The Footscray Football Club and Its Local Community in Colonial Melbourne
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Foundation Narratives in Rowing, Cricket and Australian Rules Football: Sport in Footscray 1859-1886 Darren Arthur A thesis submitted for a Masters by Research degree at Victoria University Institute for Health and Sport Victoria University Melbourne, Victoria April 2019 Darren Edwin Arthur – MA Thesis ii Abstract How does a sporting club come to life? What and who are the drivers behind it and what are the forces that shape its development? This thesis examines the town of Footscray through the lens of three local sporting clubs during the period 1859–1886. The study attempts to answer the above questions and considers the reasons each entity came into prominence and what hindered their progress or allowed them to grow. The major focus of this thesis is the Footscray Football Club whose precise origins have not been formally identified, despite conjecture that the club was founded in 1883. Two other local sporting clubs are closely scrutinised, namely the first incarnations of the Footscray rowing and cricket clubs, whose histories have not been properly documented. The intertwined histories of these organisations will not only assist in providing wider contexts for understanding the birth of the local football club, but will, more broadly, illuminate the important role that sport plays in the building of local communities. Darren Edwin Arthur – MA Thesis iii Declaration I, Darren Edwin Arthur, declare that the Masters by Research thesis entitled, “Foundation Narratives in Australian Rules Football: The Footscray Football Club and its Local Community 1859-1886” is no more than the required word length including quotes and exclusive of appendices, bibliography, references and footnotes. This thesis contains no material that has been submitted previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other academic degree or diploma. Except where otherwise indicated, this thesis is my own work. Signature: Date: Darren Edwin Arthur – MA Thesis iv Acknowledgements I’d like to thank my two supervisors, Rob Hess and Matthew Klugman, for introducing me to the world of academia and guiding me through this project. Rob and Matthew were the perfect combination to direct me through the process of completing this Masters by Research. Their guidance, suggestions and ideas made this thesis a thoroughly, yet strangely, enjoyable one to research and write! I thank Matthew for taking over as principal supervisor when Rob took that well-earned redundancy half way through my degree term. I’d also like to thank my partner, Philippa, and our Brady bunch of kids, Dagan, Peyton, Makai, Patrick, Jessica, Xylia and Charlotte, for their support. Finally, I’d like to thank Mum and Dad for their encouragement. It was Dad who picked up in my research for Unleashed the connection of personnel between the St John’s Church and the Footscray Football Club that I have been able explore in this thesis. Darren Edwin Arthur – MA Thesis v Table of Contents Foundation Narratives in Rowing, Cricket and Australian Rules Football: Sport in Footscray 1859-1886 ........................................................................................................ i Abstract ........................................................................................................................... ii Declaration ..................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ v Chapter 1 ......................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction: Australian Rules Football, Cricket and Rowing in Footscray ........... 1 1.1 Overview ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 General Histories of Australian Rules Football .................................................................. 5 1.3 Club Histories ........................................................................................................................ 9 1.4 Other Relevant Histories .................................................................................................... 12 1.5 Methodology and Conceptual Framework ....................................................................... 16 1.6 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 18 Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................... 20 ‘A Wretched Village’: The Borough of Footscray, 1859-86 ..................................... 20 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 20 2.2 Across the Swamp: An Isolated Community ................................................................. 22 2.3 ‘Sloughs of Despond’: Mud and Pedestrian Locomotion ............................................. 30 2.4 ‘Stinkopolis’: A Perfumed Existence .............................................................................. 34 2.5 Sport and Leisure in Footscray ....................................................................................... 39 2.6 The Influence of the Churches on Sport in Footscray .................................................. 51 2.7 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 56 Chapter 3 ....................................................................................................................... 59 A ‘Truly National Sport’: Rowing in Footscray ........................................................ 59 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 59 3.2 The Annual Melbourne Regatta Comes to the Saltwater River in 1862 ..................... 61 3.3 Footscray Rowing Club: A Club is Formed ................................................................... 72 3.4 A Class Apart: Clarke Cup Success and the Manual Labour Issue, 1880-86 ............. 77 3.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 96 Darren Edwin Arthur – MA Thesis vi Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................... 98 ‘Knights of the Flannel’: Cricket in Footscray .......................................................... 98 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 98 4.2 Established 1860: Footscray Cricket Club and Recreative Society ........................... 101 4.3 Footscray Cricket Club .................................................................................................. 105 4.4 Footscray’s Cricketing Landscape ............................................................................... 113 4.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 115 Chapter 5 ..................................................................................................................... 118 ‘King Football’: Football in Footscray ..................................................................... 118 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 118 5.2 Football Origins in Footscray, 1876-79 ........................................................................ 119 5.3 The St John’s Football Club Connection .................................................................... 123 5.4 Prince Imperial Football Club, 1880-81 ....................................................................... 127 5.5 The Forgotten Year in Footscray Football Club’s History, 1882 ............................. 129 5.6 Footscray Football Club: Exploring the Origin Myth of 1883 .................................. 131 5.7 A New Rival: The Excelsior Push ................................................................................. 137 5.8 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 144 Chapter 6 ..................................................................................................................... 147 Thesis Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 147 SOURCES: .................................................................................................................. 156 Primary Sources: ..................................................................................................................... 156 Secondary Sources: ................................................................................................................. 158 Darren Edwin Arthur – MA Thesis 1 Chapter 1 Introduction: Australian Rules Football, Cricket and Rowing in Footscray 1.1 Overview Ian Syson said it best when he called it the ‘Chimera of Origins’.1