The 1908 Melbourne Carnival was the inaugural Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian football interstate competition, held in Melbourne in August 1908. It was known at the time as the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival because it was designed to commemorate 50 years of Australian football.
It was the first time in which all Australian states and New Zealand had competed together in the sport.
The winning team was presented with a silk pennant; and each member of the winning team received a gold championship medal.Australian Rules: Australasian Carnival, The Sydney Mail, (Wednesday, 12 August 1908), p.443.
Although the 29 August final between Victoria and Western Australia was played in front of something like 15,000 spectators, it is certain that the crowd would have been considerably larger if it had not also been the first day of the American Fleet's eight-day visit to Melbourne.Umpire, "Football Jubilee: Australasian Championship: Won by Victoria", The Argus, (Monday, 31 August 1908), p.5.
Official opening
The official opening was conducted by Sir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael, the Governor of Victoria, at 3:00 pm on Wednesday 19 August 1908, in the interval between the first and second matches of the carnival (the first match started at 1:15 pm, the second at 3:30 pm).
Prime Minister and former player Alfred Deakin delivered a stirring nationalist speech to open the carnival
First Matches The crowd of 7,000+ was in an excited mood: in the first match, New Zealand had come back from a 26-point half-time deficit to win by a single point.
The seven participating teams, with each player in their team uniforms, lined up and formed a hollow square.
The official party, the Governor of Victoria, accompanied by his private secretary, Victor Albert Nelson Hood (1862–1929), Sir Thomas Bent, Premier of Victoria, H. C. A. Harrison, Australian Rules administrative pioneer (then 71 years old), Mr. Cornelius Michael "Con" Hickey (1866-1937), Fitzroy footballer in the (VFA 1887-1894), secretary of the Fitzroy Football Club (1893-1910), foundation member and first treasurer of the Victorian Football League, and the inaugural president of the Australian National Football Council (formed in 1906), Mr. E.L. "Ernie" Wilson, the first secretary of the Collingwood Football Club in the VFL, and secretary of the VFL from 1897-1929, and Mr. Albert E. Nash, president of the New South Wales Australian Football League, were each introduced to the captain of each team and shook hands.Football Carnival: Opened in Melbourne, The Advertiser, (Thursday, 20 August 1908), p.7.
The ceremony was notable for the performance of "war cries" by both the New Zealand and Queensland teams; and, in the opinion of "Old Boy", despite not performing well on the football field, the Queensland "war cry" was the best of the two, in that its effort was "dramatic, descriptive, and interesting".Old Boy, "Football Jubilee: Australasian Championships: A Fine Display", The Argus, (Thursday, 20 August 1908), p.7. Although it is not clear (as it was in the newspaper accounts of the New Zealand team on other occasions) from any of the contemporary reports of the day's proceedings whether, on this occasion, the New Zealand "war cry" was specifically a haka or not, "Follower's" report in "The Age" strongly suggests that to be the case: "a feature of the [Governor's] inspection...was the Maori war cry, given with great zest by the New Zealand team, and equally stirring was the aboriginal battle cry of the Queenslanders".Follower, "Football Jubilee Carnival: A Successful Opening", The Age, (Thursday, 20 August 1908), p.11.
The second match, played immediately after the opening ceremony, was nowhere near as exciting: Tasmania beat Queensland by 140 points.
Teams Team photographs of all of the competing teams were published in the Melbourne Punch,The Football Carnival — Australasian Championships — The Competing Teams, Punch, (Thursday, 27 August 1908), p.17. and the Melbourne Leader.Jubilee of Australian Football — The Inter-State Teams, The Leader, (Saturday, 29 August, 1908), p.29.
New South Wales
The New South Wales team included A. Conlin, W. Scott, Bob Rahilly, J. Hunter, G. Colley, E. Gluyas, Bert Renfrey (Vice-Captain), and Algy Millhouse from the Barrier,Sporting News: Football: Melbourne Football Carnival, The Advertiser, (Tuesday, 18 August 1908), p.9. and G. Thomas, W. Maxfield, G. McConechy, Ralph Robertson (Captain), T. Vannan, C. Murray, J. Delaney, H. Welsh, A. Dartnell, J. O'Leary, C. Shipton, and F. Carrick from Sydney; A.E. Watson from Hay, O'Keefe from Narrandera, plus James Greer and W. Hanes (also Haines, Haynes) from Wagga.Football, The (Sydney) Evening News, (Friday, 31 July 1908), p.8. During the carnival, the New South Wales team trained at the St Kilda Cricket Ground.Australasian Football Jubilee: The Competing Teams: New South Wales, The Mercury, (Friday, 14 August 1908), p.8.
New Zealand
The selected team was: E. George, F.A. Lording, W. Monteith, J.G. Marshall, Tongue, H. Fletcher, J.J. Abfalter (Auckland), P.H. Elvidge, S.G. Darby, A. Swann (Waihi), M. Bonas, D. Patrick, E. Furness, A. McGrath, L.L. Paull (Wellington), George Dempster, H.L. West, T.J. Wright (captain), H. Wilkinson, A. Porter, A. Fisher, Paisley, F. Ross (Christchurch), with emergencies, Burns, Welch, and L.A. Breese from Auckland, and Grant, and T. Smith. During the carnival, the New Zealand team trained at the Richmond Cricket Ground and was coached by Richmond's Dick Condon.Football "Social", The (Wellington) Evening Post, Vol.76, No.5, (6 July 1908), p.2.The Jubilee Carnival: New Zealand Representative Team, The Mercury, (Monday, 3 August 1908), p.7.Australasian Football Jubilee, The Mercury, (Thursday, 11 August 1908), p.8.The Jubilee Carnival: New Zealand Team: Arrival in Melbourne, The (Launceston) Examiner, (Thursday, 13 August 1908), p.3.
New Zealand's tour matches This was the only time in the history of Australian rules "interstate" football matches that a team from New Zealand participated. It was anticipated that, immediately following the carnival, and before returning to New Zealand, the New Zealand team would play matches in Adelaide, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Sydney, Brisbane, and Newcastle.New Zealand, The Advertiser, (Monday, 24 February 1908), p.7.
The New Zealand team played a match, in Adelaide, on 1 September 1908 (Eight Hours Day), before the Governor, George Le Hunte,Tuesday's Football Matches, The Register, (Wednesday, 2 September 1908), p.4.) on a very wet ground (in several places the water was inches deep). South Australia won the match 5.8 (38) to 3.10 (28). The match was not as one-sided as the final scores indicate: the score at quarter time was South Australia 4.5 (29) to New Zealand 0.1 (1). In the process of the day, the New Zealand team performed two hakas, one before the match commenced, the other before the second half began.Tuesday's Football Matches, The Register, (Wednesday, 2 September 1908), p.4; Football: South Australia v. New Zealand: Home Team Successful, The Register, (Wednesday, 2 September 1908), p.8.
All in all, the New Zealand team won six out of the eleven matches they played on their tour, including the carnival matches against New South Wales and Queensland, and were described in the Melbourne press as "the surprise packet"; and, due to the fact that only two of their matches were played on dry grounds, they also became known as the "wet weather birds".Returned Athletes, "The Surprise Packet", The (Wellington) Evening Post, Vol.76, No.73, (23 September 1908), p.7.
Queensland
The selected team was:Interstate Australian Football: Queensland Team for Melbourne, The Brisbane Courier, (Monday, 20 July 1908), p.6. J. Hay, M.S. "Merce" Hicks, E. Miller, A. M'Gregor and T. Morris (City), V. "Vic" Lowndes, M. O'Dwyer, J. Greenwood, and Jack Keir (Locomotives), W. MacDonald, G. Paget, H. Heidemann, and J. M'Cormack (Ipswich), L. Perkins, and H. Parker (Valley), L. Kelly, A. "Jack" Bolton, and H. Hopkins (Wynnum), Ralph McKellar (captain),A Fine Queensland Legacy, AFL Queensland: News, 11 June 2010. H. Coates, and A. Atkinson (Brisbane), and Lieutenant B. Watts (Thursday island). Emergencies: M. Cooper (Valley), A. Tipper (City), J. Hickey (West Moreton), and E. "Ernie" Watson (Ipswich). It seems that B. "Bas" Bolton was a later addition to the team. During the carnival, the Queensland team was coached by Jack Worrall, and trained at the Carlton Cricket Ground.Australasian Football Jubilee: The Competing Teams: Queensland, (Friday, 14 August 1908), p.8.
South Australia
The selected team was; Charles George Gordon Gwynne, Ernie Johns, Jack Tredrea, Jack Chamberlain, Richard Townsend, Sinclair Dickson, Alfred Roy Le Messurier, Edward M. Beare, A.C. Bennett, O.H. Hyman. H.W.D. Stoddart, C. Adcock, T. McKenzie. A. Ewers, A.E. Hewitt, Stewart Geddes (vice captain), George Wallace, Jack Mack, Tom Leahy, James Tierney, John Albert "Alby" Bahr (captain), Jack Woollard. During the carnival, the South Australian team trained at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground.Australasian Football Jubilee: The Competing Teams: South Australia, The Mercury, (Friday, 14 August 1908), p.8.
The South Australian team that was defeated by Victoria 10.15 (75) to 2.14 (26) on 26 August 1908 was: Back, Ewers, Hyman, and Woollard; half-back, Stoddart, Beare, and McKenzie; centre, Hewitt, Tredrea, and Bennett; half-forward, Bahr, Townsend, and Chamberlain; forward, Dickson, Johns, and Gwynne; ruck, Tierney and Leahy; rover, Wallace.South Australia Defeated, The Register, (Thursday, 27 August 1908), p.8.
Tasmania
The captain of Tasmania was Bruce Carter.The Captain Interviewed, The Examiner, (Thursday 3 September 1908), p.6. The squad originally selected was: from the South: Roy Bailey (half back), P. Orpwood (back), Walter Burrell (following and back), L. Bridges (wing), Weller Arnold (centre), C. Ward (centre and half-back), E. RusseIl (wing), W. Lee (forward and rover), T. Abel (follower), C. Webb (follower and back), W. Forster (rover and half-forward); from the North: Algy Tynan (full back), A.J. "Barney" Badcock (half-back), W. Ride (back), B.L. Thomson (back), Charlie Searl (wing), Hastings Woolley (half-back and follower),Although selected in the team (Football, The Mercury, (Monday, 27 July 1908), p7.), Woolley was unable to obtain leave of absence (The State Team, The (Launceston) Daily Telegraph, (Tuesday, 11 August 1908), p.7) and, therefore, could not travel to Melbourne, and his place in the team was taken by Pannam (The Carnival Jubilee, The Mercury, (Wednesday, 12 August 1908), p.8).Joe Littler (forward), Viv Valentine (forward); from North-West Coast: B. Carter (centre), W. Rutter (follower), T. Mahoney (follower); from West Coast: A. Trotter (centre and forward), George McLeod (forward and follower). Emergencies: K. Appleby (North-West), first back and follower; Norman F Pannam (North West), first forward and second follower; L. Norman (North), rover and third forward; A. Tucker (South) second back and wing; B. Filgate (North-West), full back and wing.Football: Australasian Football Carnival: The Tasmanian Selection, The Mercury, (Thursday, 27 July 1908), p.7. During the carnival, the Tasmanian team, coached by Jack Gardiner and Dick Gibson,'Kickeroo', "Football: A Busy Time: Jubilee Celebrations", The (Melbourne) Herald, (Friday, 21 August 1908), p.2. trained at the South Melbourne Cricket Ground.Australasian Football Jubilee: The Competing Teams: Tasmania, The Mercury, (Friday, 14 August 1908), p.8.
Victoria
The Victorian team that defeated South Australia 10.15 (75) to 2.14 (26) on 26 August 1908 was:Rohan, J.M., "Was First Carnival Side The Best Ever?: Herculean Team of Capable Men: Picked Irrespective of Clubs", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 12 May 1934), p.7.