Almanac Footy History: The First State of Origin Football Game – Changi POW Camp January 1943

 

Lindsay Manton was completely absorbed in his game, as six year old boys often are. His parents had always told him not to play on the train tracks, but he had forgotten that important message. Head down, he was in a world of his own, completely hidden from the driver of the approaching train. Railway worker Clarence Croft saw and acted, without hesitation. Racing in front of the moving train, he threw young Lindsay off the tracks, then saved his own life by leaping onto the train’s cow-catcher. Amazingly nobody was hurt. Clarence was commended for his bravery and quick thinking and awarded a Certificate of Merit.

 

Lindsay honoured his extraordinary luck by thriving in his local community of Wolesly in South Australia. He charmed the audience at the primary school show with his version of ‘The Sundowner’, complete with swag and billy. A 16 year old Lindsay would win the local kicking and “Throwing at a stump” competition at the Wolesly Show Day in 1934. He could sing, dance and he played footy each weekend, representing Wolesly with pride.

 

Sadly, Lindsay’s luck would eventually run out, 21 years after escaping that train. In the jungles of Borneo, while a prisoner of the Japanese, Lindsay Manton died less than a month before the end of the Second World War. He payed the ultimate sacrifice while serving his country.

 

Lindsay had one, last moment of sporting glory, after being captured by the Japanese at the Fall of Singapore. In January 1943 he joined players from the VFL, VFA, WANFL, SANFL, Tasmanian Leagues and various suburban and country clubs who played in the first State of Origin game, the last game of Australian Football played at the Changi POW camp, the Victoria versus Rest of Australia game.

 

Football history traditionally records the first State of Origin game in Perth, 1977 between Victoria and Western Australia. Yet, the game, played in Changi in January 1943, was a true moment of Australian football history, during one of the most challenging times in this country’s history. The importance of Australian Football played in Changi was distilled by Kevin Blackburn, in his book “The Sportsmen of Changi”

 

Australian Rules was an expression of both their nationalism and their masculinity. By playing their own code they could distinguish themselves from the British and show their toughness to their Japanese captors.

 

As Peter Chitty, winner of the Changi Brownlow and captain of the Victorian team, said in 1984;

 

“We played our football pretty hard in Changi …. I played League football before the War, but wouldn’t say it was tougher than Changi. I have never known football to be played so seriously.”¹

 

Brownlow medallist, Wilfred “Chicken” Smallhorn, who umpired most games played in Changi, including the final Victoria versus Rest of Australia game, said;

 

“Believe me they weren’t picnic matches. It was serious football. And the standard wasn’t bad considering the difficult conditions we had to play under…”

 

Why did a Victorian team take on The Rest of Australia in the final game of Australian Football in Changi? Let’s go back to why the men were prisoners of the Japanese.

 

The fall of Singapore to the Japanese at the start of 1942 was a cataclysmic shock for Australians. The loss of the so called Island Fortress left Australia’s defence strategy in tatters and it meant the loss of 15,000 Australian service men and women, now prisoners of war.

Changi, originally a British army base and prison became the camp that held the Australian and British forces. With no realistic prospect of escape, sport was one way the prisoners passed the time. Cricket tests were held between English and Australian teams, playing 30 over games that could be completed in an afternoon. This inspired other games of soccer, basketball, baseball, rugby, volleyball and golf.

 

The First Football Season in Changi

 

Two Australian Football competitions were organised. The initial effort was a four team affair, with the sides named after the final four from the VFL’s 1941 season; Melbourne, Richmond, Essendon and Carlton. Games were played with two 20 minute halves and each team played each other twice. The lowest team Melbourne was then eliminated. In the Preliminary final, third placed Richmond played Essendon who had finished second. The Tigers won and took on Carlton in the Grand Final. Richmond again upset the odds and beat Carlton to win the first Changi Premiehip. A photo taken with a secret camera of the winning team published by the Sporting Globe after the war. A rare premiership team.

 

 

 

Richmond Premiership Team Changi POW CampTrophies were presented to members of the winning team, becoming precious mementos that were carried through the tribulations that followed and bought home to Australia. The image below is of a trophy presented to Bob Small who died in Thailand in December 1943.

 

 

The Second Football Season in Changi

 

A second, more ambitious, Australian football competition was also organised and, given the unusual conditions, there a focus on having clean games, the rugged style of play often seen in the VFL, with the risk of all in brawls would not be tolerated. If the games got out of hand they would be stopped by the Australian senior officers or worse, the Japanese guards could intervene. There were six teams playing games of full four quarters of football, providing a comforting rhythm to the week with three matches a week. Sometimes two on a Wednesday and one of Saturday or the other way around. 

 

By the end of December 1942 the poor diet was taking its toll on all, especially those trying to play sport. The Rugby competition was resulting in one or two broken bones per match. While the Australian Football games did not have such a severe toll there was an increase in injuries towards the end of the year. 

 

It did not bode well for the continuation of the season

 

Doctors spoke with the senior officers who also spoke with the Japanese. Unknown to the Allied prisoners The Japanese had their own reasons to keep the men uninjured, not out of concern for their health but rather to ensure they would be fit enough to work on the Thai Burma Railway. 

 

Peter Chitty believed the Australian senior officers made the decision to end the games, there was plenty of gambling, cigarettes being the main currency, resulting in ill will between the men. 

 

Either way the season finished at the end of December, much sooner than expected. Geelong was undefeated on top of the ladder, one win ahead of Richmond but there would be no Grand Final to decide this Changi Flag. Geelong were declared premiers yet it was a hollow way to end the season. 

 

 

Victoria versus The Rest of Australia

 

The Changi Australian Football Association met and decided on a way to provide a fitting football climax to the truncated season. A final game of football that would see a Victorian team take on the Rest of Australia. The leading players in Changi would have one more chance to take the field and the supporters would see two teams assembled from the best players of the season 

 

Peter Chitty, who had played for St Kilda before the war, captained the Victorian team. Western Australian Lou Daily, a Sandover medallist, who had spent time at Collingwood and Geelong before returning to Subiacco, captained the The Rest of Australia. Two selection panels named the teams that would have the honour of playing the ultimate game of the season. The players were from VFL and VFA clubs, SANFL and WANFL teams, some of the best from Tasmanian competitions and others from clubs across Australia.

 

The qualification criteria for the Victorian team set a precedent in flexibility which would be honoured by many of the State of Origin games that followed decades later. Frank McGrath had played for Leeton in the Riverina district of NSW. Yet he lined up for the Victorians rather than the Rest of Australia. It was a useful outcome for Victoria.

 

Peter Chitty’s story of the Changi Brownlow has been shared widely. Roland Perry’s The Changi Brownlow is a wonderful record of Chitty’s efforts and this pivotal match. However, the men who played in this State of Origin game, the final football game in Changi are less well known. 

 

On the Friday night before the game the Changi Brownlow vote was conducted. Wilfred Smallhorn read out the votes and his umpire colleague, Roy Fox, tallied up the votes. Smallhorn sent the medal off to be engraved and then went to the hospital with severe stomach pains. The initial suggestion was food poisoning. Smallhorn said he didn’t think they ate enough to get poisoned. It looked like Roy Fox would take charge of the big game. 

 

On Saturday, 24^th of January1943, 12,500 POWs crowded around the Changi football ground, a bigger crowd than many games in Melbourne during the 1942 VFL season. A band played music as men found a spot to watch the game. A train line above the ground carried over 200 amputees from the nearby hospital. Bookies moved through the crowd, yelling out the odds and taking bets on who would be declared the best player of the day, who would kick the first goal, which team would win and what would the margin be. Bets were laid using money, food rations, cigarettes, watches, wallets or even items of clothing. Bookies were willing to negotiate anything for a wager. 

 

Chicken Smallhorn had spent the night in hospital, was dosed up on the available pain killers but, dressed in white, he was determined to umpire the game. Most in the crowd had heard he was ill and gave the respected Fitzroy veteran and Brownlow winner a huge cheer. 

 

The feeling around the ground was good. They might be in a prison camp in Singapore, with no idea what destiny held for them, but this afternoon they had created a world of their own, a space to remind them of home. The crowd was split between those supporting Victoria and those backing the rest of Australia, yet they were united in enjoying a moment of release, through the simple pleasure of Australian Football, their game. 

 

The Victorians were wearing blue tops with the traditional white V, as used in many interstate games, while the Rest of Australia ran out in white sleeveless tops with a red V and black shorts, perhaps they wore their V for Victory that day.

 

 

 

 

Umpire Smallhorn called two two teams together and addressed the crowd, asking for quiet. Captain John Frew, of the Australian General Hospital, announced the winner of the Changi Brownlow.

 

Peter Chitty was the clear winner on 24 votes, polling in every game he played. Frew presented the medal to Chitty. The crowd cheered, it was a popular result recognising the best player of the season. Smallhorn later said; 

 

“Peter Chitty had a magnificent season. I saw almost every game he played. He copped plenty because he was so good. But he was tough, really tough and fit. In all my playing days, and afterwards as a commentator I never saw a player with more stamina. He had skill and was a born leader.” 

 

High praise indeed from someone who played the game at the highest level, won a Brownlow Medal and observed the game as TV and radio commentator for many years. 

 

 

The Game

 

Chitty played as a rover, running, shepherding, leading and getting in and under to get the ball out. After a season of being the best player, in this last game he was, again, inspirational. Yet there were good players on both sides, in the first quarter Lou Daily led from the front for the Rest, taking high marks, while for the Vics John Haig was noted in the official report of the game for “Working like a tiger in the ruck and was brilliant in the air”. The quarter time score saw The Rest leading 2.1 (13), the Vics on 1.3 (9)

 

The second quarter was even faster than the first, drop kicks travelled over 50 metres picking out their intended target. At other times, players leapt into the air taking sensational marks. There was an intensity to the game that separated it from the club games held during the season. Less than a goal separated the teams as the second quarter wound down. Chitty grabbed the ball, weaved through a pack, took two bounces and shot out a 20 metre handball to South Melbourne player Bobby Mullenger, who passed it onto Frank McGrath for a goal. The bell rang to end the half. Now the Vics were in front 6.4 (40) to 5.1 (31)

 

Players went to two groups at either end of the ground to sit and take a break. Umpire Smallhorn lay on his back, the painkillers were working, just. Having already thrown up twice he said “I am buggered but I am going on”. 

 

Chitty told his players to keep running and they would wear the opposition down. Lou Daley was louder, telling his players to give it everything in their final game and to knock the stuffing out of the Vics. 

 

It was a tense start to the third quarter. Players were going in hard with some tough clashes. Umpire Smallhorn maintained control by awarding frees and protecting the ball carrier at all times. As the quarter progressed, the play opened up. Twice Jack Haig kicked to Peter Chitty who took strong marks in the centre of the ground but the forwards could not capitalise. Later there was a moment when Haig was surrounded by four players but he he beat them all. A few minutes on, he took a finger tip mark and set off a chain of four foot passes leading to a goal that broke a 10 minute deadlock.

 

The third quarter had started with a 9 point lead to the Vics and it ended with them 10 points up. 

 

At the three quarter time break Lou Daily made six positional changes, hoping to catch the Vics off guard and then fired his players up for one last effort. The aim was to keep the play on the open flanks. 

 

Chitty told his team to keep running, they would win the game if they kept up the pace because the Rest would not be able to maintain it, he might have been talking about himself as much as the Victorian team. 

 

It was the Victorians who broke away first with Jack Haig playing superbly and, when Frank McGrath, the player from NSW playing for Victoria, kicked 3 goals in less than 15 minutes of the last quarter, giving him 6 for the day, it looked like the Vics had the game wrapped up. Then the Rest of Australia scored a goal and began to work their way back into the match.

 

Chitty was everywhere, running, directing players, inspiring his team mates. 

 

It wasn’t just hard work for the players. Umpire Smallhorn was struggling, clutching his stomach in obvious pain, as the sweat poured out of his already thin, strained body. 

 

With 10 minutes left in the game Chitty made his move. Bursting out of a pack in the Victorian back line, bouncing twice as he dodged and weaved his way up the ground, avoiding the efforts of two opponents then a third who could not match his pace. Chitty let rip a mighty torpedo punt, it barrelled through for a goal to the roar of the crowd. It was a magnificent individual effort by a man who had led his team by example, it felt like the sealer. 

 

But the Rest were not done yet. Despite the heat, despite the poor diet impacting their condition, this was a game played to the end, with full intensity. Lou Daily took a mark, played on and kicked a goal. The game was not over, Chitty spoke to John Haig and sent him to the back line where he held up several attempts by The Rest of Australia to move forward. 

 

Bobby Mullenger, who played a few games for South before the war and who would return for two more games in 1946, made his move in the dying moments of the game, grabbing the ball in the back line, he charged through the centre and booted a long, wobbly punt kick. Peter Chitty was near the goal square, he used his body to nudge his opponent away then leapt for a mark, with arms outstretched. 

 

He could now take his time, using up precious seconds that would take away any chance for a response by the Rest and, more importantly, kicked truly, straight through the middle. His second goal in the critical fourth quarter, finally sealed the game. Thirty seconds later the timekeeper rang the bell. 

 

It may not have been the official VFL representative side, but Peter Chitty had captained a Victorian Team to a 28 point win in the most arduous conditions against the most worthy of opponents. The final score, Victoria 14.9 (93) to The Rest of Australia10.5 (65)

 

The crowd rushed on to the ground to congratulate players from both sides for an extraordinary game of football. Lou Daily was awarded the “\’Little Bore Hole Trophy’ (donated by Corporal John Little) for best and fairest player for the Rest of Australia team. John Haig was awarded the Doug McQueen Trophy (Donated by former Coburg VFA player Lieutenant Douglas McDonald McQueen) for the best and Fairest Victorian player. 

 

The game was over, players and spectators moved back to their barracks, the train carriage of amputees went back to the hospital. The afternoon had given everybody a break from the reality and almost transported them back to the familiar ritual of watching footy on a Saturday afternoon at home. It would be a cherished memory for them all and it would never be repeated. 

 

While most departed the ground full of conversation about the game and its highlights, Umpire Wilfred Chicken Smallhorn was in all kinds of strife. Peter Chitty, switching back to his ambulance officer role, knew something was wrong and rushed him to the hospital for a full investigation. Smallhorn had taken painkillers, been physically ill multiple times, was dehydrated by endless sweat in the humidity and the heat. He had said he was buggered but he had got through the game, maintaining control and the payers full respect, as he had throughout the season. And he had done it all while suffering appendicitis! The doctors scheduled his operation for the next day. An extraordinary effort from an extraordinary man.

 

Life for the players and spectators took a turn for the worse after that game with many being sent to work on the notorious Thai Burma railway. Some would return to Changi, others would end the war in Japan while others would be sent to Borneo. 

 

The Players

 

One of the organisers of the competition, and a player for the Victorian team was Les Green, who would go on to be a Property Steward for Melbourne and Victorian teams. Les was interviewed in the September 1969 edition of Football Life, which included a team list for the Victorian and Rest of Australia sides, but only with surname and club. Tracking down the identity of these players with this limited information was a challenge, especially as some names and clubs were misspelled. Neither team list identifies a 19^th man. Sadly, the Rest of Australia list only had fifteen names, with the sixteenth player listed in the goal kickers. The remaining two players for the Rest of Australia and both 19^th men will remain a mystery, unless more documentation about this game can be found. 

 

Despite some gaps, the identity of almost all of the players listed has now been confirmed and it’s time to share some of their stories. Some would return to play football at the highest level in their state, some would win premierships and best and fairest awards. Others would help set up new sports clubs and help their communities thrive. Many would never play competitive sport again and one would be elected to Federal Parliament. All carried the scars inflicted by their time as prisoners of war. 

 

 

Victorian Team

 

Player as listed Football Life Sept. 1969	Surname	Given Name/s	Service No.	Unit
Baker (Essendon Juniors)	Baker	Thomas Frederick	VX59839	2/9th Field Ambulance
Bell (Stony Creek),	Bell	Keith Douglas	VX25618	2/9th Field Ambulance
Byrne (Abbotsford)	Byrne	Lawrence	VX58306	13th Australian General Hospital
Chitty (St Kilda) (C)	Chitty	Leslie Allan “Peter”	VX48347	2/2 Motor Ambulance Convoy
Crisp (Sea Lake and Wedderburn)	Crisp	Irwin Wallace	VX57724	2/4th Anti Tank Regiment
Goulden (South Melb. Districts)	Goulden	Alan Peter	VX34392	2/29th Australian Infantry Battalion
Green (Mentone)	Green	Leslie John	VX40384	2/9th Field Ambulance
Haig (Coburg)	Haig	John Thomas	VX47266	2/29th Australian Infantry Battalion
Hallahan (St Kilda and Brighton)	Hallahan	Thomas Joseph	VX34880	2/4th Anti Tank Regiment
Hancock (Mildura)	Hancock	Ellis	VX61818	13th Australian General Hospital
Joyce (Kew)	Joyce	Trevor Lindsay	VX47381	2/9th Field Ambulance
Mahoney (Collingwood Reserves)	Mahony	John Martin	VX40565	2/4th Anti Tank Regiment
McGrath (Riverina)	Mcgrath	Earnest William “Frank”	NX35742	2/19th Battalion
Mullinger (South Melb.)	Mullenger	Robert James	VX45249	2/29th Australian Infantry Battalion
Perkins (Mortlake)	Perkins	Harvey Richard	VX45167	2/4th Anti Tank Regiment
Robinson (Geelong Reserves)	Robertson	Roy	VX34876	2/9th Field Ambulance
Small (Echuca)	Small	Robert Gordon	VX60324	13th Australian General Hospital
Sparkes (Melbourne Juniors)	Sparks	Reginald Victor	VX34357	2/9th Field Ambulance

Rest of Australia Team

 

Player as listed Football Life Sept. 1969	Surname	Given Name/s	Service No.	Unit
Broadbent (Glenelg)	Broadbent	Robert Murray	SX9268	8th Division Ammunition Sub Park
Brookes (City, Tasmania)	Brooks	Cyril Gordon	TX5142	8th Australian Div. Supply Personnel Section
Clarke (Country League, WA)	TBC	TBC	TBC	TBC
Curnow (Port Lincoln, SA)	Curnow	Verdun	SX7550	8th Division Ammunition Sub Park
Daley (Geelong, Subiaco)(C)	Daily	Louis Joseph	WX8778	2/4th Machine Gun Battalion
Goulter (Clair Assn., SA)	Coulter	Leonard James	SX9565	8th Division Ammunition Sub Park
Hutton (South Country League, Tasmania)	Hutton	Kenneth Albert	TX4249	8th Australian Div. Supply Personnel Section
Kenny (East Fremantle)	Kenney	Wallace George Bruce	WX8532	2/4th Machine Gun Battalion
Manton (Tatura Assn., SA)	Manton	Lindsay Clive	SX10635	8th Division Ammunition Sub Park
McAllister (Mt Hawthorn Assn., WA)	McAllister	Malcolm	WX10013	2/9th Field Ambulance
Pearce (Swan Districts)	Pearce	Joseph	WX9268	2/4th Machine Gun Battalion
Pearsall (Lefroy)	Pearsall	Thomas Gordon	TX6060	2/29th Australian Infantry Battalion
Smith (East Fremantle)	TBC	TBC	TBC	TBC
Spackman (Goldfields, WA)	Spackman	Clifford Joseph	WX7715	2/4th Machine Gun Battalion
White (Hill Assn., SA)	White	Henry Charles Frederick	WX9002	2/4th Machine Gun Battalion
Williams (Wembley Assn., WA)	Williams	George David	WX8672	2/4th Machine Gun Battalion
Player 17	TBC	TBC	TBC	TBC
Player 18	TBC	TBC	TBC	TBC

 

Umpires

Umpires and Emergency Umpire	Surname	Given Name/s	Service No.	Unit
Smallhorn	Smallhorn	Wilfred Arthur	VX20940	2/4 Reserve Motor Transport
Fox(Emergency Umpire)	Fox	Roy Charles	VX61312	13th Australian General Hospital

 

 

 

 

 

Three of the thirty-two identified players died as prisoners. Clive Manton and Bob Small as mentioned above and John Mahony who served with the 2/4th Anti Tank Regiment and played for the Victorian team. 

 

Click on the links in the tables above to find out more about each man who played in that extraordinary game in Changi. The small number of detailed profiles provide examples of the type of men who served their country and had their moment of Australian Football history on a playing field in the Changi POW Camp.

 

Bobby Mullenger: A South Melbourne career cut short by war

 

Bobby played for Beechworth prior to the war, winning the club best and fairest and leading the goal kicking in 1938 in a team that won their second premiership in a row. Bobby Mullenger then played four games for South Melbourne in 1939 and 40. He was back with South Melbourne in 1946 and in the practice games was noted as delivering a first class performance as a rover. In the Round 1 game against Carlton Bobby sat on the Bench. For the Round 2 game against Essendon he was selected on the half forward flank to help “Pep up the attack”. However by Round 3 he had been omitted from the team. It was a short comeback to VFL football but still an extraordinary effort given the challenges he had endured in the previous four years. Bobby’s war interrupted league career may have only totalled six games but, in what must have seemed a weird coincidence, he played Carlton four times across his three seasons. In 1954 Bob was on the South Melbourne Selection Committee.

 

Cyril Brooks: Premiership coach and sometime boxer in and out of the ring

Cyril established a name for himself in Tasmanian football before and after the war. His passionate nature, combined with his boxing and wrestling skills, could, at times, create situations that might have been avoided by cooler heads. Before the war Cyril joined North Launceston having played for Ulverstone and been selected at fullback for representative teams on several occasions. He played in a losing Grand Final team in 1939.

 

When Cyril returned to Tasmania he was ready and willing to play for North Launceston in their 1945 Grand Final team. He was given the honour of leading the team onto the field for the Grand Final, with, presumably his brother or cousin S. Brooks playing for North, Cyril had to watch as Launceston won the premiership in a close fought game.

 

Cyril resumed his playing career in 1946 and took up coaching at Ulverstone the following year wining the premiership. He played and coached across a number of Tasmanian teams winning the last of his five premierships as captain coach of the Wynyard seconds in 1954. Recognised by the Burnie Advocate as one of the most impressive records of any player on the North West Coast.

 

Cyril would, on occasion, be involved in situations that involved the police, which might be related to the trauma of his wartime service. However his contribution to the community and his leadership of sporting clubs cannot be underestimated.

 

Cliff Spackman: B&F winner, premiership player and cave explorer 

 

Cliff Spackman grew up in the small town of Wickepin in the Wheatbelt region of WA. He excelled in sports from an early age with his name featuring in local news reports as a young footballer and cricketer. During the 1930’s he was working in and around Coolgardie and was lucky to escape serious injury when a primus stove he was filling with methylated spirits exploded inflicting burns to his face and throat. Before the war Cliff was in Karridale in the Margaret River region. He captained a Margaret River representative side against Busselton in 1940 before heading off to war in January 1941. Cliff survived his time as a prisoner and returned to Karridale where he again showed his leadership on the football field. In his first season back in 1946 he tied for the league best and fairest award and was one of the best on ground in the Grand Final kicking two vital goals as Karridale won the premiership by 7 points. In 1950 Cliff married Vera Zani and the couple moved to Augusta. Cliff has been recognised as the first to enter the famous Jewell cave, now a well known tourist site. Though there is some debate on who was the first to enter, Cliff did spend many years as a tour guide at the caves. Cliff was clearly a man who contributed to many communities throughout his life.

 

Joe Pearce Swan Districts champion and 9 times premiership coach

 

Joe Pearce lived a long and productive life and did not let his time as a POW hold him back. He had already established himself at Swan Districts before his wartime service, playing 21 games across 1939 and 41. While training with the army in South Australia he managed to play 5 games at Glenelg in 1941. He arrived at Glenelg the season after Bob Broadbent had left the club, while they were both Glenelg veterans, they only played together in Changi.

 

When Joe returned after the war he took some time to recover, moving back to farming life and playing for Dumbleyung Lake Grace winning the Premiership defeating Narrogin. Joe also won the Association Best and Fairest trophy. By 1948 he was making the 230 mile trip from Moulyinning to resume his career for Swan Districts where he would eventually play 91 games. He is honoured by the club and remembered by many football supporters in the West with the Joe Pearce Courage award being presented to the bravest player each season. In addition the Swan Districts Anzac day match is named in honour of Joe to recognise his service and time spent in Changi and on the Burma railway.

 

Joe’s contribution to football continued after he left Swan Districts when he took up coaching of Moulyinning, leading the club for 13 years, winning an incredible nine premierships in a row. As Shirley Howell wrote in her book on Joe, Beyond Hellfire and Back, Joe had the ability to bring out the best in people, he could hone the talent that already existed enabling them to be the best they could be.

 

Verdun Curnow. Leading Footballer and Cricketer for the Wayback Club in Port Lincoln

Verdun Curnow played for the Wayback football club in Port Lincoln South Australia before enlisting for the Army. After the war he returned to Port Lincoln and was named Vice Captain of the club in 1946 as it returned to the field in cotton rugby guernseys, which had to do given shortages and rationing. By 1948 the club had won a drought breaking premiership, the first in 14 years and Verdun was recognised as the most consistent backman that season, an amazing effort given what he had been through as a prisoner of the Japanese. Verdun was also a leading cricketer, instrumental in establishing the Wayback Cricket Club in 1946/47 with the aim of keeping the Wayback footballers fit and together during the summer. Verdun took on the duties as the cricket club’s first president and captain and was was amply rewarded with the club winning the premiership in its very first season. His contribution to the club was recognised with a life membership.

 

 

 

Tom Pearsall A Sporting, Farming and Political Career

Tom Pearsall played for Lefroy in the Tasmanian Football League with the famous North Hobart Oval as their home ground. He enlisted in 1941 serving as a Lieutenant in the 2/29th Australian Infantry Battalion. His leadership was truly valued by his men, with one telling the Hobart Mercury that “Lt Pearsall was father and mother to the Tasmanian group in Changi and with a force on the Burma railway. He took risks to scrounge food for his men, and often took the blame and punishment for things done by others, and regarded by the Japs as misdemeanours.”

 

He was able to return to football after the war, playing for Sandy Bay in 1946. Pearsall also soon began a political career, first elected to the Kingsborough Council and then in 1950 elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the relatively newly formed Liberal Party. In the 1966 Federal election he won the federal seat of Franklin for the Liberal party serving one term. He lost his seat to the ALP in 1969 returning to farming.

 

Tom’s brother Allan was also an excellent sportsman and played two games for South Melbourne in 1941 before serving in the RAAF He was killed when his plane crashed in Europe. Tom only found out while waiting in Singapore to return to Australia.

 

Chicken Smallhorn Brownlow Medallist, Changi Umpire and Footy Commentator

 

Wilfred ‘Chicken’ Smallhorn was a renowned footballer for Fitzroy playing 150 games between 1930 to 1940, winning the Brownlow medal in 1933. Knee injuries meant he was unable to play football in Changi but he was universally respected as an umpire. He managed to officiate the Victoria versus Rest of Australia game despite suffering appendicitis. His determination and courage kept him going until the end of the game. He was sent to hospital after the game and operated on the next day. Chicken survived his time as a prisoner and met his four year old son Robert for the first time when he was reunited in Melbourne with his wife Violet. His football experience and knowledge was valued and he became a valued football commentator on radio and television. Fitzroy named him in their team of the century playing on the wing. 

 

 

 

Credits

 

Discovering the story of the men who played in the Victoria versus Rest of Australia Game was only possible by the fine work of many who have researched, explored and documented this period of Australian history. I thank them for their fine work and apologise for any inaccuracies in this article. An incomplete list of resources includes

 

1. The Sportsmen of Changi Kevin Blackburn, New South Publishing , 2021

 

2. The Changi Brownlow, Roland Perry, Hachette Australia, 2010

 

3. 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion Ex Members Association

 

4. Hidden Football Histories Changi Football 1942-43

 

5. Trove 

 

6. Joe Pearce Beyond Hellfire and Back, Shirley Howell

 

7. WAFL Footy Facts

 

8. AFL Tables

 

9. Bob Uittenbroek, Membership Volunteer, East Fremantle Football Club

 

10. Rob Meredith www.footyjumpers.com for the recreations of the Victorian and Rest of Australia Team jumpers

 

And many many more

 

A detailed description of the experiences of Australians who were taken prisoner by the Japanese can be found on the Anzac Portal Site

 

 

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