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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'This is the story of Tom Wills - flawed genius, sporting libertine, fearless leader and agitator, and the man most often credited with creating the game we now know as Australian Rules football.
'Sent to the strict British Rugby School in 1850 at fourteen, Tom returned as a worldly young man whose cricket prowess quickly captured the hearts of Melburnians. But away from the adoring crowds, in the desolation of the Queensland outback, he experienced first-hand the devastating effects of racial tension when his father was murdered in the biggest massacre of Europeans by Aboriginal people. Yet five years later, Tom coached the first Aboriginal cricket team.
'Tom Wills lived hard and fast, challenging authority on and off the field. But when his physical talents began to fade, the psychological demons that alcohol and adrenaline had kept at bay surged to the fore, driving him to commit the most brutal of suicides. He was forty-four and destitute.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Dedication: For Heather, Eve and Willem.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Untitled
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , June vol. 40 no. 2 2009; (p. 262-263)
— Review of Tom Wills : His Spectacular Rise and Tragic Fall 2008 single work biography -
Narrow Punts Miss the Mark
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 27 September 2008; (p. 20)
— Review of Tom Wills : His Spectacular Rise and Tragic Fall 2008 single work biography -
Caught in Possession
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , September vol. 3 no. 8 2008; (p. 18)
— Review of Tom Wills : His Spectacular Rise and Tragic Fall 2008 single work biography ; Griffith Taylor : Visionary, Environmentalist, Explorer 2008 single work biography -
Brilliant Sportsman Took a Tumble in the Field of Life
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2-3 August 2008; (p. 12-13)
— Review of Tom Wills : His Spectacular Rise and Tragic Fall 2008 single work biography
-
Brilliant Sportsman Took a Tumble in the Field of Life
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2-3 August 2008; (p. 12-13)
— Review of Tom Wills : His Spectacular Rise and Tragic Fall 2008 single work biography -
Caught in Possession
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , September vol. 3 no. 8 2008; (p. 18)
— Review of Tom Wills : His Spectacular Rise and Tragic Fall 2008 single work biography ; Griffith Taylor : Visionary, Environmentalist, Explorer 2008 single work biography -
Narrow Punts Miss the Mark
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 27 September 2008; (p. 20)
— Review of Tom Wills : His Spectacular Rise and Tragic Fall 2008 single work biography -
Untitled
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , June vol. 40 no. 2 2009; (p. 262-263)
— Review of Tom Wills : His Spectacular Rise and Tragic Fall 2008 single work biography
Awards
- 2009 shortlisted 'The Nib': CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature
- 2009 co-winner 'The Nib': CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature — The Alex Buzo Shortlist Prize
- 2009 shortlisted National Biography Award
- Victoria,
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cEngland,ccUnited Kingdom (UK),cWestern Europe, Europe,
- Queensland,
- 1800-1899