It can be argued that first international game of football played in Australia under British Association rules took place at Fremantle Oval on Monday 24 March, 1902, when Western Australia squared off with an England team composed of visiting Ashes cricketers.
The game came about through the progressive thinking of Alec Peters, secretary of the British Football Association of Western Australia, who invited the English cricketers to play the State team during a Fremantle stop-over. Unfortunately for the hosts, the international friendly turned out to be a one-sided affair won 4-0 by the England Cricket XI.
English cricket teams had been regular visitors to Australia from as early as 1861. The privately run and funded tour of forty years later was organised by the Melbourne Cricket Club, who invited England captain Archie MacLaren to select a squad for a five-game Ashes series. On Friday 27 September, 1901, 13 cricketers boarded the RMS Omrah at Tilbury Docks in London, destination Fremantle.
In the early hours of Thursday 31 October, 1901, the mail steamer berthed at Victoria Quay. The previous month the West Australian Cricket Association had proposed England play an end of tour cricket match in Perth. The Melbourne Cricket Club were supportive of the game, however, the £600 guarantee they sought was well beyond the reach of the local association.
After 33 days at sea, the cricketers were eager to put their feet back on terra firma. They caught to the train to Perth, arriving mid-morning, and took part in a light practice session at the WACA Ground in East Perth before attending a reception in their honour. Amongst those present in the members room of the pavilion was BFAWA secretary Peters.
It is not known when the seed was planted for the cricketers to play football but it’s not unreasonable to think Peters made an approach to English all-rounder Gilbert Jessop, who spoke on behalf of his team in MacLaren’s absence, during the reception. Football was familiar to the cricketers, many who played the game back home to keep fit between seasons.
Jessop himself had turned out for Gloucester AFC and Cheltenham Town, crack batsman Charlie McGahey played at full-back for Clapton, Tottenham Hotspur and Woolwich Arsenal while wicketkeeper Charlie Robson managed Southampton during the 1895/96 season. After the WACA Ground reception, the cricketers made their way back to Fremantle and that evening the RMS Omrah departed Fremantle, next stop Adelaide.
News that a football game had been secured was broken by ‘the West Australian’ newspaper. “Mr Aleck Peters, hon. secretary to the local Football Association, is in receipt of a communication from Mr AC MacLaren, captain of the English cricket team, accepting his challenge for a game at football, under British Association rules, (on) March 24,” read the daily broadsheet of Wednesday 19 February.
A fortnight later, at the annual general meeting of the Association, Peters confirmed he had been successful in negotiations for the game to be played at Fremantle Oval. It was resolved the State team would wear “old gold jerseys and black knickers” and that a sub-committee consisting of association chair Captain Robert White, William Thomas and Edwin ‘Teddy’ Band would select the players.
When the meeting closed, the sub-committee short-listed 22 players – Evans (Albany), George Hatton, Sewell, Taylor, Stan Williams (Civil Service), George McKenzie, Taylor (Corinthian), Cammock, John Cooper, Joe Gorton, Murray, Stenhouse (Fremantle Wanderers), Fennell, Albert Fletcher, Tom O’Nurse (Olympic), C.Barnby, Fred Burt, Reg Burt, G.Field, Arthur Hardwick (Perth), A.Goad and Waugh (Southern Cross).
Practice sessions were held and eleven players – Murray, Field, Cooper, Gorton, Goad, Hatton, F.Burt, McKenzie, Evans, O’Nurse and Williams – firmed up as Western Australia’s first representative team. However, Fremantle were unhappy and wrote to the Association “stating that the club was dissatisfied with the team as selected, and urging that it should be reconstructed.”
The matter was discussed at length during what can be assumed was a heated Association committee meeting on Wednesday 19 March. When the Association backed their selection sub-committee, Fremantle delegates Kinley and Nichol promptly withdrew their clubs’ representatives – Murray, Cooper and Gorton. And when Fremantle refused to reconsider their position, Hardwick, Hatton and Fletcher were added to the eleven.
With game day less than a week away, the Association swung into action. The railway authorities agreed to run cheap trains to all stations between Perth and Fremantle on the afternoon of the game. A request was made of Acting Premier Walter Kingsmill to declare a half-holiday “but he regretted his inability to grant it.” And the ground entry fee was set at 6d – approximately 5 cents – with schoolboys half price.
The cricketers docked at Fremantle in the early morning of Monday 24 March following a disappointing tour of the eastern seaboard, where the Ashes series was lost 4-1. Jessop was later reported as saying the team were “looking forward to the football match with keener interest than the last matches in cricket”. So much so that in Adelaide they had a round ball made for daily practice sessions on Adelaide Oval.
Acting Premier Kingsmill, who was also president of the WACA, and Mayor of Fremantle Lawrence Alexander greeted the cricketers shortly after the RMS Omrah reached Victoria Quay. Also on board were the Australian cricket team, who were bound for England and the return Ashes series. The two sets of players stretched their legs with a morning visit to Perth.
By the time they returned to the port, the crowd of 4,000 were beginning to gather at Fremantle Oval where the pitch had been marked and the goals readied for the 2:45pm kick-off. The off-field formalities commenced half an hour prior with a reception in the pavilion – catered by Christian Mouritzen of the Federal Hotel – for both the English and Australian cricket teams.
The official ceremony opened with Kingsmill welcoming the two teams before Jessop, in the absence of MacLaren, replied on behalf of the English followed by Australia captain Joe Darling. With speeches running over and team photographs still to be taken, it was clear the scheduled kick-off time would not be met. The two teams eventually stepped out onto Fremantle Oval shortly after 3:00pm.
The West Australian eleven were out first. Greeted by bright sunshine and a rousing ovation, the home side were resplendent in their gold shirts with a black swan adorning the pocket, complete with white shorts. The English jogged out soon after to a similar show of appreciation, wearing their traditional white shirts and dark blue shorts.
Owing to the delayed kick-off and the fixed departure time of the RMS Omrah, referee Robson played two halves of 30 minutes. Robson, who was originally to keep goal for England, stepped in as referee at late notice to replace West Australian official ‘Teddy’ Band. Injured England bowler Sydney Barnes ran one line with a local known only as Mr Clark on the opposite side.
England captain Willie Quaife won the toss and chose to play with the considerable breeze. The advantage that offered soon became evident as with only five minutes gone Tom Hayward drove forward and played through for John Gunn to send a precision shot beyond Hardwick. Play flowed from one end to the other for the remainder of the half with the visitors enjoying the better of possession and chances on goal.
Gunn skimmed the top of the crossbar as England sought to build on their lead. With the next opening, Gunn got his angles right by placing between Hardwick’s out-stretched hand and the post. A deflected shot by Quaife fizzed just high of the target. With half-time nearing England were gifted a third goal, Arthur Jones converting easily following Field’s pass across his own goal.
Western Australia came into the game more in the second half with McKenzie and Fred Burt combining well going forward. A quick move by Goad sent the ball in the direction of Williams but Quaife was alert to the danger. Then Williams tried his luck with a well-executed overhead kick which Len Braund, who’d take over in goal from Jessop, pushed away to concede a corner.
Jessop’s move to the outfield paid dividends when he scored the goal of the game from an impressive piece of combination play by the English. A late surge had the ball in Western Australia’s attacking zone for an extended period but the hosts were unable to force a consolation goal before referee Robson blew his whistle for the last time.
“The Englishmen were superior to the home team all round (with a performance) that must have opened the eyes of hundreds of the onlookers,” reported ‘the West Australian’ on 25 March. Quaife was singled out for praise along with two-goal hero Gunn, Hayward, Harold Garnett, Arthur Lilley, McGahey and Jessop. For the hosts it was Gorton, Hatton, Field, Goad, and Fred Burt that received the plaudits.
Quaife “was delighted to have had the chance of helping the game, and was pleased that the match had been an unqualified success to all concerned” reported the ‘the West Australian’. After a post-game reception, the English cricketers and their Australian counterparts made their way back to the RMS Omrah. The refueled mail steamer slipped out of Fremantle at 5:25pm, headed for London via the Sri Lankan city of Colombo.
At a meeting of the Association a week later, Peters reported match income of £95 15s 3d, with gate takings amounting to £89 3s 3d. The total expenditure on the game was £106, £45 of which went to the cricketers and £29 to the Fremantle Council as their percentage of the gate proceeds. Western Australia’s first representative game had cost the Association approximately £10, which the meeting considered “very satisfactory”.
A letter of appreciation was later received from Quaife, who said he hoped to again play football and cricket in Western Australia. The English batsman mentioned the cricketers match fees had been spent on producing gold medals “to commemorate the first international football match under British Association rules between England and Australia” reported ‘the West Australian’ of Monday 6 April 1903.
Friendly
Western Australia 0
England 4 (John Gunn 2, Arthur Jones, Gilbert Jessop)
Western Australia: Arthur Hardwick, G.Field, George Hatton, Albert Fletcher, A.Goad, Joe Gorton, Stan Williams, Fred Burt, George McKenzie, Reg Burt, Tom O’Nurse
England: Gilbert Jessop, Arthur Lilley, Charlie McGahey, Johnny Tyldesley, Willie Quaife, Harold Garnett, Colin Blythe, Arthur Jones, Len Braund, John Gunn, Tom Hayward
Officials: Charlie Robson (England), Sydney Barnes (England), Mr. Clark (West Australia)
