Trevor Ruddell

An exceptionally useful summary and interpretation of the primary and secondary sources relating to the debate about the possible relationship between Indigenous forms of football such as ‘Marngrook’ and Australian Rules football. Ruddell documents all the key sources produced between the 1830s and 1906 and then describes and considers the key writings since 1983 when the colonial era writings were reappraised and an Indigenous perspective on this subject emerged.

Ruddell has made an important contribution to the knowledge about the earliest Aboriginal man to play a top level senior football match. He recounts the sporting career of Albert Austin, who played one game for Geelong in 1872, and later played matches for the Framlingham Aboriginal community team in the Warrnambool district. Ruddell also explores the way football gained a foothold in the Aboriginal community of Framlingham in the 1870s.