The Club's Formation
Although Northern United Hockey Club has multiple distinct origins, its earliest existence as an independent entity is best traced to 1930, when the Wellington Technical College Hockey Club was formed.

In 1927, before the club was formed, Wellington Technical College (now Wellington High School) entered a hockey team controlled by E. G. Cousins in the intermediate grade. Wellington Technical College was prompted to create this hockey team by an influx of teachers to the school who had formerly played the sport together for the Varsity Club. The college was the first post-primary school in Wellington to create its own hockey team, predating Wellington College’s first attempt by a few years.

The first Wellington Technical College Old Boys’ team was entered into the Men’s Third Grade in 1929, but it was in 1930 that Allan A. Kirk united the Old Boys’ side with the school’s four teams, thus founding the Wellington Technical College Hockey Club. By 1934, this club had grown sufficiently in both strength and numbers to win the Wellington Club Championship. The club’s bank balance that year, the earliest now known, was four pounds, ten shillings and zero pence. In 1935 the club entered its first team in the Senior A grade of the men’s club competition.

During the war years Tech Old Boys continued to field teams. These sides were inevitably greatly depleted, but pupils, masters and friends of the college proffered their assistance when numbers were required. Sadly, the club’s numbers were not entirely replenished immediately following the war as several Technical Old Boys lost their lives during World War Two. A. C. Carr, club secretary and treasurer for the majority of the war’s duration (and subsequently club president and then club patron), stated in a history prepared for the club’s Silver Jubilee that, ‘we did lose many good friends and players through that period of our history which, in its darkest days, meant that we who had been left to follow on might now play in peace and assurance of good sportsmanship by virtue of their sacrifice on the field of battle.’ The club was unable to compile an accurate Roll of Honour for those members lost, but the Technical Old Boys Memorial Cup was established in 1949 to pay homage to them, and continues to be annually awarded to the club team that finishes highest in its grade.

In 1950 Tech Old Boys won its first and only men’s Senior A championship, sharing the honour with Karori Hockey Club. During the early ’50s the club’s contribution to Wellington hockey was indubitable; ten of the 1950 championship side were selected to play for Wellington, and in 1952 club-member Mr G. J. M. Eeles was appointed chairman of the Wellington Hockey Association. Tech Old Boys’ maturity as a hockey club was further evident in the ‘highly successful’ dinner it held for its Silver Jubilee in 1955.

Tech Old Boys becomes Northern United
In the late fifties Tech Old Boys discovered that less secondary school players were becoming available to play for them, a development that may have been due, in part, to the establishment of the Indians’ Hockey Club.

Tech Old Boys approached the Wellington Hockey Association to request a distinct area of the city wherein it could foster schoolboy hockey, and thus boost its membership.

The WHA allocated the district from Ngaio to Johnsonville (and its immediate surrounds) to the club. It was from this rather arbitrary decision that Tech Old Boys established its lasting and significant relationship with the Northern Suburbs, including Onslow and Newlands Colleges.

In 1965 Wellington Technical College became Wellington High School, and this transformation was the symbolic culmination of a decreasing relationship between the hockey club and the college from which it had derived its name. Club life member G. J. M. Eeles claimed in 1967 that the Technical College’s name-change required the hockey club to either abandon its historical name, or to ‘go out of existence’. Hence, at a special general meeting on August 15th, 1967, it was decided that Wellington Technical College Old Boys’ Hockey Club would change its name to Northern United Hockey Club and move its headquarters to the suburbs in which it was increasingly becoming involved. Thus, the club’s considerable experience and resources could continue to be valuably used to contribute to the development of Wellington hockey.

In 1966 committee meetings were already being held in the northern suburbs at the peculiar location of the Newlands Fire Station, where three members of the executive were part of the brigade. Although the club’s physical home had shifted, club-members were eager to ensure that the spirit fostered as Tech Old Boys would continue.

Upon the change, Wellington Technical College Hockey Club founder Allan A. Kirk stated that, ‘I want all members of the present club to realise that I wish the Northern United Club to worthily uphold the traditions of the old club that it replaces.’ At the club’s 50th Jubilee, in 1980, A. C. Carr claimed that following thirteen years as Northern United, ‘[the] old traditions and the old legacies, the foundations that the original members made for this club, are still those on which today it stands.’

Kirk and Carr would no doubt have been pleased by Northern United’s early success in the club championship, winning it in 1970 for the first time since 1934, and then again in 1971 and 1973.

In Northern United’s first year a ground at Alex Moore Park was made available for men’s hockey. The club’s executive decided to purchase floodlights for this ground to maximise its usefulness. These were erected and first put to use in 1969.

Furthermore, as the club grew, Northern found its traditional gathering place for ‘after match discussions,’ the De Bretts Hotel, was unable to cater for all its teams, and thus an appropriate location for clubrooms was sought.

Initially, moves were made to acquire a building from the Wellington Postal Centre site and to relocate it at Onslow College or Alex Moore. However, there were no buildings available, and Onslow College refused all entreaties to borrow space.

Permission was however granted by the WCC for Northern to lease the space above Alex Moore Park’s changing rooms. Although many contributed to their establishment, in Stan Francis’s brief account of the clubrooms’ construction he pays particular homage to Hugh Clift for promoting the idea and for fundraising, and to Ken Wood for designing the rooms and for vital efforts liasing between the many parties involved.

In 1971 Messrs Bays and Bowden Builders were contracted to erect the clubrooms. They created the enclosed space, but it was left to Northern’s volunteers to draw on their various and considerable skills in order to complete them. On April 14th, 1973, Frank Kitts, then Mayor of Wellington, opened the completed rooms.