Saturday 29 June 2019

Ipswich Soccer in 1886

Key Events:

January 1: Joseph Hodgson, later a publican at the Race Horse Hotel, and would donate the Hodgson Cup for the 1895 Ipswich and West Moreton season, arrives in Moreton Bay en route to Ipswich.  The Race Horse Hotel adjoined the soccer ground at the Bundanba Racecourse. 

January 11: William Bailey, original Bush Rat, arrives in Brisbane en-route to Ipswich from Bracken Hill, Yorkshire.

May 10: A meeting is held which results in the formation of Bundanba Rovers, Ipswich's first known soccer club. 

May 22: Bundanba Rovers 0 - 7 St Andrews at Bundanba Reserve (assumed)

June 1: William Routledge, a player for Dinmore, Bush Rats and Bundanba Rangers arrives in Australia. He goes onto to live and work in Dinmore then Bundanba. 


June 8: A meeting is held which results in the formation of Ipswich second club, Queenslanders.

June 26: Queenslanders 2 v 2 Bundanba Rovers at North Ipswich Reserve (also see here)

July 3: Queenslanders 1 - 11 St Andrews (also see here)

July 17 Bundanba Rovers 1 v 1 Swifts

July 24Fowler's team 3 v 3 Cairns’ team at North Ipswich Reserve. This was an exhibition game featuring players from St Andrews, Queens Park, Rangers, Bundanba Rovers and Queenslanders. 

July 31: Bundanba Rovers 3 v 1 Queenslanders

August 14: Rangers 2 v 1 Bundanba Rovers (but see Notes below)

General Happenings:

John Routledge, future captain of Bush Rats, arrives in Australia aged 11, living at initially at Riverview. He may or not be related to William above. 

Notes:

It seems two one games are is missing from the above list of key dates.

The third annual meeting of the Anglo-Queensland Football Association in 1887 gave a breakdown of the games played by each club n the 1886 season. 

Bundanba Rovers played 6 games, with 1 win, 2 draws and a loss (goals for 7, against 19), while Queenslanders played 3 losing them all (goals for 4, against 16),. 

The above list only mentions 5 games for Rovers, and two for Queenslanders. 

If the report is correct, Rovers must have had a 6 to nil defeat, while Queenslanders suffered an 11 to 1 shellacking.

However, this mathematics presupposes the position of the Rangers v Bundanba Rovers match was for competition points. 

Soccer Mad states this game was a social match, and the Ipswich team actually made up of a combined Rovers/Queenslanders team. 

Soccer Mad's position comes from the match report of Queenslanders versus Rovers, which previews the game as a combined team playing Rangers. 

However, all known contemporary reports of the Rangers game state the club playing is Bundanba Rovers.

This report of the first Rovers n St Andrews game did hint that Queens Park would be the next opponent. 

If Soccer Man is right, there is another competitive match missing from Bundanba Rovers listings.

It should be noted the Association thanked the Observer during their meeting. That newspaper, originally from Ipswich, is not digitised on Trove, so more information may exist on microfiche, which may give the missing results, and confirms the Rangers/Rovers clash one way or another.  

Key Clubs: 

Bundanba Rovers (only season, possibly)
Players included: Waugh (capt), Glasgow, Sneddon, Dobbie, Denham, Gordon, Parker, Matthewson, J Lindsay, W Lindsay

Queenslanders (only season) - called the Blues
Players included : Thomas Hastie (capt), Ben Stephens, Jack Stephens, George Stephens, Robert Stephens, T. Tunstall, Hudson. W. H. Bemi (gk), Petiigrew, J Griffith, Lebeter, Weatherhogg

Notable People: 

James Glasgow - secretary and captain of Bundana Rovers
Hastie, possible many and various - see here.
J & W Lindsay - Rovers' players, later of various Ipswich clubs in the 1890s.
McMurtrie (Rangers) and Inglis (St Andrews) - players who later play in Ipswich.

Historical Notes: 

Regardless of the later status of Goodna as suburb of Ipswich, known recorded soccer in Ipswich started when thirteen men got together, under the auspices of Mr W. Hastie and James Glasgow, to form a club called Bundanba Rovers. Reports of the birth of Bundanba Rovers was reprinted in many of the major Brisbane newspapers. 

Twelve days played their first game against Brisbane side St Andrews. 

Only three clubs existed in Brisbane at the time, St Andrews, Rangers and Queens Park, the latter dissolving by the end of the year. 

A month later, a local rival was formed in Queenslanders, with the first Ipswich derby played in June 26, 1886. 

At this point it should be noted the start date of Ipswich soccer became slightly garbled over the decades. 

In 1912, Tom 'Old Sport' Barker hails Ipswich as the home of football in Queensland, stating the Queenlanders v Bundanba Rovers match as the introduction of the game in the now city. 

Barker was born in Ipswich, and was splendidly parochial, but was not living in his hometown in 1886, instead working in newspapers up north for much of the decade. 

But his local knowledge is still valuable. From the same article he lists some of the players, including Queenslanders captain Thos. Hastie (proving he is distinct from any W. Hastie), J. Hodgson, W. H. Bemi,. J. Griffith and finally the four brothers Stephens, listed at the time, but thanks to Barker we now know were blacksmiths. 

By 1951, the first Queenslanders v Rovers game still being regarded as the first game played in Ipswich. Writer T.G.N. quoted directly from the contemporary Queensland Times report (the second link with the game above). 

T.G.N. partly trips himself up by playing up to his pun that Bundanba Rovers as a combination of the later clubs Blackstone Rovers and Bundanba Rangers (which were long part of an argument, with Bush Rats, as to which was older). Playing to the joke ignored the existence of Queenslanders as an Ipswich club, therefore equal first by the writer's own definition. But T.G.N. was also tripped up by a changing sense of geography over the decades. 

Back in 1886, Bundanda and Ipswich were seen as distinct places, though joined in a wider, nebulous Ipswich-centred West Moreton region. When the QT of 1886 said the game was the first in Ipswich, it meant literally the town, which didn't stray far from each side of the Bremer River where North Ipswich Reserve still exists. As we can see above, a game was played in Bundanba in May. At the time, Bundanba was not seen as Ipswich unlike in T.G.N's day. 

Regardless, Ipswich now had two teams, but trouble was soon on the horizon. 

The first hints came in July, when members of the three Brisbane clubs played an exhibition match at North Ipswich to attempt to grow the game in the town. A few members of Queenslanders and Rovers made up the numbers. The game was played to whip up enthusiasm for soccer in Ipswich.

Things did not go well. The goals, put up but one of the Hasties, were ripped up out of the North Ipswich turf before the game. The number of spectators were "meagre" with more interest in the neighbouring Australian rules game. This made Hastie's closing remarks on hoping for another Ipswich club to form seem rather optimistic. 

But the numbers were against the sport in SE Queensland, not just in Ipswich. 

On July 31, Queenslanders and Rovers played a rematch, but both team were weakened as Rover's Waugh, plus three members of Queenslanders were away in Brisbane playing for Rangers, who themselves were missing players. 

(It seemed as long as soccer existed in Ipswich, Brisbane clubs poached Ipswich players.)

If Rangers looked to Ipswich to prop up their numbers, Queens Park had already succumbed, folding in early July. In one game against St Andrews, they turned up with only 7 players leading to "Goalkeeper" to opine in the Courier:

"I think the time has arrived when tho Queen's Park Football Club should at once disband, and commence afresh if need be, with bona fide British Association players, who will take an interest in its affairs and always feel it their duty to support then club and not play one game to day and another style of game tomorrow. As the club is now constituted it will never prosper, but if composed of some British Association players it may have a chance. It maybe as well to state that the club in question has lost the valuable services of Mr. Inglis, their full back, who got completely disheartened at players not turning up. He adhered well to the club through its many reverses, and dsserved to be better supported."
Brisbane Courier, July 5, 1886

Replacement club Swifts struggled through to the end of the season, but were not seen again. 

On August 14, Rangers beat Bundanba Rovers 2-1. As stated in the notes to the time line above, this  was preemptively called social match, played by a combined Bundanba Rovers and Queenslanders.

It is true that Tunstall was listed as playing Rovers, despite turning out for Queenslanders earlier of the season. 

This could have meant Queenslanders had folded, with the remaining players turning out for Rovers. 

But Farquar also played for Rovers that day, despite being a Rangers player. It was not unknown for teams to borrow opposition players to make up numbers.

Also missing from the report is captain James Glasgow, with Waugh taking the armband after filling in at Rangers.

So it seems Rover themselves were struggling for players and support in Ipswich.

In the Queensland Times match report of the Rangers game, Tunstall,  is quoted as there was very little support for soccer in Ipswich.

The lengthy report in the Courier states: 

"Mr Hastie, in responding, said that the Rovers would be shortly strengthened by additions from the Old Country, and he had every hope the club next season would be a strong one."
Brisbane Courier, August 16, 1886

One interpretation for Hastie's comment could be Rovers were struggling for playing numbers, not just quality. 

In the same report, Forbes, of the departed Queens Park team, also gave his opinion of the state of soccer: 

"Messrs D. G Forbes and Tunstall also gave short speeches on behalf ot tho game, the former stating that if tho Anglo Queensland game was going to be a success in this colony, those playing it must not go meddling with other rules of football, but stick closo to their own game."
Brisbane Courier, August 16, 1886

It seems across Brisbane and Ipswich, clubs were losing players to other codes.

This would play out in the 1887 season with a reduction of clubs, but that is another story. 

In summary, not much is known about Bundanba Rovers and Queenslanders. Some names lingered, especially the Lindsays, others disappeared after 1886. The backgrounds of many the players are hard to find, unlike those who came in the 1890s. Exactly which Hastie started Bundanba Rovers is open to question, James Glasgow leaves no trace. 

Why soccer chose to start in Ipswich in 1886 is currently still a mystery, as is the background of who was behind it. 

By contrast, 1887 would be a quiet year, though intriguingly not empty. 






Thursday 27 June 2019

Who Were The Hastie(s?) and James Glasgow.

In May, 1886, the first soccer club in Ipswich was formed:

"A meeting was held at Bundanba, on Monday night last, for the purpose of forming a football club. there was fair attendance, and Mr. W. Hastie occupied the chair. It was resolved to form a club, which will play the British Association game. Mr James Glasgow was appointed secretary; and the members present were deputed to act as a general committee until officers were permanently chosen for the year., Thirteen members were enrolled at the meeting, and it Is probable that a good many well-known players at Dinmore and Blackstone will join later on. It is intended to hold practice on the Bundanba reserve, on Saturday next, the kick-off taking place at 4 o'clock. It was decided to name the club the Bundanba Rovers."
The Queensland Times, May 13, 1886

The two prominent names in the story were the chair, W. Hastie, and secretary and player James Glasgow.

Pinning down this pair has proven difficult. If their identities could be confirmed, we may understand why soccer started in Ipswich in 1886. 

The problem with Hastie is he may be one of three Hasties involved in Ipswich soccer that year. 

In June 1886, Queenslanders, Ipswich's second club, was formed. The captain of the team was named Hastie. Could this be the mysterious W. Hastie? 

Not so, according to journalist Tom 'Old Sport' Barker in 1910, who stated the Queenslanders' captain was T. Hastie

(The newspaper man has not always proven to be the most reliable writer in matters historical, given he named several different start dates for Dinmore Bush Rats over the years. Neither was he living in Ipswich in 1886, only returning to the city in 1890. The 'T' could also be a typo, not unknown in the era's newspapers.) 

A search for a T. Hardie has proven fruitless. 

In July, a scratch match between members of Brisbane club Queens Park, St Andrews and Rangers, plus a handful of Bundanba Rovers and Queenslanders' players was played at North Ipswich Reserve. Two teams were selected by captains Fowler and Cairns. 

The match report stated Mr W.A. Hardie acted as umpire for Fowler's team. Was this the same W. Hardie which helped form Rovers? 

Part of our confusion stems from there being both a W. Hastie and W.A. Hastie in Ipswich at the time, both involved in the building trade. Both men arrived in Ipswich in the early years of Queensland soccer.

William Hastie was born in Gedborough, Scotland, around 1850, and arrived in Ipswich in 1883 as a joiner. He would go on to be the chairman of the Brassall Shire Council (today's northern suburbs of Ipswich), and later an alderman of Ipswich City Council. His obituary makes no mention of soccer, but neither does the name W. Hastie appear in the newspaper stories about Ipswich soccer after 1886. He died in 1932, an era where local obits praised past sporting abilities. His was empty of athletic achievements.

William Alexander Hastie was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1854, and also arrived in Ipswich in 1883. He was a carpenter, contractor, and foreman. He also rowed, and ran a coffee shop (which may have been the famous Hams Room, where many club meetings took place). 

W. A. Hastie would leave Ipswich in 1893 to become one of the early residents of Mareeba, where he lived until he died. There is no mention of a Hastie hastening soccer in Mareeba, where the first game is though to have been played in 1895. His obit praises his musical ability. 

One or both Hastie may have been involved with Ipswich soccer in 1886 - it depends on how careful the Queensland Times differentiated between the two men in their stories. 

Alternatively, but not helpfully, W. Hastie may be someone else completely different. 

The last we hear of any Hastie was in in August 1886, when one states that Rovers were hoping for reinforcements , and that the club would be a strong next season.  

Instead, they seemingly disappeared.

James Glasgow was captain of Bundanba Rovers, as well as secretary. 

Yet, we know nothing about him. 

He starts a soccer club, plays some games, and disappears. 

The last we hear of him is via the newly formed Thistle club in 1887: 

"It was carried that the secretary write to Mr. Glasgow, of the Bundanba Rovers, asking him if that club mean to take tho field this season, if so, what date could they conveniently play a match with this club."
Brisbane Courier, June 7, 1887

Can it be Glasgow had already left Rovers, if not Ipswich, and the letter was not received? 

Could it be neither Rovers nor Queenslanders had the numbers to play?

Regardless, there are no known recorded senior soccer games in Ipswich in 1887. (We'll come back to kids' games another time.)

Searching for Glasgow, not surprisingly, finds a lot of noise - soccer in that city, plus many Jameses from Glasgow. 

The main J. Glasgow of the era mentioned in Queensland newspapers was one regularly listed as transitioning trains at Wallangarra coming to and from NSW. (Privacy in 1888, what privacy?)

There is seemingly no known Glasgows playing football in Queensland after 1886. 

Soccer seemingly died in Ipswich in 1887. The Queenslanders had already mentioned their players were being poached by a Brisbane club a year earlier. They only played 3 games. With the unknown Hastie hoping for reinforcements for Rovers, it seems playing stock were too low to maintain teams to add to their 6 games in 1886.

Alternatively, any 1887 games may have remained localised and deemed not worthy of mentioning in newspapers.

Neither Hastie not Glasgow are mentioned regarding soccer again. It seems these two (or more) men who had been strongly involved in setting up soccer in Ipswich disappeared from the game, and without them the it flagged until 1888.

Knowing more about Hastie(s) and Glasgow may give an insight into how soccer came to Ipswich, and a more general understanding of how the game initially spread in Australia in the 1880s and 90s.