John Arthur Fihelly (7 November 1882 – 2 March 1945) was a public servant, politician and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who represented Australia, a professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer, and a founder of the

Queensland Rugby League The Queensland Rugby Football League QRL Constitution, 2009: 3 (QRL QRL Constitution, 2009: 2) is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL Commission) and selects the membe ...

Early life

Fihelly was born in

Timoleague Timoleague () is a village in the eastern division of Carbery East in County Cork, Ireland. It is located along Ireland's southern coast between Kinsale and Clonakilty, on the estuary of the Argideen River. Nearby is the village of Courtmacsher ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ireland. The family emigrated to Australia the following year. He was educated at the Petrie Terrace State School and

St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace , motto_translation = To serve God is to be wise , address = 285 Gregory Terrace , city = Brisbane , state = Queensland , postcode = 4000 , country = Australia , ...

,until 1895. He then joined the post office as a telegraph messenger. He eventually transferred to the Department of Trade and Customs.

Rugby

Fihelly was a rugby union

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

. and claimed one international rugby union cap for Australia, in 1907. He then became one of

football's founding players in Brisbane, being selected to represent Queensland during the

1907–08 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

against the visiting "All Blacks" in what were the first games of rugby league football ever played in Queensland. In 1908 he traveled to Britain on the first rugby league

Kangaroo tour Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours to ...

as assistant manager. Fihelly represented Queensland in rugby union 1905–07 against

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 ...

Politics

Fihelly got his start in 1908 when he joined the

Department of Trade and Customs The Department of Trade and Customs was an Australian government department that existed between 1901 and 1956. It was one of the inaugural government departments of Australia established at federation. History The department was one of the firs ...

as a junior clerk in its State office. In 1918 Fihelly was made secretary of railways. He was elected as the Labor member for

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembl ...

in 1912 and held several ministerial roles including Attorney-General and

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

until his resignation in 1922.

Later life

Fihelly died of a

cerebral thrombosis A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of c ...

on 2 March 1945. He deteriorated for years after fracturing his skull in September 1926 in an accident at Sandgate. Before dying, Fihelly spent time in the Dunwich Benevolent Institution. Upon his death in 1945, Fihelly was rewarded with a

State funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

at St Stephen's Cathedral and was buried in Toowong Cemetery.Fihelly John Arthur
– Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 5 January 2015. Kangaroos 1908

References

1882 births Australia international rugby union players Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league players Australian rugby union players Burials at Toowong Cemetery Deputy Premiers of Queensland Queensland rugby league team players 1945 deaths Treasurers of Queensland Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Attorneys-General of Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from County Cork {{Australia-rugbyunion-bio-stub