Joseph Coates (13 November 1844 – 9 September 1896) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n schoolmaster and

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.

Early life

Coates was born in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of Joseph, a cordwainer, and his wife Ellen. While at

Huddersfield College Huddersfield New College is a former grammar school and current sixth form college located in Salendine Nook on the outskirts of Huddersfield, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The current principal is Angela Williams. On 17 May 2016 the ...

he gained medals for mathematics and classics and matriculated to the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

School master

Instead of taking up his university place, Coates sailed 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 ...

in 1864 and became an assistant master at the newly founded

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. In 1873 he moved to Fort Street School and after serving in schools at

West Maitland Maitland () is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. It is on the New England ...

and

William Street, Sydney William Street is a major thoroughfare in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The street was named in honour of King William IV and was gazetted in 1834. Route and features The street's eastern terminus is located on the boundary between K ...

he became headmaster of Fort Street in 1876. He served only six months at Fort Street before briefly visiting England, and in 1877 he succeeded Dr Michael Howe as headmaster of Newington. During Coates's six years there Newington moved in 1880 from

Silverwater Silverwater is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Silverwater is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district on the southern bank of the Parramatta River within the local governme ...

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, at high. The district, which ...

and enrolments trebled. Under Coates's guidance the college established a high reputation for sport and for scholarship. He was the first captain in its cadet corps and in 1869 Newington became the first Australian school to play

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 ...

in a match against the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. Coates played in both the Rugby and cricket teams and was an important influence on two Old Newingtonians who were early members of the

Australia national cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) an ...

–

Tom Garrett Thomas William Garrett (26 July 1858 – 6 August 1943) was an early Australian Test cricketer and, later, a distinguished public servant. Early life Tom Garrett was the second son of a newspaper proprietor and politician who bore the same n ...

and Edwin Evans. In September 1883 Coates successfully applied for the headmastership of the newly founded

Sydney Boys' High School , motto_translation = With Truth and Courage , established = , location = Cleveland Street, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pu ...

. Of the six public high schools begun in 1883 only three survived their early years, and the success of Sydney Boys' High School was due in large measure to Coates's dedication, leadership and inspiration. Several country boys were able to attend the school only because he took them as boarders in his own home. Despite a reputation as a stern disciplinarian he was highly esteemed and respected by his pupils, who responded to his deep knowledge of boys and to his rare gift for teaching. In 1892 High moved from

Elizabeth Street, Sydney Elizabeth Street is a major street in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The street continues south of the central business district (CBD), through the inner city suburbs of Surry Hills, Redfern and Waterloo ...

to a new site at Ultimo. Coates retired in June 1896. After two severe strokes he died at his home in

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 ...

. He was survived by his wife Rebekah, whom he had married in 1880, and by two of their three children.

Cricketer

Much of Coates's prestige with the boys derived from his prowess as a sportsman. To him a school was much more than an academy, and both at Newington and at Sydney High he gave every encouragement to sport, arranging matches with other schools and outside bodies. As captain of the

New South Wales cricket team The New South Wales men's cricket team (formerly named NSW Blues) are an Australian men's professional first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales. The team competes in the Australian first class cricket competition known as the ...

Coates played some 32 matches against other colonies and English touring teams. A sound batsman and fine slow bowler, he is credited with the introduction of the

yorker In cricket, a yorker is a ball bowled (a delivery) which hits the cricket pitch around the batsman's feet. When a batsman assumes a normal stance, this generally means that the cricket ball bounces on the cricket pitch on or near the batsman's ...

in Australia. He was a founder and benefactor of the

New South Wales Cricket Association Cricket NSW (officially known as the ''New South Wales Cricket Association'') is an Australian sporting association that administers cricket in New South Wales. It is based at the Sydney Olympic Park. The New South Wales Blues, the New South Wa ...

and an original life member of the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

References

Bibliography

* Dunlop, E.W. "A note on Joseph Coates", JRAHS, 54. Sydney, 1968. * Macmillan, D.S. "Newington College 1863-1963". Sydney, 1963 * Swain, P.L. "Newington Across the Years 1893-1998". Sydney, 1999. * Pollard, Jack, "Australian Cricket: 1803-1893', The Formative Years". Sydney, The Book Company, 1995. () * Pollard, Jack, "Australian Cricket: The Game and the Players". Sydney, Hodder & Stoughton, 1982. ()

External links

* Dunlop, E.W.
Coates, Joseph (1844–1896)
,

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...