George Jeremiah Patrick O'Mullane (3 December 1842 – 20 December 1866) was an Australian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and

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 ...

er. Born and raised in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

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 ...

, O'Mullane was a standout cricketer from an early age, and came to be regarded as his colony's premier

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

. During the winter months, he excelled as a footballer in the nascent Australian game, receiving praise for his courage and strength. O'Mullane's promising career was cut short when he died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, aged 24.

Family and early years

O'Mullane was born in

on 3 December 1842, of Anglo-Celtic descent. He was one of five siblings. His father, Dr. Arthur O'Mullane of

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland, graduated as a

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1838. The following year, he arrived in Australia's

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

aboard the ''William Metcalfe'' on 15 November, along with Miss Maria Elizabeth Barber, formerly of Keyingham near Hull,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, whom he married in 1840. They settled in Melbourne, and Arthur established himself as a leading physician in the fledgling port city, taking up government and medical positions, and was one of the first honorary physicians elected to the

Melbourne Hospital The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), located in Parkville, Victoria, an inner suburb of Melbourne, is one of Australia's leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research. Th ...

. He took up land speculation and became part-owner of the ''

Port Phillip Gazette There were two Australian periodicals called The ''Port Phillip Gazette.'' The first was the second newspaper published in Melbourne, in the then Port Phillip District and what is now Victoria, Australia. It was first published by Thomas Strode ...

'' in the 1840s, and in 1852, purchased the

Bourke Street Bourke Street is one of the main streets in the Melbourne central business district and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and tr ...

residence of

Sir Redmond Barry Sir Redmond Barry, (7 June 181323 November 1880), was a colonial judge in Victoria, Australia of Anglo-Irish origins. Barry was the inaugural Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, serving from 1853 until his death in 1880. He is arguably ...

, the famous

Supreme Court Judge A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and founder of the

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...

. Around this time, Elizabeth O'Mullane and her children, including George, were depicted in a family portrait by colonial artist William Strutt, now held at the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

. George, along with his brother Arthur, attended the

Melbourne Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denominatio ...

, and each successively captained the school's cricket team. One of their classmates,

John Conway John Horton Conway (26 December 1937 – 11 April 2020) was an English mathematician active in the theory of finite groups, knot theory, number theory, combinatorial game theory and coding theory. He also made contributions to many branches ...

, also excelled at cricket, and would go on to play for

alongside George.Victoria v New South Wales in 1865/66
CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 May 2016.

Cricket

O'Mullane joined the East Melbourne Cricket Club, which he went on to regularly captain, and was soon recognised as Victoria's premier

. In 1861, while still a student at Melbourne Grammar School, O'Mullane represented Victoria against

H. H. Stephenson Heathfield Harman "HH" Stephenson (3 May 1833 in Esher, Surrey – 17 December 1896 in Uppingham, Rutland) was a famous English cricketer during the game's roundarm era. Stephenson bowled right-arm fast roundarm, batted right-handed and was an ...

's XI, the first

English cricket team The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engla ...

to tour Australia. It was during these matches against the English that O'Mullane's abilities as a cricketer were first widely recognised, and it was remarked that he played "as coolly as a veteran.""Cricket. The Past Season"
''The Australasian'' (Melbourne). 15 June 1867. p. 12. Retrieved 3 May 2016. O'Mullane was reported as being "up country" when George Parr's

All-England Eleven In English cricket since the first half of the 18th century, various ''ad hoc'' teams have been formed for short-term purposes which have been called England (or sometimes "All-England"; i.e., in the sense of "the rest of England") to play against, ...

was in Melbourne during the 1863–64 season, and therefore missed out on playing against the tourists. When several professional members of the Victoria XI defected to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

ahead of the December 1865 intercolonial match between the two colonies, O'Mullane was selected to play for Victoria at the insistence of its captain,

Tom Wills Thomas Wentworth Wills (19 August 1835 – 2 May 1880) was an Australian sportsman who is credited with being Australia's first cricketer of significance and a founder of Australian rules football. Born in the British penal colony of New ...

. O'Mullane put in a career-best performance behind the wickets and ended on 33

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

in a thrilling

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...

with Wills, who scored the first

half century One half ( : halves) is the irreducible fraction resulting from dividing one by two or the fraction resulting from dividing any number by its double. Multiplication by one half is equivalent to division by two, or "halving"; conversely, ...

in intercolonial cricket (58), leading Victoria to an against-the-odds win. It was to be O'Mullane's solitary first-class appearance. O'Mullane played in his last club cricket match in October 1866. A left-handed batsman, O'Mullane played without any pretense to style according to cricketer and journalist

William Hammersley William Josiah Sumner Hammersley (25 September 1826 – 15 November 1886) was an English-born first-class cricketer and sports journalist in Victoria, Australia, one of the four men credited with setting down the original rules of Australian rule ...

, but "was a hard, determined hitter ... a very fast run-getter, and fond of taking liberties with the bowling." He was not the most elegant wicket-keeper, but "hard as nails", unflinching and equally good on the

leg side The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket. It is the side of the field that corresponds to the batsman's non-dominant hand, from their perspective. From the point of view of a righ ...

as on the off. Though he could successfully keep wicket for all types of bowlers, he had a perceived preference for

pacemen Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

."The Cricketers of Victoria: George O'Mullane"
''The Australasian'' (Melbourne). 23 June 1866. p. 11. Retrieved 3 March 2016. As a captain, wrote ''

The Australasian The ''Australasian Post'', commonly called the ''Aussie Post'', was Australia's longest-running weekly picture magazine. History and profile Its origins are traceable to Saturday, 3 January 1857, when the first issue of ''Bell's Life in Victoria ...

'', O'Mullane was prone to causing disputes with an "energy of character" that was not always "tempered by tact and discretion". At his club, East Melbourne, he was considered "a bit of a '

martinet The martinet (OED ''s.v.'' ''martinet'', ''n.''2, "'' N.E.D.'' (1905) gives the pronunciation as (mā·ɹtinėt) /ˈmɑːtɪnɪt/ .") is a punitive device traditionally used in France and other parts of Europe. The word also has other usages, des ...

' ... but all the same a real good skipper."

Football

In August 1858, O'Mullane played for Melbourne Grammar against Scotch College in what is claimed by some to be the first match of

. This 40-a-side contest, played over three consecutive Saturdays on the

Richmond Paddock Yarra Park (35.469 hectares) is part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct, the premier sporting precinct of Victoria, Australia. Located in Yarra Park is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and numerous sporting fields and ovals, in ...

next to the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

, ended in a draw with each team scoring one goal. One spectator recalled: While O'Mullane represented several football clubs during his career (as was common in those days), including St Kilda and

, he is most often associated with

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popul ...

. Apart from being a standout player, O'Mullane also worked as a club administrator and umpired matches between other teams. In May 1866, when the code was updated at a meeting of eight club delegates chaired by

H. C. A. Harrison Henry Colden Antill Harrison (16 October 1836 – 2 September 1929) was an athlete and Australian rules footballer who played a leading role in pioneering the sport. Harrison's cousin, champion cricketer Tom Wills, captained an early incarnat ...

, O'Mullane was one of two players appointed to represent South Yarra. In September of that year, in his last match, he captained the club to victory against Melbourne to gain permanent possession of the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

. The club's fortunes declined soon after his death four months later and South Yarra folded at the start of 1873, having not won a match since 1868. O'Mullane "loved nothing more than a rough, tough, energetic game", and it was said that only Tom Wills could match his "pluck and skill" as a footballer. According to a teammate, O'Mullane's reputation as a first-rate

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

was enough to dissuade the opposition from getting into melees with his club. Harrison remembered O'Mullane as a strong, but good-tempered player, and stated that "it was a pleasure to meet him on the football field—even when the meeting was shoulder to shoulder, and you happened to get the trifle worst of it." O'Mullane was retrospectively named a " Champion of the Colony" for 1861 in early football historian C. C. Mullen's subjective season-by-season ranking of players, and in ''The Australian Game of Football Since 1858'' (2008), published by the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

, he was placed among the five best players of the 1860s. There have been calls for O'Mullane to be inducted into the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...

, along with other "neglected heroes" of the game's pioneering phase.

Death

O'Mullane died of

at his East Melbourne residence on 20 December 1866, aged twenty-four. His obituary in ''The Australasian'' remembered him as "undoubtedly the best wicket-keeper Victoria has produced", and stated that "it would be difficult to name his superior t footballin the colony"."Death of Mr. George O'Mullane"
''The Australasian'' (Melbourne). 29 December 1866. p. 5. Retrieved 3 May 2016. William Hammersley agreed:

References

Bibliography