Australian Rules football begins

The seeds of what is known as Australian Rules football were planted in the late 1850s. The colony of Victoria had just formally separated from New South Wales, and when gold was discovered in 1851 men and women were attracted to Victoria from around the world. The immigrants sought wealth, and the city of Melbourne was their stopping point on the way to the goldfields. While some immigrants did make their fortunes, most did not. Many of the fortune seekers chose to stay and made Melbourne their home, transforming the town into a rapidly expanding city.

The colony of Victoria measured just about everything in terms of British standards and traditions, and the colonists were quick to institute sports that were familiar to them. The first horserace meeting was held in March 1838 on Batman's Hill (now the site of Southern Cross Station), and the first meeting at Flemington took place in 1840. Cricket matches sprang up and the Melbourne Cricket Club was formed in 1838. Horseracing and cricket assumed pre-eminence but there were other sports such as rowing, billiards, skittles, wrestling, athletics, handball, gymnastics, prize fighting, ratting and ploughing matches.

Football, in one form or another, probably dates back to the beginning of all human amusements. There were indigenous football games not only in Australia but also throughout the world, and the skills learnt were probably excellent preparation for war and survival. In Britain there have been references to folk games of football for centuries.

These early games were often part of local fairs and festivals and not a component of any larger organised football competition. The year 1858 is often taken to be the landmark year for Australian Rules football, but football existed in the colonies well before this date. There are occasional mentions of it in the earliest newspapers in Australia. For example, in Sydney in 1829 there was a reference to football as an 'amusement of the military'. Seven years later, a note about football in Scotland appeared in the Sydney press.

Two things are clear about the period prior to 1858. The first is that no regular football competition was conducted in the colonies, and the second is that football, when it was played, was generally one of several amusements that were part of more extensive festivals. The Melbourne press of the 1840s and 1850s records these spasmodic football games along with the other amusements in passing only. And when the games are chronicled, they pique curiosity more by what is left unstated than what is actually recorded. For instance, there is a mention of 'footballing' at Batman's Hill in 1844. And over Christmas in 1845, the Port Phillip Herald recorded that 'a football was kicked while a greasy pole was being climbed'. Also in 1845, at the temperance picnic on Emerald Hill, 'football kicking' was recorded as one of the amusements. In November 1850 there was a football match as part of the week of Separation celebrations, wherein a publican promoted 'foot ball' between two teams of eleven players, and then afterwards a twelve-a-side match for prize money of £15. These matches were part of the Gymnastic Sports and Games held at Emerald Hill. Other sports on the program included climbing a greasy pole, a sack race, jumping matches and a wrestling match. Several months earlier at Flemington Racecourse there was a football match with two teams of eleven players.

In none of these references is there any hint of rules, nor a sense that the matches were part of any regular organised competition. This was the state of the game until the late 1850s. Horseracing, hunting, shooting and cricket were established sports, but football was to be a minor sport for many years. The end of the 1850s would be the critical period in changing the sporting landscape of Melbourne, and then other towns as well.

Australian Rules football begins

The seeds of what is known as Australian Rules football were planted in the late 1850s. The colony of Victoria had just formally separated from New South Wales, and when gold was discovered in 1851 men and women were attracted to Victoria from around the world. The immigrants sought wealth, and the city of Melbourne was their stopping point on the way to the goldfields. While some immigrants did make their fortunes, most did not. Many of the fortune seekers chose to stay and made Melbourne their home, transforming the town into a rapidly expanding city.

The colony of Victoria measured just about everything in terms of British standards and traditions, and the colonists were quick to institute sports that were familiar to them. The first horserace meeting was held in March 1838 on Batman's Hill (now the site of Southern Cross Station), and the first meeting at Flemington took place in 1840. Cricket matches sprang up and the Melbourne Cricket Club was formed in 1838. Horseracing and cricket assumed pre-eminence but there were other sports such as rowing, billiards, skittles, wrestling, athletics, handball, gymnastics, prize fighting, ratting and ploughing matches.

Football, in one form or another, probably dates back to the beginning of all human amusements. There were indigenous football games not only in Australia but also throughout the world, and the skills learnt were probably excellent preparation for war and survival. In Britain there have been references to folk games of football for centuries.

These early games were often part of local fairs and festivals and not a component of any larger organised football competition. The year 1858 is often taken to be the landmark year for Australian Rules football, but football existed in the colonies well before this date. There are occasional mentions of it in the earliest newspapers in Australia. For example, in Sydney in 1829 there was a reference to football as an 'amusement of the military'. Seven years later, a note about football in Scotland appeared in the Sydney press.

Two things are clear about the period prior to 1858. The first is that no regular football competition was conducted in the colonies, and the second is that football, when it was played, was generally one of several amusements that were part of more extensive festivals. The Melbourne press of the 1840s and 1850s records these spasmodic football games along with the other amusements in passing only. And when the games are chronicled, they pique curiosity more by what is left unstated than what is actually recorded. For instance, there is a mention of 'footballing' at Batman's Hill in 1844. And over Christmas in 1845, the Port Phillip Herald recorded that 'a football was kicked while a greasy pole was being climbed'. Also in 1845, at the temperance picnic on Emerald Hill, 'football kicking' was recorded as one of the amusements. In November 1850 there was a football match as part of the week of Separation celebrations, wherein a publican promoted 'foot ball' between two teams of eleven players, and then afterwards a twelve-a-side match for prize money of £15. These matches were part of the Gymnastic Sports and Games held at Emerald Hill. Other sports on the program included climbing a greasy pole, a sack race, jumping matches and a wrestling match. Several months earlier at Flemington Racecourse there was a football match with two teams of eleven players.

In none of these references is there any hint of rules, nor a sense that the matches were part of any regular organised competition. This was the state of the game until the late 1850s. Horseracing, hunting, shooting and cricket were established sports, but football was to be a minor sport for many years. The end of the 1850s would be the critical period in changing the sporting landscape of Melbourne, and then other towns as well.