William Augustus Bateman (11 September 1866 – 27 July 1935) was a businessman, an Australian sportsman who played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

for

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 ...

and Australian rules football in the Western Australian Football Association (WAFA). He was the captain of the Swans Football Club - the first Australian Rules Football team in Western Australia. He came from one of the founding families of Western Australia and his grandson

Alan Bateman William Alan Bateman (19 June 1936 – 18 August 2012) was an Australian film producer and television screenwriter, producer and director best known as the creator and original executive producer of the soap opera '' Home and Away'', the ser ...

created the TV soap '' Home and Away''.A Tribute to Alan Bateman (1936–2012)
WA TV HIstory, accessed 25 August 2013

Life

Bateman was born in Fremantle in 1866. He worked for J & W Bateman which was a general supply company created by his father John Bateman (1824–1909) and his uncle, Walter Bateman, six years before this Bateman was born.Title: Death of Mr. W. A. Bateman Author: West Australian Staff Writer Publisher: The West Australian (Perth, WA: 1879 - 1954) Date: Monday, 29 July 1935, p.15 (Article) Web: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32862964 Bateman was descended from John Bateman (1789–1855) who had been here in 1830 only a year after the colony was founded. Bateman took a leading role in establishing Australian rules football in Western Australia. A key meeting was held at Flindells Hotel in Fremantle in 1883 when a new football club was formed with Bateman as captain to play the Australian game. On 30 March 1883 the Swans Football Club was formed which had to organise games where possible as there was no league at that time. Although educated at

Prince Alfred College , motto_translation = Do Brave Deeds and Endure , established = 1869 , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boarding , headmaster = David Roberts , chaplain = Reverend ...

in Adelaide, Bateman played his two first-class matches for Western Australia, debuting against his former state at the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby le ...

in March 1893. He dismissed opener Alfred Wilkinson for 12 and bowled future Test player

Clem Hill Clement "Clem" Hill (18 March 18775 September 1945) was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five. A prolifi ...

for a duck with the ball and was then his team's second top run scorer in their first innings with 20 before Ernie Jones trapped him leg before wicket. Western Australia followed on and Bateman was dismissed for just one in the second innings. A few days later he appeared again in a match against

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 ...

at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He struggled to have an impact as he failed to take a wicket and scored a duck in his only innings. Bateman didn't get an opportunity in the second innings as he was absent hurt. Bateman became an influential Australian rules football identity in Western Australia. He spent 10 seasons in the WAFA, playing in an unprecedented eight premierships. As their inaugural captain, Bateman started out at the original Fremantle Football Club in 1885. Two years later they disbanded and he moved to the Unions Football Club, which was renamed Fremantle Football Club in 1890. Bateman married and had five children. He died on Saturday 27 July 1935 at his home in Bulls Creek in Perth. He was inducted as one of the initial members of the

West Australian Football Hall of Fame The West Australian Football Hall of Fame was created in 2002 to recognise and enshrine those who have made a significant contribution to Australian rules football in Western Australia. People eligible for inclusion are players, coaches, umpires, ...

in 2004. Bateman's grandson

was a TV executive who started the TV soap '' Home and Away''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bateman, Bill 1866 births 1935 deaths Australian cricketers Australian rules footballers from Fremantle Cricketers from Fremantle Fremantle Football Club (1882–1886) players People educated at Prince Alfred College West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Western Australia cricketers