1 2 Tomlins, Marilyn Z. (13 October 2009). "Daisy de Melker: South Africa's first serial killer". Crime Magazine. [Note: source spells name "Sidney" and "Sid"]
- ↑ "Mother found guilty of murdering her son". The Sun. Sydney, Australia. 26 November 1932 – via Trove.
- ↑
"Mother executed: Son killed for £100". Mirror. Perth, Australia. 11 February 1933 – via Trove.
The condemned woman [Daisy de Melker] was visited by her husband, Mr. Sydney Clarence de Melker, the Springbok rugby player, and her stepdaughter.
- ↑ "Criminals Decide Against Juries". Sunday Mail. Brisbane, Australia. 4 November 1934 – via Trove.