It has recently been announced that Newington will introduce Australian Rules (AFL) into the senior school at Years 9 and 10 in the 2017 Winter Sport season. Coincidentally, in his ‘Fitz Files’ column in the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday, journalist, author and former rugby international, Peter Fitzsimons, commented on how ‘Aussie rules goalposts are sprouting all over Sydney’ as the code is embraced in Sydney schools.

Strictly speaking, this will be a revival of the sport at Newington, which has deep historical roots as well as a more recent history here.

A report in the June 1902 issue of The Newingtonian quoted from a newspaper article — undated but almost certainly from 1869 — reporting on Newington’s first known rugby match. The report noted that ‘For some time previously Newington had been playing the Melbourne game (or a variation of it), introduced to the School by the then Head Master, Mr Metcalfe, who came from Victoria. However, a change to Rugby rules was decided upon, and the match against the [University] was the first played thereunder.’

Indeed, before his appointment to Newington in 1867, the London-born George Metcalfe had been teaching at Melbourne Grammar School, a cradle of Australian Rules and one of the two schools which had played what is often cited as the code’s original precursor match in 1858. Metcalfe is also recorded in 1861 as Vice-President of the Geelong Football Club, which had been founded two years earlier. So it is hardly surprising that he introduced ‘the Melbourne game’ to Newington.

The 1902 report also noted that the Newington boys ‘had not thoroughly mastered the Rugby method of play, and, being hampered by their knowledge of the Melbourne game, they lost the match.’

Much more recently, teams from Newington’s Preparatory Schools have participated in the NSW/ACT AFL Paul Kelly Cup primary schools’ competition, with the Wyvern House team reaching the State semi-finals just a few weeks ago. A number of boys have been selected for the NSW CIS AFL squad. Between 2003 and 2010, teams from the senior school participated in gala day matches and then in a competition with a number of other GPS and CAS (Associated) schools.

Mr David Roberts
College Archivist