Ipswich Soccer in 1889

Key Events:

prior to May 26 Tom 'Old Sport' Barker watches Tom 'Old Horse' teaches soccer to residents of Silkstone. 'Old Sport' does not publish this account until 1891. 

May 25 (or maybe the 18th): Proposed exhibition match by Brisbane players is supposed to take place at North Ipswich Reserve, however only 10 of the selected players turn up. Ipswich Australian Rules players fill the gaps allowing the game to go ahead.

July 23: David Newlands, aged 19, arrives in Brisbane from Linlithgow Scotland. 

In 1952, he spoke about playing for Blackstone Rovers, helping to form various short-lived Silkstone clubs and claiming to have helped form two clubs, one at Nunn's Paddock and one called Kangaroos, which merged to form Bush Rats. Later, he helped form Booval Stars.

September 14: Combined Bundanba and Blackstone 1 - 8 Brisbane

Known Unknowns: 

None.

Uncertains: 

Whether any other games happened at all.

In 1923 Sam Ross, a long-term player and official, claims Dinmore Bush Rats were formed in 1889. In 1930, the Daily Standard makes the same claim.

Key Clubs: 

Combined Blackstone and Bundamba team.


Notable People: 

Ned Smul

Historical Notes: 

If you believe Ned Smul, regular football correspondent to The Queensland Times, soccer was unknown to the majority of readers in September 1889. 

Thus was how he qualified the charity match between the combined Bundanba and Blackstone Clubs played against a combined Brisbane team in mid-September. 

Smul goes so far as to outline the rule differences between soccer and the other two codes by way of explaining the game. 

This was despite the fact Blackstone Rovers and Bundanba Unions both received fairly detailed match reports in the Queensland Times during 1888.

It can be assumed these two clubs formed the basis of the combined charity match team, but it appears neither club was in good shape. 

Smul's article seemingly indicates a major reversal of fortune for soccer in Ipswich, with barely an eleven able to take the field late in the season.

So was Smul correct? 

In May, Brisbane soccer players were supposed to play a soccer exhibition match at North Ipswich Reserve. Only 10 players turned up, and local Australian Rules players had filled the gaps. 

But why the need for an exhibition match in Ipswich at all? 

Was this a reflection on the round ball activities in Bundamba and Blackstone as well, or just Ipswich township? 

Or were games simply not being reported? Were clubs failing to sending match reports to the local newspaper?

But what of the motivations of the the story teller? Were they focused on soccer?

It is worth spending a moment on Ned Smul and the Queensland Times. 

The Queensland Time's football coverage in 1889 was all over the place. Occasionally "Rosebud" covered Rugby, as did Ned Smul, who also covered Australian Rules. More rarely football articles were written by "The Yagger"

But football match reports did not appear in every Tuesday edition as would normally happen during a season. Either games were not played every Saturday or were not reported. 

When match reports did appear, they were sometimes found in a dedicated football section, sometimes lumped in with the Local and General News section, or even given a typically oblique mention in Town Talk. 

Football in general seemed to be struggling. Or, to put it into the words of the Town Talk man: 

"That football is not what it ought to be in Ipswich right now"

Queensland Times, Saturday May 11, 1889

There were five football teams playing regularly in Ipswich: Rangers, Second Rangers and Youth Athenians in Rugby, and Ipswich and Second Ipswich in Australian Rules. 

But it was not uncommon for teams to turn up short of players, or not at all, leading to scratch matches or cancellations. 

One weekend, only the Australian Rules match occurred, with the local Rugby players having to rely on a practice match. 

Town Talk again referred to the lack of regular football when complaining about the captain of a Brisbane Australian Rules team simply leaving the game midway through. 

Often it was the Ipswich Australian Rules club which suffered opposition Brisbane teams turning up without enough players. 

This led Ned Smul to be very critical of the Queensland Football Association in 1890. 

Smul wrote for the Queensland Times on and off between 1889 and 1891. Australian Rules seems to be his preferred game, with only a couple of mentions of soccer in that time, including the comments above regarding the charity match. 

It is possible, therefore, that Smul simply wasn't interested in soccer. With Australian Rules played at Limestone Park and North Ipswich Reserve, maybe a trip to Dinmore or Bundamba was not possible or preferable. 

Or else, with Australian Rules actively dying in Queensland, he was more focused on talking up that game via the Queensland Times in a bid to improve its fortunes. 

The fact all three codes other codes were having issues with games and numbers might indicate the lack of soccer was part of a larger trend.

Could the struggles of football in Ipswich be partially explained by large changes to mining in the area?

A mass meeting of coal miners and owners in June 1889 in Bundanba may explain the changes in the sport.

"The figures went to show that, from Dinmore, the output, for the first six months, of 1887 was 18,662 tons; in 1888, it was only 12,155 tones; while for the first five months of the present year, it was only 3099 tons. From Bundanba, in 1887 (six months), it was 55,460 tons; in 1888, 57,349 tone: and for five months of this year it was 64,361 tons. Ipswich: 1887 (six months), 4131 tons: 1888, 829 tons; and 1889 (five months), 366 tone. The totals read 1887 (six months), 78 244 tons; 1888 (six months), 70,334; 1889 (five months) 87,827 ton. From the above, it would be seen that Dinmore had suffered greatly, and the speaker thought the time had come when all should put forth their best efforts to  alleviate the suffering caused through the decrease."
The Queensland Times, June 20 1889

Coal production slumped in Dinmore and Ipswich between 1887 and halfway through 1889. Conversely, production at Bundamba increased. At a time there were concerns imported coal from Newcastle had been affecting production in Queensland. The very meeting from which these figures were produced had been called to encourage the colonial government to increase the tariffs on NSW coal into Queensland.

Further research needs to be conducted to see how the mining downturn in Dinmore and the increase in Bundamba affected coal miner numbers in the region. Were jobs secure? How many coal miners moved between the various Ipswich region mines in this era? How many miners responded to the changing production by leaving Ipswich for mines elsewhere in Queensland or Australia? And were the same number of immigrant miners arriving to continue to revitalise the two English codes?

Football was in flux in 1889 Ipswich, and revival was not yet on the horizon. Blackstone Rovers would receive a single mention in 1890. Of Bundanba (Unions or Rovers), no more would be heard. In fact, there would be no senior team in Bundanba until the advent of Call Backs by Blackstone players three years later.

For the record, the Bundanba/Blackstone v Brisbane match raised 2 pounds 10 for the hospital.

UPDATE 18/10/19

In 1890, journalist Tom 'Old Sport' Barker returns to Ipswich and rejoins the Queensland Times after almost a decade away working on northern Queensland and Brisbane newspapers. He was an Ipswich native, a cricket and boxing aficionado, who before his travels sometimes appeared in the QT as T.J. Barker.

In the first two years after his return he touches briefly on sport under his moniker of 'Old Sport', while mostly writing about history under the name 'Red Gum'. His importance as a chronicler of soccer and other sports really kicks off from 1892.

One sprawling article from 1891, printed weekly over a month, was called 'A Week's Ruralising'. It describes a walking tour of some 100kms to reacquaint himself of his home district.

In one chapter he mentions seeing that other Tom Barker, aka 'Old Horse', teaching the denizens of Silkstone to play soccer. The timing make sense - a team from Silkstone enters the inaugural Ipswich and West Moreton Competition in 1891. What was always odd was that 'Old Horse' played for Blackstone Rovers at this time, though the idea he was helping form other clubs is not that fanciful in a growing sport.

Except Barker did not see Barker teach soccer in 1891 - it turns out this training drill occurred on or before May 1889. We know this because, if you read the last of the 'A Week's Ruralising' articles, printed a month later, it is dated as such.

Is this the dating of the week he went strolling around the fields of Ipswich, or the week he finished writing the piece? A diary or reflection? The only other reference to dating is that the walk happened "recently".

If the recently was quite recent to late May 1889, it means soon before the Brisbane soccer players couldn't make the numbers for an exhibition match at North Ipswich Reserve to revitalise the sport in the region, 'Old Horse' was training players in Silkstone. Maybe soccer wasn't as dead as expected. Or maybe the efforts of Barker the soccer coach were in vain.

I should note David Newlands later stated he helped form several clubs in Silkstone but they did not last long. However we know Newlands did not arrive in Australia until July 1889, so was not part of Barker's training.

'Old Sport''s article is important as it gives us a glimpse of soccer happening away from the admittedly not too bright glare of media coverage that year. Soccer was probably happening in 1889, if the walk happened in 1889. Maybe 'Old Horse' formed a Silkstone team. Maybe he was just keeping his skills up while Blackstone Rovers was on hiatus. Or maybe a small soccer competition hoccurred of which we are unaware. 'Old Sport' hints at interest in the game in a period (1889 to mid 1891) which is very much undocumented.