James Carvel McColl, (17 June 1933 – 5 October 2013) was a distinguished contributor to Australian agricultural and resource-based industries and an

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 who played with

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

in the

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).

Family

James Carvel McColl was born in Carlton, Victoria in 1933, the second of three children of Norman and Christina McColl, stalwarts of the Strathmore Presbyterian Church. He attended Essendon Grammar before becoming a boarder at the Geelong College, excelling in several sports. He graduated in Agricultural Science at the University of Melbourne in 1956 before joining the Victorian Department of Agriculture.

Football

Jim McColl was a tall player and an aspirant for the centre half back position at Essendon, but only played a total of three senior games over four years. He finished third in the

Gardiner Medal {{Use Australian English, date=January 2018 The Gardiner Medal was an Australian rules football award, formerly awarded to the best and fairest player in the VFL Reserves competition. Officially named the Seconds prior to 1959 and the Reserves fr ...

, awarded to the

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

player in the VFL reserves competition, in 1954 and in 1957 he won Essendon's reserves best and fairest award. McColl also played in the country for City United in the

Goulburn Valley Football League The Goulburn Valley Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia. It is a member of the Victorian Country Football League and has won the Victorian Co ...

, and was captain-coach of

Katamatite Katamatite is a town in Victoria, Australia about 46 kilometres north east of Shepparton. At the , Katamatite had a population of 433. Katamatite is located in the Murray Valley irrigation area. Township buildings were erected in 1877 and the ...

and

Strathmerton Strathmerton is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the Shire of Moira local government area on the Murray Valley Highway and Goulburn Valley Highway, about west of Cobram. At the , Strathmerton had a population of 1072. History ...

Agriculture

McColl's work in the fields of agricultural policy and water management led to a number of awards, including election in 1989 as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Agriculture Scientists and Technologists and in 2010, Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society. In 2005 Jim McColl was awarded the Eureka Prize for land and water research jointly with Professor Mike Young, University of Adelaide. In 2013 McColl was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia "for distinguished service to primary industry through policy and strategy advisory roles in the agricultural, fisheries and natural resource sector, and to conservation and the environment".

Notes

External links

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Essendon Football Club past player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:McColl, Jim 1933 births 2013 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Essendon Football Club players People educated at Geelong College University Blacks Football Club players People from Carlton, Victoria Australian agriculturalists