NEW INTERVIEW: My interview with Mark Whiting (East Fremantle supporter), 13/5/2015, by Kieran James

West Perth cheer squad at northern (city) end goals at Moss Street ground versus East Fremantle, 8 August 1981. Moss Street was always a hostile and intimidating place for away fans and West Perth fans put in a great effort to bring such numbers and passion to Moss Street this late in the 1981 season, a season when neither side made the final-four. The final score this day was: East Fremantle 21.17 (143) defeated West Perth 16.11 (107) and the attendance was 5,175 (source: WAFL Online). 

Kieran James: Thanks for agreeing to do this interview. I know you said to me modestly that "you are only a fan" but this is a website for the supporters and the view of a supporter is very important to us (although apparently not to the WAFL). First of all, can you tell me how you first became an East Fremantle supporter.

Mark Whiting ready for a beer

1) In 1992 I started following East Fremantle as my WAFL club for a few reasons. Main reason was the South African side of my family was mainly Natal Sharks (South African rugby) and that was the main sport I followed before Aussie Rules. East Fremantle also being nicknamed the Sharks and the closest ground I decided to have an interest in them.  However, it was only in 1997 that I decided to act on that interest and started attending matches and closely follow the Sharks.

KJ2: Do you also follow AFL and if yes do you have a favourite team?

2) Only a slight interest in the AFL.  I used to support Fremantle until they briefly aligned themselves with East Fremantle's port rival South Fremantle (around the turn of the millenium). I just couldn't support the Dockers at all, in fact gave away all my dockers gear. So I went looking for the club with the biggest East Freo contingent which at the time happened to be Hawthorn (6 players - Michael Collica, Craig Trelevan, Jonathon Hay, Brendan Krummel, Daniel Chick, Luke McPharlin,  plus the coach, Ken Judge). Remained Hawthorn ever since.

But my interest is only slight. WAFL has the true football feel. You feel like a part of a club, not just another bum on the seat. Go onto the ground at the breaks. No glorified prima donnas, just rough, old style football. And it's cheaper too.

KJ3: The East Fremantle culture of success (and gentlemanly success without rule-bending or excessive violence behind the play) has been an amazing constant factor for the past 100 years and it is remarkable how it still gets instilled in people in these days of the WAFL as a nursery for young players. Growing up in East Fremantle territory in the 1970s we were only too aware of the aura and power that surrounded the club. Even supporters of other clubs gave unconditional respect. In Jack Lee's East Fremantle history book years such as 1975 (when the club finished fifth) were regarded as terrible failures whereas at West Perth fifth spot was not seen as a disgrace or a catastrophe. What are your comments about this?

3) That statement is very true. I believe that amongst fans, officials, and players brought up in the district generally have the notion ingrained that anything less than finals is disappointing for the club. That and the huge investment of time and money put into East Fremantle's football district.

KJ4: What do you think of the move to return to the vertical panels or strips jersey similar to that worn in the 1977 and 1979 Grand Finals? It is now slightly confusing for outsiders at least as to whether the vertical or the horizontal stripes should be seen as the "classic" or "traditional" strip.

4) Going back to the three vertical stripes was a brilliant move. It was originally only intended for a clash strip in the Foxtel Cup. However it proved extremely popular with the fans, so much so that some were forking out $200 to buy one.

I believe that reintroducing it has started some of the younger fans into looking at the history of the club which is great as the more they read into the club's history the more passion they will feel for the club. In addition, the more of the younger generation passionately involved the more chance there is of long-term survival and not only that but the nostalgic feel for the older fans might rekindle some of their lost passion.

KJ5: What caused the current proposed move back to Fremantle Oval (a traditional home ground for Old Easts which is so traditional that no-one alive today can even remember them playing there)? I'm not an Old Easts supporter but I am a little worried that the literal fear that the Moss Street ground engendered in opposition players and fans will be lost. I always associate Moss Street with those bleak grey farm-style sheds at both ends of the ground, grey skies, cold and piercing ocean winds, and of course large defeats at the hands of the host club. What do you think of the move?

5) From what I hear both the City of Fremantle and the South Fremantle Football Club are both in favour of East Fremantle moving back. The City of Fremantle I believe is willing to invest money into the redevelopment of the oval and facilities should East Fremantle decide to move. At the moment there is a feasibility study being done and it should be out in May 2015. East Fremantle will look at it and then decide whether or not to progress. By progress meaning not accepting straight away, but looking further into it, possible vote on the matter, etc.

Personally, I am in favour of the move back to Fremantle Oval. Even though it will be sad to see us leave Moss Street, I believe there is not much of a future left there.

Scoreboard bank at Moss Street

Ground sharing will reduce maintainence costs, and I strongly believe the rivalry between the two port clubs will only get stronger.

Being in a busier area rather than stuck in the middle of an outer suburb will mean more exposure for East Fremantle to the general public, creating more interest and potentially better crowds and sales. Plus with the markets, pubs and restaurants nearby it will be more inviting for fans to attend the footy as a bigger day experience.

KJ6: Here is an important question which few people are asking. It is often said, usually cynically by AFL supporters online, that only the over-35s or over-40s are still passionate WAFL fans. How can we get more under-35s, such as yourself, to passionately support WAFL teams and regularly attend games?

6) I believe the key lies in the parents and other older family members of the under 35s telling them of who they barracked for in the WAFL, past WAFL memories, any family members playing for a team, showing any football memorabilia, but above all must show they have still have an interest in the WAFL and take the under 35s to games.

I am also a strong believer in leaving all public holidays for WAFL matches. That is no AFL matches in WA played on Good Friday, Anzac Day,  Foundation / WA Day. WAFL clubs have more to benefit from public holiday matches than either WA AFL club.

KJ7: What do you think explains East Fremantle's lack of success in the 21st century? Is it due to the suburban zone being trapped by South Fremantle in the south, Perth in the east, and the Swan River to the north plus an aging demographic in many areas in the East Fremantle zone? 

7) I believe it is partially to do with that reason. But as a whole, I am struggling to find an answer.

KJ8: Have you watched any of the premiership DVDs from the WAFL's Golden Era of the 1970s and 1980s?

8) No. I haven't watched any of the premiership DVDs. I might get around to it someday.

KJ9: What does the Fremantle Derby (the only real West Australian football derby) mean to you and to local supporters of both clubs? Accept no imitators.

9) The derby is always a big day for most. It is for most more than just a home and away game but also a chance to get one up on the old foe. The hatred between the two may have waned somewhat over the years but the importance of beating them still remains. It's the whole game day atmosphere of a derby that excites me, especially when it is in Fremantle with the pubs, restaurants, and surrounding streets flooded with people wearing their team colours.

KJ10: Have you got any comments about WAFL Golden Era website?

10) What I enjoy most about this page is that the information researched and topics discussed are unique. Chris Egan's article about the eastern suburbs and sport is a prime example.

KJ11: Thanks so much for the interview and your very insightful responses.

11) Thanks once again for the opportunity.

Another picture of West Perth cheer squad @ Moss Street northern end goals, 8 August 1981.

This picture shows supporters in the famous can bar at Lathlain Park during the last quarter of a Perth versus Swan Districts match, 2 July 2011. The fact that only the guy with the black hair and black-and-grey hoodie in the exact middle of this picture is probably an under-35 points to a problem with the demographic mix of WAFL supporters. What will happen to the WAFL in the future if it cannot attract the Under-35s to the grounds on a regular basis?

ARTICLE: North Adelaide supporter Stanley Hart emerges as a person of interest in the 1973 Adelaide Oval abduction case, 12/3/2015

ARTICLE: FRESH leads in the 41-year-old Adelaide Oval abduction cold case put a key suspect at the ground on the day of the crime and link him to an abandoned Prospect home with an underground bunker. 

 

Major Crime police have confirmed they are assessing details of Stanley Arthur Hart’s link to the Prospect property, provided to them by The Advertiser last month.

Hart’s family also say the known paedophile, whose former Mid-North property was extensively searched by police as recently as December, would “almost certainly” have been at Adelaide Oval on ­August 25, 1973, when Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon were abducted.

Hart died in 1999.

Cold case detectives are working on a full summary of the Adelaide Oval abduction investigation, they have told Joanne’s sister Suzie Wilkinson.

As SA Police continue a 13-week State’s Most Wanted Cold Case Unit campaign to try to bust some of the state’s 110 unsolved murders, strongly backed by media channels, ­Detective Superintendent Des Bray has reassured the public that police will throw all they have at solving these crimes.

Ms Wilkinson has also been given a personal guarantee that “no stone will be left unturned” as Major Crime detectives look for answers to the abduction of Joanne, 11, and Kirste, 4.

 

“Major Crime detectives are assessing information recently received in relation to a Prospect address,” was all police would say yesterday.

Ms Wilkinson yesterday called for police to take the infor­mation seriously and “investigate it properly”.

“If  it  means  they  have  to go in there and dig up the backyard to check it out, then that’s what should be done,” she said.

SA Police investigating the 1973 disappearance of Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon have been re-examining sites in the state’s mid-north

 

“If they’re not going to investigate it properly, then I’ll get it done.”

The Prospect property has been identified as the childhood home of Hart — a man who was at the top of the police persons-of-interest list in the case as recently as late last year, when police extensively searched his former Yatina property, including excavating two wells.

For a year from March 1973, Hart had unrestricted and unmonitored access to the abandoned home, which featured a large underground bunker, The Advertiser can reveal.

 

The bunker, an air-raid shelter with two entrances and large enough to fit at least four adults, was described as “very good” by Hart’s sister, Ella. It is understood to have been filled in some time before 1975, after the disappearance of the girls.

The homeowners have told The Advertiser there has been no police interest in the property in their 40 years of ownership, but they would fully co-operate should police believe the link needed investigating.

Hart’s family has said that although he did not attend the Adelaide Oval final between arch rivals North and Norwood on August 25, 1973, with them, the North Adelaide Football Club fan “rarely missed a Roosters footy match”. [Jack Frost note: Actually the game was a regular season home-and-away match although the two clubs did meet in a final-round contest later that same year.]

Convicted paedophile family member Mark Marshall, in a 2007 confession to the Mullighan Inquiry into children in state car, also suggests his “Poppa Stan” had taken a hat and a coat from “grandad’s house” to wear at the footy that day.

Identikit images of the suspect closely resemble Hart’s appearance at the time.

Private investigators have suggested the abductor could have taken the girls out of the parklands on a Red Hen train from the North Adelaide train station.

The last reported sighting of the girls, with their abductor, was by a young unnamed man who said he saw them near Port Road in an area only a short distance from North Adelaide station about 5pm.

Police confirmed Hart was a key figure in their investigation of the case last year. Over a number of days in October and December, they searched his Yatina property and excavated two deep wells for clues in the cold case.

Despite nothing being found in the search, police have not ruled Hart out of the investigation.

Further investigations by The Advertiser have found Hart, a former army clerk turned part-time butcher, was “assisted” in a move from Adelaide to Yatina in a bid to curb his recidivist paedophile activity, but was still registered as living at a Parkside address when Joanne, 11, and Kirste, 4, disappeared.

It is understood the Parkside address also has never been searched for clues in the case.

NEW LEADS IN INVESTIGATION

The Advertiser has also passed on to police investigators a number of other leads from private investigators and members of the public that suggest:

A KNOWN child abuser revealed, a decade after their disappearance, that he saw Joanne and Kirste with their abductor;

THE same man was an avid North fan, lived close to Prospect Oval and had the shell of a car buried in his backyard to which access tunnels were regularly dug;

AN anonymous caller to The Advertiser, using voice distortion, says a Prospect address is a place of interest in the Adelaide Oval case and that US Airforce fuel barrels are reportedly buried at a location in Adelaide’s north and contain evidence in the case.

A pair of butcher’s pants removed from the Yatina property.

 

Major Crime detectives on August 25 last year, the 41st anniversary of the abduction, asked Advertiser Investigations Editor Bryan Littlely to share with them information he and a team of private investigators believed they had uncovered on the case.

The Advertiser, last month, advised police of the link to the Prospect property and the bunker immediately.

A number of items — including a butcher’s apron and pants — reportedly belonging to Hart and removed from the Yatina property by a third party before police searches commenced there in 2009 also have been handed to police and are understood to be getting tested to check for clues [from The Adelaide Advertiser, 12/3/2015].

Source: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/cold-case-fresh-leads-in-1973-adelaide-oval-abduction-links-key-suspect-to-abandoned-prospect-home-with-an-underground-bunker/story-fni6uo1m-1227259178710 [accessed 27 April 2015]. 

OPINION: "My Western Australian State Team, 1976-86, excluding players who played VFL/AFL", by Kieran James (revised version, 14/4/2015)

Malcolm Gregory "Mal" Brown - my choice as WA state team coach. A controversial choice as state coach of my team ahead of John Todd and Haydn Bunton Junior but I want excitement and flamboyance!

My Western Australian State Team, 1976-86, excluding players who played VFL/AFL

Ron Boucher in his glory years!

Backs: Steve Curtis (EP / Port Adelaide), Tom Mullooly (SD), Ross Gibbs (WP / Glenelg)

Half-backs: Stephen Green (EF), Joe McKay (SF), Ross Prunster (P / WP)

Centres: Darrell Panizza (C / Woodville), Mel Whinnen (WP), Keith Narkle (SD)

Half-forwards: Chris Stasinowsky (WP / SF / P / South Adelaide), Brian Adamson (WP / Norwood), Stephen Sells (S / West Geelong (VFA))

Forwards: Ed Blackaby (SD), Ray Bauskis (SF), Stephen Michael (SF)

Followers: Ron Boucher (SD), Peter Menaglio (WP), Les Fong (WP)

Interchange: Phil Lamb (S), Benny Vigona (SF), Joe Santostefano (P), Stan Nowotny (SD), Neil Taylor (S), George Michalczyk (EP / WP).

Coach: Mal Brown (SF / P)

Captain: TBA!

Comments:

This is the team I posted to the "Lost WAFL" Facebook group last year. I received a huge amount of (mostly) constructive feedback. As a result I made two changes to the original team. I replaced Doug Green at centre-half-back (because he had played for Sydney Swans) with Joe McKay whom I shifted from the half-back-flank. I then added Doug Green's unrelated namesake from East Fremantle Stephen Green into the team at half-back-flank to take McKay's former position. I also carelessly omitted Benny Vigona (South Fremantle) from the original team which was just an oversight and in no way deliberate. I have kept Mel Whinnen (West Perth) in the centre and added Vigona as first interchange. As Mel was in his second last season by 1976, if he tired out he could be replaced by Vigona in my make-believe fantasy match.

Ross Gibbs (WP / Glenelg)

As my team aroused much discussion and even hostility when it was first posted I will explain again that it is my personal favourite team and not a literal "best" team in any sort of objective sense. I chose players based on flair and class, as I wanted it to be a team I would want to watch (on a fine Saturday afternoon whilst standing on the old concrete terraces on the Roberts Road wing at Subiaco Oval). There is an emphasis on showy players who were mired by inconsistency and arguably never achieved their best form for more than a few matches at a time. The late Chris Stasinowsky (RIP) and Joe Santostefano would fit into this category. On their day both were brilliant players to watch. Ross Gibbs is perhaps the most "unknown" of my chosen players from a Western Australian fan's perspective. However, he clearly proved himself by any objective standards by being a member of Glenelg's strong 1985-86 premiership teams in that pre-AFL era in South Australia[1]. Interestingly, the coach of Glenelg in 1983-84 was none other than Graham Campbell who earlier had coached Gibbs at West Perth[2]. Campbell's unsuccessful second stint at West Perth proved indeed that he could walk on water only once!

The picture that speaks a thousand words

Furthermore, it is obvious that West Perth gets more than its fair share of players in my team and I copped some flak over this (great to see old WAFL rivalries rekindled although obviously the true "enemies" of WAFL football clubs today are the WAFC and AFL.) How can I justify (sorry, I mean explain) myself here? Firstly, I wanted to be honest to myself and being a West Perth supporter during this era I knew West Perth players better than those of other clubs. Secondly, I believe West Perth had some genuine stars in this era (especially Peter Menaglio and Les Fong) who failed to get the respect and recognition they deserved during those years when Perth (1976-78), South Fremantle (1979-81), Claremont (1981-83), Swan Districts (1980-84), East Fremantle (1977-79 and 1984-86), and Subiaco (1985-86) were the pacesetters. I would have chosen Phil Bradmore at centre-half-forward over Brian Adamson but the former opened his career with a handful of games at Footscray (VFL/AFL). Thirdly, West Perth was always competitive and at times brilliant during the 1976-86 period, especially on warm sunny days at its then home ground Leederville Oval. It finished in the top four in 1976-78 and then finished third in 1982 and fourth in 1985. The club was able to beat Swan Districts five times out of nine in home-and-away games during Swans' triple-premiership years of 1982-84, which was a truly remarkable but unheralded feat. I did some archival research on this and found that West Perth had the strange record of beating the eventual premiers two or three times out of three in the majority of years 1976-86[3]. However, it often suffered horrific defeats at the hands of lowly-placed teams when the team was not motivated enough.

Ross Gibbs in young days at WP c 1982

A few other comments should be made here. I was only seven-years-old in 1976 and so my knowledge of players from the 1970s, as compared to the 1980s, was probably weak and superficial. Therefore, for that era, I stuck closely to players who generally made state teams on a consistent basis during those years such as Steve Curtis (East Perth), Joe McKay (South Fremantle), Ray Bauskis (South Fremantle), and Stephen Green (East Fremantle). I also gave considerable weight to objective statistics such as Ray Bauskis' excellent goal-kicking tallies.

Perth supporter Gavin Caudle argued on "Lost WAFL" that my team should have included more players from the 1976-78 East Perth and Perth grand final teams. These two clubs contested both the 1976 and 1978 Grand Finals. This is a good comment. Chris Mitsopoulos (Perth) was unlucky to miss out by a whisker from the support rovers Ed Blackaby (Swan Districts) and Neil Taylor (Subiaco). Perth's famed "team-within-a-team" in defence in 1976-78 deserves the greatest respect and commendation. However, arguably, it worked best as a unit with its whole being far more than the sum of its parts. I am unsure whether Lofts and/or Inman and/or Day and/or Quartermaine would have been better than any or all of my selected team. However, full marks to Perth's defence from that era and I wish I could find a way to include them. I did include Ross Prunster, who (like so many players of that era) lined up at various times for both Perth and West Perth. As for East Perth's 1978 premiership team, I regard it as over-rated as it won by a meager two points on a rainy day when Murray Couper and John Quartermaine were both absent from Perth's line-up. Also, East Perth's best players all played in the VFl/AFL at some point such as Barry Cable, Ian Miller, Wayne Otway, Ross Glendinning, and Kevin Bryant. Steve Curtis (EP) was a part of some fearsome and legendary Port Adelaide Magpies teams and I did include him in his customary back-pocket position. I can remember standing up on the concrete terraces at Alberton Oval in the pouring rain watching Port Adelaide play Central District. That game was played on Monday 21 May 1984 and Curtis was in Port's team that day [see match report on this website]. Archie Duda (East Perth) and Murray Couper (Perth) were both narrowly beaten for the full-forward position in my team by Ray Bauskis and deserve honourable mentions. 

A surprise choice, Stephen Sells

As for coach, I guess the obvious choice was John Todd (or Haydn Bunton Junior or Ken Armstrong perhaps) but I do respect Browny for what he achieved at SF and also at Perth when he brought a basket-case team up from last in 1984 (the year prior to his taking over the coaching job) to finish third in 1986. In my opinion, this was the last great coaching feat of the pre-AFL era in WA football. (This is another feat largely forgotten today since even at the time it was overshadowed by the hype associated with the formation of West Coast in late-1986 / early-1987.) Because it is MY team I will annoy people still further by picking Browny over Todd. After all I want excitement and controversy! I am sure that Stazza (back from the dead), Stephen Michael, and Benny Vigona in particular will appreciate Browny's position at the helm. Please comment further on this team. As moderator I will approve all comments except for the abusive and the spam! If you are still upset please send me your own team and I promise to publish it here (email: Kieran.JKames@uws.ac.uk) [by Kieran James, 14 April 2015].

A literary classic, search for it on eBay

Notes: [1]. Ross Gibbs played 97 games for West Perth from 1979-83 and 253 games for Glenelg from 1984-94. He was inducted into the Glenelg Hall of Fame in 2006.
[2] Wikipedia lists Graham Cambpell's VFL and SANFL coaching record as follows: Fitzroy (1974) 0 wins, 3 losses; Fitzroy (1978) 8 wins, 14 losses; and Glenelg (1983-84) 27 wins, 20 losses. He coached West Perth from 1975-77 and mid-season 1979-end of 1981.
[3] West Perth often defeated the eventual premier team twice in a season during home-and-away rounds, including Perth in 1977 (two wins), East Perth in 1978 (two wins), Swan Districts in 1982 (two wins) and 1984 (two wins), and East Fremantle in 1985 (two wins). If anyone is interested to do some internet research all of these facts can be checked in the "Fixtures & Results" section of the WAFL Online (WAFL official website). Once you are inside "Fixtures  Results", simply use the pull-down menu to choose the season(s) you want to access. This remains a strong record for the West Perth teams of that era but it is also clearly a case of potential unfulfilled. In some of those final-rounds from 1976-86 you had the classic "paper-scissors-rock" scenario (for example, Team A can beat Team B which can beat Team C which can beat Team D but Team D can beat Team A). For example, in 1982, West Perth could usually beat Swan Districts but had a lot of trouble with Claremont whereas Swans could beat Claremont. Also, in 1985, Swan Districts could beat West Perth and we saw that both East Fremantle and Subiaco were very likely to beat Swans. However, interestingly, West Perth could be expected to beat East Fremantle. Furthermore, West Perth could usually beat East Fremantle but failed badly against Subiaco, yet the victors in the East Fremantle-Subiaco contests were always very hard to predict. Such paper-scissors-rock scenarios only added to the high drama which the WAFL supporters enjoyed in this era.

WA State Team 1983. Photo courtesy Lost WAFL Facebook group.

The legendary Ron Boucher (SD) pictured here in 2009 when he was working for Busselton Council. Our West Perth cheer squad had a verbal confrontation with Ron at the Round 14, 1984 match at the northern end goals at Leederville Oval [see match report on this website]. 

South Fremantle's aboriginal greats. Left to Right: Benny Vigona, Willie Roe, and Maurice Rioli (RIP).

South Fremantle's 1984 Hong Kong tour (courtesy Lost WAFL).

ARTICLE: "The Divergence of Sporting Culture in Perth's Inner Eastern Suburbs", by Chris Egan

State premier league soccer @ Frank Drago Reserve, Bayswater. (Bayswater SC plays in the blue-and-black shirts which is a reference to Inter Milan and not to East Perth.) Chris Egan argues that Bayswater was historically a soccer town whereas neighbouring Maylands was an Australian Rules town and this difference is because of divergent immigration patterns in the early days.

The divergence of sporting culture in Perth’s inner eastern suburbs

The author Chris Egan

Sport in Western Australia is traditionally analysed on a state-wide perspective rather than a suburb by suburb approach. This skews our understanding on a rather complicated sporting environment which modern Perth is founded on.

Attitudes towards codes is variant depending on what ‘village’ of Perth you lived in. This article is to explore Maylands' fervent support of Australian Rules Football in juxtaposition to its minority status in neighbouring Bayswater.

While a British Association team was played out of Bayswater in the Great War and was allocated part of Bayswater Oval in 1928 (Changes They’ve Seen – The City and People of Bayswater 1827-2013), it did not enter East Maylands Primary School until 1973 (A History of East Maylands Primary School 1954-2003, by Laura Nolan).  While Australian Rules football was an entrenched part of Maylands' social fabric, it did not enter the City of Bayswater until 1948 when Bedford and Inglewood RSL clubs started one up for the children of returned servicemen (Changes They’ve Seen – The City and People of Bayswater 1827-2013).

This divergence shows how sporting culture is as divided on a town by town approach as in the north of England. That class, employment and social fabric was insular and cross cultural influences were constrained. Oral recounts are being supported by the historical archives to substantiate this.

We also see an evangelical rivalry. Australian Rules Football in Maylands was played by a Protestant majority, while the Church of England was also very influential in both junior and senior soccer circles in Perth. Victorian Protestants who had come over with the gold rush were fervent supporters of Australian Rules Football, while Western Australian/ British Protestants, particularly those in high positions within government/clergy, would have soccer as their code of choice.

Bayswater was on the outskirts with farms and bush a majority. Its history has been said to be ‘unconstrained’ by Western Australian fabric because the suburb was essentially a suburb of new migrants. It had little of the entrenched class system that existed in other parts of Perth with tennis and athletics being more popular than any of the ball sports (Changes They’ve Seen – The City and People of Bayswater 1827-2013, by Catherine May). With a large British migration into the suburb its sports choices began to reflect the pastimes of tennis and athletics – sports which were individual by nature. Soccer became a pastime later on, with Australian Rules Football a minority sport. This is a story that is played out throughout the different villages of Perth, not dissimilar to what occurs in the north of England.

So what occurs in Maylands, which in the 1890’s was called Falkirk?  (Original Crown grants and locations within the City of Stirling, Gordon and Olga Sherwood, 1988)

Mephan Ferguson is largely influential in the establishment of the suburb of Maylands, the name has been changed because of his daughter May Ferguson who became Mephan’s housekeeper after his wife passed away. (Original Crown Grants and Locations with the City of Stirling, Gordon and Olga Sherwood, 1988).

Ferguson was a renowned engineer and won the contract to build the Water Pipeline from Perth to Coolgardie. A Scotsman who came out to Australia during the Gold Rush and did his apprenticeship in Ballarat, he went on to develop a large engineering workshop in Footscray. After winning the contract to develop the water pipeline he established a workshop in Maylands. Migration and skills in a full employment city would have come from a Victorian economy entering recession. Skills that had been developed in Footscray would have been transferable to the ‘state building’ of Western Australia.

This development would have seen the sport of choice Australian Rules Football to be infiltrated within this community by the residents who came and clustered. We see the insularity of the region with it not infiltrating into the region immediately east. So this Australian Rules cluster which had been seen as a sport of religion in the Victorian colonies came head to head with it being given a ‘working class’ typecast in the Western Australian society.

While Mephan Ferguson donated two pounds to the Footscray Football Club in 1895 (Independent, 11^th May 1895), his role in Perth fitted into the class structure where he as an influential member of society was a patron of British Association Football (The Daily News, 23^rd March 1906). This social and class structure that had seen him move from an influential backer of Australian Rules Football to Association Football.

Ferguson’s workers however would have seen their sport of choice Australian Rules Football ingrained by their social class. Joe Barbaro said even with post-war migration, Italians within Maylands adapted to this entrenched Australian Rules culture in the early 70’s.  

“We used to play football and it was probably the only reason I came to school. We used to have a division between Perth supporters and East Perth supporters. We’d get into a few fights with kids calling us ‘dings’ in particular…but it wasn’t a regular thing. I did take on a lot of the Anglo-saxon type things. Like I didn’t play soccer, I played footy…basically we assimilated pretty well because I think we had to” (A history of East Maylands Primary School, 1954-2003, Laura Nolan).

So how does this relate to today? Well with council amalgamations being a hot topic, we see why there is such great opposition within metropolitan Perth. In 1997 Maylands residents did not want to be part of the greater City of Bayswater and wanted to maintain its links to the old Perth Roads Board – City of Stirling. In the documentation of the meeting held to discuss the proposal to amalgamate Maylands to Bayswater, a 700 strong petition was delivered stating that historical links with Stirling were stronger than they were with Bayswater.

We see the great difference in culture between the regions, Maylands established within class and economic developments linked into Perth’s culture and Bayswater developed with British and more general interstate migration, not simply working class tradesmen building the great engineering feat of the water pipeline.

Frank Drago Reserve (Bayswater City SC)

In Bayswater, the council allows soccer a part of ‘the rec’  in 1928. It becomes the headquarters for soccer in Perth in 1953. Catherine May touches on the underlying tension between amateur and professional sport within the town and that the council’s desire to bring soccer to the region was a ‘welcome move to commercialisation of sport’ (Changes They’ve Seen – The City and People of Bayswater 1827-2013, Catherine May).

This had been a driver of sport in both Perth and Fremantle. Councils such as Bayswater which had a past not defined by any of the traditional Western Australian social structures would give the round ball game its first home. Bayswater Oval was first a facility for athletics, tennis, lawn bowls and more gentle sport.

The Landscape Archaeology of suburban grounds from Fremantle to Bayswater are often around commercial hubs. This is no accident, sport defined how the city moved and breathed. Merchants would see increased trade on days where sporting events were hosted. While today we see state governments seeing the benefits of hosting events, in regions throughout Perth, businesses wanted sporting events to get the visitors to stimulate their economies.

Bayswater’s move in the 1950s was a movement to stimulate commercial activity in their town centre which was not far away from Bayswater Oval. Sporting grounds in Perth are close to town nodes and commercial activity because of the economic trends that delivered gain to the business community on game days.

In this essay I’ve elicited the juxtaposition between two suburbs that although are geographically close have a cultural and economic divide that shapes their sporting culture. While post-war migrants found it socially acceptable to play the world game in Bayswater, which had this as its football code of hegemony, Italians were forced to assimilate to Australian Rules Football in a suburb [Maylands] which lived and breathed the ‘Australian’ game.

By Chris Egan

@perthforever 

[This article is published here with the kind written permission of Chris Egan.]

Joe Barbaro is quoted here as saying that East Maylands Primary School in the early-1970s was divided into gangs of Perth and East Perth supporters without soccer being a visible presence at the school. This is despite the Italian-based Baywater City (formerly Bayswater Inter) playing in neighbouring Bayswater. Now of course the East Perth WAFL club has moved to Leederville Oval (see above picture).

The author Chris Egan (left) and friend Reuben enjoying watching state premier league soccer at Dorrien Gardens, home of Perth Soccer Club (formerly Perth Italia), August 2012.