Archibald "Archie" Crofts (9 September 1875 – 20 May 1942) was an Australian politician, business owner and sports figure. Crofts was born in

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

to soldier Benjamin Crofts and Jane Hemhilswood, raised in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and educated in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, before becoming a merchant. In 1905, he owned and ran a grocery in

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

, which he expanded to include 137 branches throughout Victoria and the

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

as Crofts Stores, as well as subsidiary interests in the wholesale grocery, manufacturing grocery and wholesale dairy produce trades. Crofts was heavily involved in sporting endeavours, including

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) club

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

and

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

.'' National Advocate'', "Mr Archibald Crofts Dead", 21 May 1942, p. 6. His horses had won £22 670 by the time of his death, and his best known steeds Valiant Chief and El Golea, which won the

Newmarket Handicap The Newmarket Handicap is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race over a distance of 1200 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia on Super Saturday in March during the VRC Autumn Racing Carnival. Prize ...

in 1939. In October 1940 El Golea was shot twice while in his stall; it was thought that the shooter mistakenly believed El Golea was fellow racehorse

Beau Vite Beau Vite was a New Zealand-bred brown Thoroughbred Stallion, who developed into a grand stayer performing in New Zealand and Australia and raced from a two-year-old to a five-year-old on wet or dry tracks recording 31 wins from 5 furlongs to ...

. In late 1931 South Melbourne Football Club official Jack Rohan persuaded Crofts to become club vice-president, as Croft's wealth, stature in the local community and Protestantism would help the club (South Melbourne was primarily a Catholic club).Frost, p. 93. Crofts was elected president in 1933, serving until 1937. As President, Crofts had the financial resources to help attract star

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

ers to South Melbourne, paying them the maximum £3.00 per match allowed under the VFL's

Coulter Law In Australian rules football, The Coulter Law was a ruling instituted by the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1930 VFL season, 1930 that capped payments and outlawed signing-on bonuses and other inducements for VFL play ...

and employing many of them in his business. In all, between 1931 and 1934 South Melbourne recruited 11 players, including seven from

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. In response, a journalist jokingly suggested that South Melbourne should be known as "The Swans" (

swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

being the faunal emblem of Western Australia). Crofts was elected councillor for South Melbourne City Council's Queens Ward in 1931, serving to 1942, including a stint as mayor from 1934 to 1935. In 1935, Crofts won a by-election for

Melbourne South Province Melbourne South Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council. It was created in June 1904 when Melbourne Province was reduced in size (four members down to two) and North Yarra Province and South Yarra Province were abolish ...

in the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

, representing the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

; he transferred to the new

Monash Province Monash Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both house ...

in 1937, where he was reelected unopposed at the

1940 Victorian state election The 1940 Victorian state election was held in the Australian state of Victoria on Saturday 16 March 1940 to elect 44 of the 65 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. Background Several events had taken place since the previous state elec ...

.''Record'', "Cr. A. Crofts' Sudden End Whilst On Health Trip", 23 May 1942, p. 1. In addition to his parliamentary and council service, Crofts was heavily involved in the local community, serving as a member of the Albert Park management committee, Prince Henry's Hospital board and the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind board. Following the start of World War II, Crofts started ''Crofts Radio Revels'', a weekly concert for servicemen at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, with the programme broadcast on Melbourne radio station 3XY.

Personal life

In 1899, Crofts married Mary Keene, with whom he had five children; Reginald, Arthur, Norman, Hazel and Edna. Reginald died on 17 April 1917 after being struck by a train near

South Melbourne railway station South Melbourne was a railway station on the former St Kilda railway line, and was located in the Melbourne suburb of South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The station was adjacent to the intersection of Ferrars and Dorcas Streets, just minutes ...

.''Record'', "Railway Fatality", 12 May 1917, p. 3. After a period of poor health in 1942, Crofts travelled to Surfers Paradise,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

to recuperate, but died there on 20 May 1942.

References

Sources

* Frost, L. (2005) ''Immortals: Football people and the evolution of Australian rules'', John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.: Brisbane. . * Wallish, E.A. (1998) ''The Great Laurie Nash'', Ryan Publishing: Melbourne. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Crofts, Archibald 1875 births 1942 deaths United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council 20th-century Australian businesspeople People from Secunderabad Sydney Swans administrators