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George Johnston (Australian footballer)

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Not to be confused with Melbourne footballer George Johnstone (Australian footballer).

George Johnston
Personal information
Full name George Henry Johnston
Nickname(s) Cheerful
Date of birth 12 February 1877
Place of birth Sandridge, Victoria
Date of death 11 August 1945(1945-08-11) (aged 68)
Place of death Hobart, Tasmania
Original team(s) Albert Park
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1897 Carlton (VFL)   1 (0)
1899-1900 Prahran (VFA) 22 (2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1900.
Career highlights

Inaugural team captain: Prahran (VFA) 1899.

Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

George Henry Johnston (12 February 1877 – 11 August 1945) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in its first-ever match (1897) in the Victorian Football League (VFL) competition,[1] and with Prahran in its first-ever match (1899) in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) competition.

Family

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The son of John Johnston (1836-1888),[2] and Susannah Johnston (1844-1914), née Knight,[3] George Henry Johnston was born in Sandridge, Victoria on 12 February 1877.[4]

He married Edith Florence Button (1873-1933) in 1900.[5] They had four children.[6]

Football

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Carlton (VFL)

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Recruited from the Albert Park Football Club, Johnston only played once for the Carlton Football Club: against Fitzroy, at the Brunswick Street Oval, on 8 May 1987, in the first-ever round of the new Victorian Football League (VFL) competition. Three weeks later he was cleared back to Albert Park.[7]

Prahran (VFA)

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Recruited from Albert Park, Johnston played in the first-ever match that Prahran played on its re-entry into the VFA — against Richmond, at Toorak Park, on 6 May 1899 — at full-back, and as the team's captain.[8][9][10] He played in 17 matches (scoring 1 goal) in 1899, and in 5 matches (scoring 1 goal) in 1900.[11]

Recognition

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He was a Life Member of both the Prahran Football Club and the Victorian Football Association.[12]

Military service

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He enlisted in the First AIF in November 1915. He served overseas, and was wounded in action twice: in 1917,[13] and in 1918.[14][6]

Death

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He died at the Repatriation General Hospital, Hobart, on 11 August 1945.[15]

Notes

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  1. ^ Holmesby & Main (2009).
  2. ^ Deaths: Johnston, The Age, (Tuesday, 16 October 1888), p. 3.
  3. ^ Deaths: Johnston, The Age, (Wednesday, 25 March 1914), p. 1.
  4. ^ Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria Births Registration no.5251/1877.
  5. ^ Deaths: Johnston, The (Hobart) Mercury, (Monday, 17 April 1933), p. 1.
  6. ^ a b Service Record.
  7. ^ 'Wing', "Junior Jottings", The (Melbourne) Herald, (Friday, 28 May 1897), p. 7.
  8. ^ The Association: Prahran v. Richmond, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Saturday, 6 May 1899), p. 4.
  9. ^ ' Rover', "Opening of the Season at Toorak Park", The Prahran Telegraph, (Saturday, 13 May 1899), p. 2.
  10. ^ Prahran Football Team (Photograph), (Melbourne) Punch, Thursday, 29 June 1899), p. 25: Johnston is in the centre of the second row, holding the football.
  11. ^ The VFA Project.
  12. ^ Millard, P.J., "Port Melbourne need better home-game Ground", The (Melbourne) Herald, (Monday, 16 April 1945), p. 10.
  13. ^ Roll of Honor: Casualty Lists—Nos.336 & 337: Tasmanian Casualties: Wounded in Action, The (Launceston) Examiner, (Thursday, 13 September 1917), p. 7: note that he is listed as "Johnstone".
  14. ^ Roll of Honor (Casualty Lists Nos.448 & 449): Tasmanian Casualties: Wounded in Action, The (Launceston) Examiner, (Tuesday, 3 December 1918), p. 5: note (a) that he is listed as "Johnstone", and (b) that his wounding-in-action is "second occasion".
  15. ^ Deaths: Johnston, The (Hobart) Mercury, (Monday, 13 August 1945), p. 10.

References

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  • Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2009). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (8th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-921496-00-4.
  • First World War Embarkation Roll: 2nd Corporal George Henry Johnstone (sic) (1052), collection of the Australian War Memorial.
  • First World War Nominal Roll: Sergeant George Henry Johnston (1052), collection of the Australian War Memorial.
  • First World War Service Record: Sergeant George Henry Johnston (1052), collection of the National Archives of Australia.
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