50-605: 37°02′11″S 146°55′17″E / 37.036406°S 146.921368°E / -37.036406; 146.921368 The major part of the Great Dividing Trail (but not all) is now re-badged as the Goldfields Track, a hiking and mountain-biking track through the historical Goldfields region of Victoria to the north-west and west of Melbourne . The trail passes along the southernmost parts of Australia's Great Dividing Range . The Goldfields Track , runs from
100-401: A foot-ball club, and form a committee of three or more to draw up a code of laws? If a club of this sort were got up, it would be of vast benefit to any cricket-ground to be trampled upon, and would make the turf quite firm and durable; besides which it would keep those who are inclined to become stout from having their joints encased in useless superabundant flesh. If it is not possible to form
150-403: A foot-ball club, why should not these young men who have adopted this new-born country for their motherland, why I say, do not they form themselves into a rifle club, so at any-rate they may be some day called upon to aid their adopted land against a tyrant's band, that may some day 'pop' upon us when we least expect a foe at our very doors. Surely our young cricketers are not afraid of the crack of
200-537: A football game. The game started at 2pm and was played in honour of Saint Patrick. Football, cricket and shinty were also commonly played in the early settlements of Hobart and Richmond in southern Tasmania during the 1840s and 1850s as well as part of St Patricks Day celebrations. In South Melbourne, football was also played on St Patricks Day. In 1846 there was controversy when an Irish gathering organised to "play an old Irish game" in Sydney 's Hyde Park . In 1853
250-468: A form of "foot ball". Written record of such traditional pastimes is otherwise scant and as there is no known record of these pastimes in traditional Indigenous Australian art it is not possible to trace its history further. James Dawson , in his 1881 book titled Australian Aborigines , described a game, which he referred to as 'football', where the players of two teams kick around a ball made of possum fur. Each side endeavours to keep possession of
300-522: A form of football in Australia before that date, specifically Irish Catholics , were likely playing versions of Caid . Since none of the modern football games had been codified at the time, these matches were a traditional Gaelic form of football such as caid . In 1829 the 39th and 57th Irish regiments were reported to have been amusing themselves in Sydney by playing football over several days with
350-565: A group of Irishmen from Westmeath , Ireland placed an advertisement in the South Australian Register calling for Irishmen from another county of Ireland to join them in playing a game of football. The Age on 10 October 1857 lamented that "The people must amuse themselves, and if you do not provide them with wholesome opportunities for doing so, they will fall into evil ones. The decay of athletic sports in Britain has had
400-542: A marked effect on the morals and the physique of the peasantry. In the olden time, when bowls and tennis were everywhere in England, and hurling and football in Scotland and Ireland...The heavy-limbed or heavy-hearted peasant of today is not very like the authentic pictures of his predecessor." "Englishmen do not usually care for hurling, or Irishmen for cricketing; and hence, if one description of exercise were exclusively
450-536: A round ball, the distance between the goals was approximately half a mile (approximately four times longer than the MCG playing surface), and there were 40 players per side. The game was declared a draw with each side scoring one goal. The two schools have competed annually ever since for the Cordner–Eggleston Cup . Some regard these early matches as the first matches of Australian rules football, however to many it
500-489: A similar time). The most noticeable similarity was the absence of an offside rule and the prevalence of the fair catch (or mark). One theory claims that may have been due to the influence of Henry Creswick (possibly a relative of Nathaniel Creswick) who was born in Sheffield but emigrated to Australia with his brother in 1840 (the town of Creswick is named after them). He moved to Melbourne in 1854 and became involved in
550-545: Is a region commonly used but typically defined in both historical geography and tourism geography (in particular heritage tourism ). The region is also known as the Victorian Golden Triangle . It takes in a specific area of North Central Victoria , the major cities of Ballarat and Bendigo as well as smaller centres including Daylesford , Castlemaine and Maryborough . It extends as far north as Inglewood and St Arnaud . It encroaches on
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#1732780038781600-405: Is believed to have its own rules which included a running bounce to limit carrying the ball (at least as early as 1862) that was later adopted by all Victorian clubs. The "house" rules played locally by clubs in this period borrowed elements from the various codes that are present today including Australian rules, soccer and rugby football with the rules played being decided prior to the start of
650-530: Is clear even to casual observers that the two games are similar . The first record of an early version of Gaelic football is considered to be a game in 1670 in Meath (Irish county) where the match featured the catching and kicking of a ball. It is notable that it was not until 1875 that a game of football was played under Association rules in Ireland . This suggests that reports of migrants from Ireland playing
700-542: Is clear that the game was still in the process of evolving. The Herald wrote in August 1858: The game of football promises, as it deserves to be, one of the popular amusements of the ingenuous youth of Victoria. Hitherto, a modification of the Rugby rules has been adopted, which, in the opinion of some, might be altered for the better. But as the cricketing season is so close at hand, it is, perhaps hardly worthwhile to discuss
750-638: Is more strongly linked to the impact of the Victorian Gold Rush than the discovery of gold in Victoria. As a result of the gold rush, the region contains many old buildings, including celebrated examples of Victorian architecture , some of which are heritage listed, while others have fallen into disrepair and become derelict. Many of the towns were far larger during the Gold Rush than they are now, and there are some examples of ghost towns in
800-523: Is somewhat similar to the white man's game of football, is very rough... In the appendix of Dawson's book, he lists the word Min'gorm for the game in the Aboriginal language Chaap Wuurong . of the Djab Wurrung people . The Marn Grook connection is argued as follows. Wills arrived in Victoria's western district in 1842. As the only white child in the district, it is said that he was fluent in
850-740: Is the Box-Ironbark forest , now much fragmented and cleared but still important for the conservation of many birds and other animals. Origins of Australian rules football The origins of Australian rules football date back to the late 1850s in Melbourne , the capital city of Victoria . There is documentary evidence of "foot-ball" being played in Australia as early as the 1820s. These games were poorly documented but appear to have been informal, one-off affairs. In 1858, cricketers , sports' enthusiasts and school students began to regularly play variants of English public school football in
900-540: The Colony of South Australia from 1854 a version of Harrow football was also being played. The rules under which the Old Adelaide Football Club played in 1860, while published, are now lost, however many assume that they were also along the lines of Harrow. This would, of course have appeared remarkably similar to observers (as were the games of Harrow and Cambridge) and as such, was a key reason why
950-665: The Great Dividing Trail Association , a non-profit , incorporated organisation. The four sections are as follows: There is no particular order in which sections should be completed, and each can be done independently. In addition, each section has several entry points, meaning many different combinations are possible. This article about a location in Victoria, Australia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Goldfields region of Victoria The Goldfields region of Victoria
1000-560: The Western District near Ararat . Other significant towns include Maldon , Creswick , Clunes , Avoca and Buninyong . Although the region has a strong association with the Victorian gold rush there are, however, significant towns associated with the gold rush and gold mining located outside of this region - notable examples include Warburton , Walhalla , Warrandyte , Chiltern and Beechworth . The goldfields region
1050-574: The 1850s was that football was particularly popular on the goldfields with the English playing school football, Scottish immigrants played a game similar to soccer and Irish immigrants playing a game of high punt kicking. Historian Graeme Atkinson considers it likely that football was being played regularly in Geelong prior to the formation of the Melbourne club and that rules were drawn up prior to
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#17327800387811100-576: The 1878 book, The Aborigines of Victoria , in which Robert Brough Smyth relates that William Thomas , a Protector of Aborigines in Victoria, had witnessed Wurundjeri Aboriginal people east of Melbourne playing a "foot ball" game in 1841. The account appears to fit the general description of the traditional game of Marn Grook. This appears to be the earliest record of Europeans observing such pastimes. William Blandowski 's 1857 sketch of indigenous Australians in Merbein clearly depicts children playing
1150-543: The AFL wrote in support of the theory postulated by Flanagan, and his account appears on an official AFL memorial to Tom Wills in Moyston erected in 1998. Gillian Hibbins in the AFL's official account of the game's history published in 2008 for the game's 150th celebrations sternly rejects the theory: Hibbin's account was widely publicised but was criticised by some indigenous Australians. The people of Melbourne regularly saw
1200-491: The Melbourne Cricket Ground. On 7 August 1858 a famous match between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College began at Richmond Paddock, which was co-umpired by Wills and John Macadam and also involved Scotch headmaster Thomas H. Smith . A second day of play took place on 21 August and a third, and final, day on 4 September. While the full rules of the match are unknown, the match was played with
1250-588: The Sydney Gazette reporter stating that they "show considerable ability in the practice of one of their national pastimes". In 1840 in Sydney 's Hyde Park games of Hurling and Football were played by Irishmen. In 1840 an Irish poem was printed in The Sydney Herald which mentioned hurling and football together. In 1843 during Adelaide St Patrick's Day celebrations were held "in genuine Irish style" involving families native to Ireland playing
1300-595: The Victorian bush. The proposed Marngrook link is still hotly debated amongst historians. Forms of football were played prior to European colonization, and include games such as Marn Grook . With the arrival of Europeans, forms of football were played very early on in the Australian colonies with matches being played in by 1829 in Sydney, Tasmania and Melbourne by 1840, Adelaide by 1843, Brisbane by 1849, Most of these early games took part at local festivals and
1350-473: The absence of an 'off-side' rule, kicking from the hand, marking ( fair catch ), carrying the ball in hand, tackling or shoulder charging the player with the ball and kicking through upright goals to score. Accounts from the Colony of Tasmania of football in the 1850s indicate that, as in early Victoria and most likely elsewhere, that matches were played under mostly English public school football games rules, but particularly Rugby, Eton and Harrow rules. In
1400-400: The ball, which is tossed a short distance by hand, then kicked in any direction. The side which kicks it oftenest and furthest gains the game. The person who sends it the highest is considered the best player, and has the honour of burying it in the ground till required the next day. The sport is concluded with a shout of applause, and the best player is complimented on his skill. The game, which
1450-568: The colony later adopted the Victorian Rules to facilitate intercolonial matches. In the Colony of Victoria the merits of these different schools and their footballing traditions were also known on the Victorian goldfields in 1858 particularly the Cambridge rules which were popular. Most notably, 1856 Cambridge laws permitted players to catch the ball, with a free kick awarded for a fair catch. Accounts of early football in Victoria in
1500-687: The fashion, all nationalities would not be found in the lists, and there would be an obstacle to the spread of the habits we speak of. The exciting sport of football ... are exercises not peculiar to any stock in particular, and we all meet them on common ground." The Age (22 September 1859) In 1859 there were mentions of arrangements to celebrate "Gaelic games" in Geelong. In 1859 an article in The Age (Melbourne) noted that "Englishmen do not usually care for hurling, or Irishmen for cricketing; and hence, if one description of exercise were exclusively
1550-474: The first national people and the way they lived. First Nation people camped on the outskirts of towns. As the government released more land, they were pushed further away. Many people in society in the 1800s would have been familiar with the games they played. They were also familiar with the games other races who came and took/shared their country played. The question of whether Australian rules football and Gaelic football have shared origins arises because it
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1600-690: The first rules of the Melbourne Football Club which were drafted on 17 May 1859. Rules allegedly used by the Geelong Football Club in 1859 were originally written down by hand. The Geelong Advertiser appears to indicate that Geelong had Saturday football teams which regularly "hacked shins" in March and April and that the formation of the Melbourne FC spurred Geelong's footballers to incorporate their own club. Geelong
1650-479: The following letter, published in Bell's Life in Victoria on 10 July 1858: Sir, – Now that cricket has been put aside for some few months to come, and cricketers have assumed somewhat of the chrysalis nature (for a time only 'tis true), but at length again will burst forth in all their varied hues, rather than allow this state of torpor to creep over them, and stifle their new supple limbs, why can they not, I say, form
1700-636: The local cricket scene. He played first class cricket for Victoria during the 57/58 season alongside 3 of the founders of Melbourne Football Club including Tom Wills. Some historians, including Martin Flanagan , Jim Poulter and Col Hutchinson postulate that Tom Wills, who was the son of a politician and a squatter and was educated at Rugby School in England in the 1850s could have been inspired by indigenous Australian pastimes involving possum skin "ball" games (sometimes collectively labeled " Marn Grook "). Anecdotal evidence of such pastimes appears in
1750-464: The local dialect and frequently played with local Aboriginal children on his father's property, Lexington , outside of the town of Moyston . This story has been passed down through the generations of his family. The tribe was one that is believed to have played marngrook. However the relationship of the Wills family with local Djabwurrung people is well documented. Jim Poulter has argued that there
1800-461: The match. Football became increasingly organised and ingrained in the colony of Victoria in 1858, particularly in the capital Melbourne and surrounds. The first written records regarding a football club in St Kilda date from April 1858. However, it was an informal version of the game. Two months later, on 15 June 1858, the earliest known record of Victorian football match was recorded. The game
1850-442: The matter seriously. The Melbourne Football Club rules of 1859 are the oldest surviving set of laws for Australian rules football. The ten simple rules were drawn up on 17 May at a meeting chaired by Wills and in attendance were journalists W. J. Hammersley and J. B. Thompson . Accounts of the people directly involved differ. Some sources also claim that Thomas H. Smith and H. C. A. Harrison were also present. The meeting
1900-440: The parklands of Melbourne. The following year, four members of the newly formed Melbourne Football Club codified the laws from which Australian rules football evolved. Professional historians began taking a serious interest in the origins of Australian rules football in the late 1970s, and the first academic study of the sport's origins was published in 1982. Since then, research has challenged various origin myths , including
1950-414: The playing fields around Melbourne also influenced their thinking. Even Wills, who favoured many rules of Rugby School football, saw the need for compromise. He wrote to his brother Horace: "Rugby was not a game for us, we wanted a winter pastime but men could be harmed if thrown on the ground so we thought differently." There are pronounced similarities to the Sheffield rules (which were being formed at
2000-404: The population of the region was approximately 244,900 in 2006. The region has a well-defined road tourist route. The area retains a significant gold mining industry and remains a popular for fossicking . The Goldfields region is also associated as a wine growing region with a large number of established vineyards and popular wineries . An important ecosystem associated with the region
2050-634: The purpose of comparison. In the 1860 edition, J. B. Thompson announced: Football, as played in Victoria, is now fit to run alone. I have accordingly omitted the Rugby and Eton rules, because we seem to have agreed to a code of our own, which, to a considerable extent, combines the merits while excluding the vices of both. Writing to Wills in 1871, Thompson recalled that "the Rugby, Eton , Harrow, and Winchester rules at that time (I think in 1859) came under our consideration, ... we all but unanimously agreed that regulations which suited schoolboys ... would not be patiently tolerated by grown men." The hardness of
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2100-485: The region. Major tourism icons include Sovereign Hill , Eureka Stockade site and the Bendigo Talking Tram . The region is also associated with the origins of Australian rules football ; Tom Wills , one of the game's founders, grew up outside present-day Moyston , the self-proclaimed "Birthplace of Australian Football". Some of the earliest clubs were also established in the region. Demographically,
2150-651: The rifle, when they face so courageously the leathern sphere , and it would disgrace no one to learn in time to defend his country and his hearth. A firm heart, a steady hand, and a quick eye, are all that are requisite and, with practice, all these may be attained. Trusting that someone will take up the matter, and form either of the above clubs, or, at any rate, some athletic games, I remain, yours truly, T.W. WILLS. Two weeks after this letter's publication, Wills joined cricketer and hotel proprietor Jerry Bryant in organising scratch matches in Richmond Paddock outside
2200-480: The rules under which they played (if any) not recorded, as such some are considered to have been comparable to mob football . Immigrants from England brought with them an awareness particularly of Rugby football (1845) as well as Eton football (1847) and Harrow football (1858), Cambridge rules (1856) and a variety of other games. The codes of Cambridge and Harrow, while more similar to modern soccer, shared many aspects of modern Australian rules in particular
2250-481: The rules were widely publicised and distributed. A hand-written copy of these first rules still exists. Geoffrey Blainey , Leonie Sandercock , Ian Turner and Sean Fagan have all written in support for the theory that the primary influence was rugby football and other games emanating from English public schools . The first rules of Australian football were published in the annual Victorian Cricketer's Guide alongside rules used in English public schools for
2300-751: The summit of Mount Buninyong to Bendigo, and is divided into the Eureka Track, Wallaby Track, Dry Diggings Track and Leanganook Track. A separate leg of the Great Dividing Trail, the Lerderderg Track, branches from Daylesford to Bacchus Marsh . The trail was primarily intended for hiking, but has proven attractive to mountain bikers , and is being further developed for that purpose. As the tracks pass through populated areas, they are suitable for day walks. In total, there are 304 kilometres of walking track. The tracks are overseen by
2350-485: The view that Australian rules football is derived from the Irish sport of Gaelic football . Since the 1980s, it has also been claimed that indigenous football games, collectively known as Marngrook , may have influenced early Australian rules football. This claim is largely based on circumstantial evidence that Tom Wills , one of the game's pioneers, gained exposure to Marngrook while growing up amongst Aboriginal people in
2400-513: Was a direct link between the Australian rules football and sports played by some members of the indigenous Australian population. Poulter argues that Tom Wills had knowledge of Aboriginal oral traditions and language. However, when the rules of Australian rules football were codified, the status of Aboriginal culture in Australia was such that Wills may have been disadvantaged had he mentioned any connection, and as such "had no reason to mention this in discussions". Col Hutchinson, former historian for
2450-571: Was held at the Parade Hotel, East Melbourne hosted by owner and Melbourne Cricket Club member James (Jerry) Bryant. The publican was a friend of Tom Wills with a personal interest in introducing football to Melbourne's schools. Bryant had played a role in organising early football matches at the nearby Richmond Park and his son was one of the first players. The rules were signed by Tom Wills, William Hammersley, J. Sewell, J. B. Thompson, Alex Bruce, T. Butterworth and Thomas H. Smith. Importantly,
2500-549: Was played with modified rules between St Kilda Grammar School (now defunct) and Melbourne Grammar School on the St Kilda foreshore . There are also reports from 1858 of "football" clubs in Albert Park and Richmond . A little over a year after his return from England and Rugby School , where he played rugby football, Tom Wills promoted the idea of organised football in the colony of Victoria, most notably when he wrote
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