The Origin Of Australian Rules Football

Historian Gillian Hibbins published the autobiography of Henry Colden Harrison in 1987 as "Running with the Ball", when the original was a 'rare' book available only in library stacks. When researching a preface, she was surprised to find that Harrison had long been termed the 'father' of Australian Rules Football' although it was apparent he was not, if by 'father' you mean 'founder'. 

Dismayed to find that Australia's national game was barely researched and that many misconceptions were common, she set out to do the research and some twenty years later was commissioned by the AFL to write the opening chapter of its book '150 years of Australian Football'.

But was 1858 the actual beginning of the Rules game? And who were the founders? Gillian has already published "Sport and Racing in Colonial Melbourne" in which she deals with this and provides her nineteenth century references.

Gillian is a past Secretary of the Rotary Club of Melbourne.

Chair: David Rush