Primary Sources

Most primary sources for the period 1830-1880 were not catalogued on computer and it was necessary to sift through voluminous material, sometimes based on card catalogues but often with no catalogue as a guide. An example of this was the large amount of archival material at the Melbourne Cricket Club. This material was not fully catalogued nor was it able to be located electronically. A page by page reading of the minute and letter books was undertaken to find the trinkets of information on Wills. Even when some material was catalogued with an index, the indexing of material was often too coarse to identify the required information. Important information would have been missed if reliance had been placed upon the index to find material.

Several hundred family documents, mainly letters, required transcription. These were handwritten, sometimes using crossing writing and in faded ink. The collection of these and other documents required travelling to Melbourne, Geelong, western Victoria, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Rockhampton, central Queensland, country NSW, Canberra, Tasmania and England. The principal sites in England where material was collected were Cambridge University, various sites in London, Rugby school and Rugby Municipal Library.

7.2.1 Newspapers and Journals

The bulk of the systematic research was on nineteenth-century newspapers. However scattered throughout libraries and personal collections were many newspaper articles that recapitulated different aspects of the Wills family.67 A comprehensive survey of newspapers was undertaken. A sampling technique was used to select representative newspapers. As Wills lived most of his life in Victoria, Victorian newspapers were the initial focus. There were three Victorian daily papers of the period – Argus, Herald and Age. To review all three papers would have been prohibitive in

66

Ray Webster, First Class Cricket in Australia. vol. 1 (Glen Waverley, Victoria: Self-Published, 1991).

67

These articles were written from the time of Wills’ death through to the present. See, M. Flanagan, ‘Fever Pitch’, Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend, 26 July 1997, pp. 26-31, as an example of more recent references that broadly outline some key elements in his life. Some of these articles provided pointers to where further material may be found, see, de Bolfo, ‘Shall I Murder’, pp. 16-7. Also

terms of time. Thus all three were sampled to see which paper seemed to be the most comprehensive in terms of sport and the other key dimensions. This perusal suggested that the Argus was the most comprehensive. Because of the nature of the work and the expected infrequency of material pertaining to Wills, all issues were examined rather than sampling set years. Weekly newspapers were also reviewed. While weekly papers were less time consuming to review they did not provide the same level of information as the daily papers. Reliance upon weekly papers would have not provided sufficient detail for the story.

While the Argus provided a great amount of material it became clear that there were two problems. Firstly, the Herald and Age, though less comprehensive than the Argus, contained at times additional information not in the Argus. In the end, the Herald and Age were covered for short periods of particular interest in the Wills story or where another reference referred to a particular item in those newspapers. Secondly, there was substantial additional information in regional papers. Emphasis was placed on closely tracking the Geelong newspapers where Wills lived for a considerable period of his life. It became apparent from early in the study that no single paper gave a comprehensive account and even significant events could vary enormously in the amount of detail given. Trial and error revealed that a satisfactory assemblage of detail only occurred when multiple newspapers were cross-referenced.

The Victorian papers were supplemented by an extensive review of available newspapers for his Queensland period (1861-4); for his visits to South Australia, (particularly 1873-4); Tasmania and NSW. His period in England (1850-6) necessitated a thorough review of available London and regional Rugby papers. While some of these were accessible in Australia (notably in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra) most of the English information was obtained from the Collindale newspaper repository in London.

Apart from the fact that the newspapers were geographically dispersed, the student of nineteenth newspaper analysis is confronted with several difficulties. Not all the issues of newspapers were available for examination. Sometimes no issues were archived at all or the availability varied from library to library. None of the detailed

see, Garrie Hutchinson (ed.), Great Australian Football Stories (Ringwood: Penguin Books, 1989). This collects together some key newspaper articles of the period.

personal interviews of sportsmen we now take for granted were conducted. Players were rarely quoted. Often the journalist’s name was not recorded in the paper and the adjectives used to describe the game sometimes had meanings specific for the time which have not continued to the present day.68 It was the custom of the day not to spell out matters to do with poor behaviour and drinking excesses, an issue of importance given Wills’ alcoholism.69 Some issues were illegible due to print that had faded over the last 150 years. Sometimes this could be overcome by reading the hardcopies rather than microfilm versions.

The sport of football was a minor sport until well into the 1870s. Thus for the period in which Wills played his football, this sport was not as significant as horse racing and cricket. In the first decade or so of its existence it often fared no better than the occasional line or discarded comment scattered somewhere in the body of the newspaper.

The organisation of modern newspapers, which allows one to efficiently search for items was absent in many nineteenth century papers. This varied from paper to paper. Newspapers often did not use headings to draw attention to important items about sport. Sometimes the most telling comment or missing information was found wedged in between completely unrelated items. In some cases it was only a single sentence or obscurely placed paragraph that unlocked an understanding of events or led to further clues. There was a gradual improvement in such organisation over the years from the 1830s to the 1880s. Thus it was necessary to scan most of each newspaper in the early years covered in this thesis. The scanning of papers was time consuming. For example, a daily paper from the period contained anything from four to over ten pages of small faded type. While it may be argued that each paper brought little new information, it was the accretion of small fragments of information that allowed the story to unfold. Photographs were rare and confined to the latter period of study. Few newspapers had indices and those that did screened items at a level that was too coarse for this study.

68

Charles Box, The English Game of Cricket (London: The Field, 1877). This particular reference is useful for is glossary of nineteenth century cricketing terms.

69

For further analysis of newspapers of this period and their coverage of sport, see, Robin Grow, ‘Nineteenth Century Football and the Melbourne Press’, Sporting Traditions, vol. 3, no. 1 (November 1986), pp. 23-37. Also personal communication with Robin Grow.

Thus the Argus index, while a useful starting point for reviewing Wills and the various dimensions under investigation, was of itself inadequate for any gathering of details.

While the Wills life story was a focus in the thesis, as newspapers were scanned, information relevant to the analysis of the six themes was collected. Thus his father’s speeches in parliament, articles on alcohol, suicide and aborigines were reviewed while examining the newspapers for relevance in developing the Wills’ history.

Attempts were made to locate anything in newspapers that shed light on his life including verse, images and advertisements. Letters to the Editor were a source of important information. Over 150 published newspaper letters were located that were of relevance to the thesis. These letters were written by Tom Wills or by others about Wills.

Advertisements, perhaps surprisingly, had much to offer. Some of the earliest information about games of Australian Rules football were advertisements about where and when players were to meet. Advertisements for the aboriginal cricket games of 1866 and 1867 captured a carnival air hard to convey in text. Such advertisements also gave a sense of how prominent or otherwise Wills was in the promotion of such games.

7.2.2 Family Documentation

Several descendants of the Wills family kindly allowed their archival material to be studied. A large quantity of handwritten material dating from the early to late 1800s was available. These included letters, diaries, scrapbooks, memorabilia and photographs. Family documents were less likely than published letters to be censored. The letters were sometimes in poor condition with torn and missing pieces. Many of the letters were written in cross writing. These letters required considerable effort to decipher and transcribe. Further family letters were located in various libraries and sporting museums around the country.

Archival material was sought from all major relevant sporting organisations around the country. The most fruitful was the material from the Melbourne Cricket Club. It has the most impressive and detailed collection of nineteenth-century sporting life in Australia. In addition material was searched for at the Richmond Cricket Club, the Geelong Cricket Club, Geelong Football Club, and the New South Wales Cricket Association. Materials included minute books, letter books, receipt books, photographs, memorabilia, personal correspondence and reminiscences.

7.2.4 Other Official Documentation

Extensive reviews were undertaken of hospital, asylum and inebriate files. Usually such searches were barren. There were some spectacular exceptions such as the finding of Wills’ admission notes to the Melbourne Hospital prior to his suicide.

Material was sought on Births, Death, Marriages (BDM), probate, wills, ratebooks, cemetery records and inquests from around Australia and overseas. This material was sought through the relevant Public Record Offices, Bureaus of BDMs, cemetery records and libraries. Basic demographic information was obtained from multiple sources, namely census data, BDMs, Wills and Probate, ratebooks, directories and shipping records.70

7.2.5 Overseas material

Wills lived in England from 1850 till 1856. To gather material from this period it was necessary to travel to England. Material was accessed from Cambridge University, Rugby school archives, Rugby Public Library, London Metropolitan Archives, British Library, Collindale newspaper repository, Lord’s Cricket Library and Nottingham Cricket Library. Further searches were conducted on the Internet.

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7.2.6 Theses

Theses were sought that researched information on the various dimensions under review. The search targeted Victorian Universities because of the increased likelihood of relevant material being found on a subject who lived most of his life in the state of Victoria.71

7.2.7 Drawing/Photography/Painting/Maps/Film

Photography was in its infancy for most of Wills’ life. Hence photographs of Wills and other key sportsmen were uncommon. All photographs of Wills, including at least one newly discovered photograph, were collated. These were sought from private and public collections. Newspapers during Wills’ life did not contain photographs but did contain cartoons of relevance. During the writing of this thesis a videodocumentary on Tom Wills was made.72 The best known painting of Wills is that by William Handcock. Maps were reviewed of the Molonglo region of NSW, western Victoria for aboriginal clan distribution, metropolitan areas, and local suburbs to help locate genealogical data about Wills.

8 Conclusion

Tom Wills was the archetype of the fallen sportsman. He was the seminal figure in the early development of Australian Rules football and the dominant player in

71

Rob Hess, ‘Case Studies in the Development of Australian Rules Football, 1896-1908’ PhD thesis, School of Human Movement, Recreation and Performance, Victoria University, Melbourne, 2000.

72

See Liz Huf, The Triumph and Tragedy of Tommy Wills, for which the author of this thesis was interviewed. Wills is mentioned in passing in a film documentary on the 1868 aboriginal cricket team, ‘A Fine Body of Gentlemen’, Seedwillow productions, Melbourne, 2002, ABC Television. See Jason Dowling, ‘Cricket’s Black Trailblazers’, Age, 3 July, ‘Green Guide’, 2003, p. 15; also Rewind, ABC-TV, ‘Tom Wills and the Origins of Australian football’, October 2004. Interviews, Gregory de Moore, Rob Hess, Martin Flanagan, Michael Long and SBS radio interview, 2 August 2006. Greg de Moore interview with James Nunez. Topic: Tom Wills, Australian football and Marngrook. Also ABC radio, Alice Springs, 8 November, 2004. Interviewer Barry Nicholls. Greg de Moore interviewed about interest as a psychiatrist in sport, the study of Tom Wills and his mythology surrounding the aboriginal origins of

intercolonial cricket till the early 1870s. There has been no detailed scholarly appraisal of his life and death. Although the themes of alcohol, self-destructive behaviour and sport are regular fare in the contemporary popular press, its historical study in Australia is virtually unknown. This thesis contributes to knowledge in several ways. It provides the most detailed history to date on Tom Wills. This story is reconstructed through a comprehensive review of archival data, a significant amount of which is newly discovered material. The thesis provides an historical context for alcohol abuse and suicidal behaviour in sportsmen. There is no historical study of this kind available in Australia. Apart from its intrinsic interest it provides an historical context in which to place and contrast such self-destructive behaviour in contemporary sportsmen.

To date there has been a limited review of the Wills’ archival material. Secondary sources are replete with inconsistencies and errors. Any thorough analysis requires the meticulous reconstruction of the important biographical threads with cross- referencing to primary sources. The role of alcohol abuse and attitudes to suicide are poorly researched as they pertain to sporting figures in the nineteenth century. There is more substantial research on the 1867-8 aboriginal cricket team and the early development of cricket and football in Victoria. This thesis reviews these areas from the perspective of Tom Wills’ involvement.

The time is ripe for a review of this magnitude of the life of Tom Wills. Three factors point to this contention. First, technological development has allowed improved storage and collection of data. Ease of travel interstate and overseas; microfilm copies of primary documents; the Internet; the personal computer and; computerised databases have allowed the collection of material over a relatively short time span. Material can be recorded and copied with an efficiency not available in the pre-computer age. Previous attempts or plans to undertake a study of this size were uncovered in several libraries, all in varying stages of completion. It was clear that part of the difficulty in completing the project was the lack of efficient means of collecting and analysing material. This is particularly relevant for this study on Wills because the material is scattered across several countries.

Australian football; ABC radio, Alice Springs, 3 August 2006. Interviewer Barry Nicholls. Greg de Moore interviewed regarding the life of Tom Wills.

Secondly, in 1996, the Australian Football League celebrated the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Victorian Football League. There was an intellectual and historical gathering of forces to celebrate what was largely a Victorian, especially Melburnian cultural renaissance. From it emerged several publications and a renewed interest in the origins of football and the role of Wills.

Finally a critical mass of material has now been unearthed to allow a full study on Wills. Material has slowly and haphazardly been uncovered over the past 120 years. Some of this has been credited to known researchers but in other cases research has been by unknown parties. A recent family history focussing on Horatio Wills, Tom’s father, has been a key element in bringing together a significant body of archival material.73 But despite this, no work has yet attempted to be synthesise all the material or set out to examine in details the key dimensions in his life. This recent body of accumulated work now allows such a task to be undertaken.

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Chapter Two

Tom Wills at Rugby School

The one great purpose for which boys are sent to Public Schools, is to prepare themselves by study, and the cultivation of their minds, for the duties of after life, for the duties of the learned professions, of the statesman, or of the gentleman.74

You are aware that he was very backward when he arrived in England and he has much yet to learn.75

Letter to Horatio Wills on Tom’s progress at school

1 Introduction

Many facets shaped Tom Wills’ life, but none so completely set his life’s template as did Horatio’s decision to send him to Rugby school. After leaving Rugby, his final eighteen months in Great Britain exposed him to the richest sporting experience on earth. Unmoored, and with parental authority diluted by the expanse of the globe, and with a steady supply of money, Wills was free to pursue his interests. This final eighteen months polished an adolescent prodigy into the finest cricketer in Australia. The six years Tom Wills lived in England charted a life that continued to define him until his suicide.

Tom Wills left Melbourne for England on 27 February 1850. He returned on 23 December 1856.76 He was fourteen years old when he left Melbourne and 21 when he returned. Rugby school was his centre stage until he departed as a pupil in 1855. Thereafter he played cricket with Cambridge University and was engaged by prominent

74

The Rugby Magazine, no. IV, April 1836, vol. I, p. 361.

75

Letter, Sarah Alexandar to Horatio Wills, 10 May 1854.

76

See Argus, Passenger Index 1846-1851, p. 151. Also Argus, 28 February 1850, p. 2. The Lochnagar was a barque of 300 tons, mastered by Joseph Dalgarno. A Master Wells is recorded as being on board. The letter he wrote on arrival to London, 7 August 1850 clinches the vessel he sailed on. The

Times, London, 8 August 1850, p. 8. See Ian Nicholson, Log of Logs. vol. 2, (Nambour: Self-Published, 1993), p. 375, for description of the vessel in which he returned to Australia. See, Passenger List VPRS 7666, Passengers to Victoria from British Ports, 1856, Fiche 117 pages 1 and 2. The passengers included Henry Barkly and his family. The list has Wills as 24 years old which is incorrect. Also see, Argus, 24 December 1856, p. 4. This latter newspaper has a full listing of the arrival. The ship is a Royal Mail screw steamship of 2,400 tons; George Hyde was commander. It left Southampton on 19 October 1856. Wills is named Willis.

teams throughout England and Ireland. But of all his influences in England that were to shape his life the most critical was his time at Rugby school.77