In the beginning, there were factories and wharves. The football club came later. Yet in the very beginning there were only swamps, ti-tree, a hill and aboriginal tribes. The hill, later to become the site of the South Melbourne Town Hall (built in 1879-80), was the ceremonial meeting place for five clans of the Bunurong people. There was no white settlement until the 1840s and, even then, population growth was sporadic until the gold rushes of the 1850s. Settlers, their eyes glinting with the prospect of gold, moved to Port Phillip from New South Wales, Britain and Ireland in their thousands and many, after arriving by ship, moved into tents in and around the old aboriginal meeting area later known as Emerald Hill. The hill where aboriginals once held ceremonies was a distinctive green volcanic outcrop and landmark about two kilometres from where Melbourne was first settled in 1835. Row after row of settlers’ tents gave the area its initial name of Canvas Town but, when the first sales of land in the area were held in 1852 the old name was abandoned in favour of the more genteel sounding Emerald Hill.



Whereas Canvas Town was a slum area with an itinerant population hell bent of getting to the goldfields as quickly as possible, Emerald Hill became more gentrified with the development of trade and manufacturing. It was close to both the wharves at Sandridge (Port Melbourne) and the burgeoning Melbourne and, when much of the swampy land surrounding the hill was drained, the little township of Emerald Hill flourished. It became a borough in its own right in 1855 and further development following the building of the local rail station in 1858 to link Melbourne and St Kilda. Schools, shops and churches were built and, in 1875, the swampy lagoon at Albert Park was excavated to form an artificial water playground – the Albert Park Lake.



While the old Emerald Hill grew like Topsy, there was another, far more social development – the phenomenal growth in popularity of a home-grown style of football. Australian football, the indigenous code we all know and love! But this new game was no thoroughbred and, in fact, had mongrel origins. It took elements from each of a soccer-type game played in English public schools, rugby as played in the famous school of that name and Gaelic football. None was more influential than the other, except to note that Gaelic football, in its most primitive early form, was played with an oval ball and had four sets of posts at each end of the ground. And, of course, thousands of Irishmen flooded into the colony of Victoria in search of gold.



Enter Tom Wills, who had been sent from Melbourne to be educated at Rugby and returned wide-eyed with enthusiasm about developing a game for colonial sportsmen. Melbourne at that time had a population of just 80,000 and although cricket was a summer pastime, there was nothing to occupy young men in their leisure over winter. Although a form of football had been played in Melbourne from the 1840s, there were no rules, no organisation and no public interest. It is known that Melbourne Grammar School played Scotch College close to the MCG in a match during the winter of 1858, but under which rules, if any? The Melbourne Morning Herald on the morning of the match, on August 7, noted: “A grand football match will be played this day between the Scotch College and the Church of England Grammar School, near the Melbourne Cricket Club ground. Luncheon at the pavilion. Forty a side. The game to commence at twelve o’clock.” A marble tablet outside the MCG now reads: “On this site the first game of Australian football was played on August 7th, 1858, between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School.”



But, one month earlier, Wills had written a highly-significant letter to the sporting weekly Bell’s Life in Victoria. In part, in read: “Now that cricket has been put aside for some months to come, and cricketers have assumed somewhat of the chrysalis nature (for a time only ‘tis sure), but at length will burst forth in all their wide varied hues ... and, rather that allow this state of torpor to creep over them, and stifle their now supple limbs, why can they not, I say, form 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 joints encased in useless superabundant flesh.”



Wills’ letter, of July 10, 1858, is arguably the most important document in the history of Australian football as it was the catalyst for the development of the indigenous code, even if it did not have an immediate effect. Publican Jerry Bryant, mine host at the Parade Hotel, organised scratch matches on land adjoining the MCG and, just a month after the MGS-Scotch match, teams representing the Melbourne and South Yarra cricket clubs played some form of football. The Melbourne Football Club then was formed at a meeting at the Parade Hotel on May 17, 1859 and a group of seven – including Wills – was assigned the task of drawing up formal rules. It was the birth of a football code and clubs mushroomed all over Melbourne and then beyond, with clubs competing for what was known as the Challenge Cup.



Meanwhile, flourishing Emerald Hill in 1855 was declared a municipal district and, in 1872, was proclaimed a town. Emerald Hill became a city in 1883 and also changed its name to South Melbourne. However, a locally formed football club had led the way in this respect, using the name of South Melbourne from 1880, thanks to a combination of factors. It is believed that the first football club in the burgeoning area around Albert Park was, naturally enough, the Emerald Hill club. Its “home” games were played at a ground near the Albert Park railway station, but it soon had a local rival in the Albert Park club, formed in 1865, and “home” games played at a ground in the more exclusive St Vincent’s Gardens area.



The two clubs co-existed for a couple of seasons but, in 1867, they decided to merge to become the South Melbourne Football Club – but had absolutely nothing to do with the club we know and love today. In fact, this South Melbourne club, which played games against other local clubs, lasted just one season before it changed its name to Emerald Hill, much to the anguish of the Albert Park component. This club, formed at a meeting at the Clarendon Hotel on April 17, 1868, played its earliest games at a ground in an area known as “Three Chain Road”. The South Melbourne and Albert Park groups remained at loggerheads until the club eventually agreed to another name change – reverting to the old name of Albert Park. More significantly, the Albert Park club wore red and white striped uniforms and were known as “those red and white beauties”. These colours now have been worn for almost a century and a half and the South Melbourne/Sydney Swans club has the distinct honour among all clubs of all codes around the world to wear these colours for longer than any other.



This should have been the end of the argument over which club really represented the municipality, but there was a plethora of minor clubs, including Union Jack, Rising Sun and the Emerald Hill Standards. Then, on Friday June 19, 1874, a new rival emerged from a meeting at the Temperance Hall in Napier Street. The Cecil Football Club was born, but with yet another name change. Within a couple of months of its emergence, Cecil adopted the South Melbourne name. Confusing? Yes, especially as there had been a previous South Melbourne club. Regardless, the Albert Park club became part of the inaugural Victorian Football Association competition in 1878.



However, Albert Park should have been looking over its shoulder as the new South Melbourne club was declared a senior side in 1879 and finished third behind Geelong and Carlton. With Albert Park’s star fading, it agreed to merge with South Melbourne, with club name and colours the only sticking points. Because South Melbourne at this time had the better playing record, it was decided to retain this name and, as a sop to its merge partner, agreed to wear the red and white of Albert Park and abandon its own blue and white.



The newly merged club’s first game was against reigning South Australian premier Norwood at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground.





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