Sir Ross Hutchinson, DFC (10 September 1914 – 19 December 1999) was 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, coach and politician. He played for and coached

East Fremantle East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

, West Perth and South Fremantle in the

West Australian National Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

(WANFL) before spending 27 years as a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

Early life

Hutchinson was born in

Worsley Worsley () is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county ...

in 1914. He was educated at Deanmill before attending Wesley College in Perth from the age of 14.

Football career

Hutchinson was used in a variety of positions during his football career including centreman, half back and half forward. In his first two seasons he won the Lynn Medal as East Fremantle's fairest and best player. He captain-coached the club to a premiership in 1937, as a half back flanker. The following two seasons ended in grand final losses, both to Claremont. In 1939 he was captain-coach of the Western Australian interstate football team which took on Victoria. Hutchinson sought a clearance to West Perth for the 1940 season but, because it wasn't granted by East Fremantle, he had to sit out the entire season. He was able to coach West Perth in 1941, and not only steered them to that year's premiership but also to the

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

'under-age' premiership. When he returned to coaching in 1946, following his war service, he had received the clearance he sought, which meant that he was able to take the field for West Perth and steer the club to a losing grand final. He made the move to South Fremantle in 1947 and was captain-coach of their premiership team that year, kicking two goals in the Grand Final from the half forward flank. In 1948 he again coached the club to a premiership, but he had retired as a player and it was only in an off-field capacity. Hutchinson continued as non playing coach in 1949, his final season. South Fremantle finished in third position, the only time he failed to coach a WANFL club into the grand final. Hutchinson is one of only two people to have coached three separate WA(N)FL clubs to premierships; John Todd was the other. He steered each of the clubs to premierships in his very first year. He coached 176 WANFL games in total, 72.4% of which were won.

War service

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he fought with the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

in Europe as a pilot. Hutchinson was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1944 after a bombing run on an oil refinery in Sterkrade was interrupted when his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire. He was able to return the aircraft to Britain, while managing to take valuable photographs of the intended target.

Political career

In 1950 Hutchinson successfully ran for the newly created seat of Cottesloe in the

, representing the

Liberal and Country League Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

(later the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

), and held the seat until his retirement in 1977. After

David Brand Sir David Brand KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1945 to 1975, and also the 19th and longest-serving Premi ...

led the Liberals to victory in 1959, Hutchinson was named Chief Secretary, Minister for Health and Minister for Fisheries, posts he held in both the Brand-Watts and Brand-Nalder Ministries. From May 1974 to February 1977, Hutchinson was

speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer in the Legislative Assembly. The office has existed since the creation of the Legislative Assembly in 1890 under the '' Constitution Act 1889''. The 31st and cur ...

Honours

He was knighted for services to the state of Western Australia when he retired from politics. His contribution to Australian rules football was also honoured, in 2004, when he was inducted into 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, ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Ross 1914 births 1999 deaths East Fremantle Football Club players East Fremantle Football Club coaches South Fremantle Football Club players South Fremantle Football Club coaches West Perth Football Club players West Perth Football Club coaches Australian rules footballers from Western Australia West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Speakers of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian sportsperson-politicians People educated at Wesley College, Perth Australian Knights Bachelor 20th-century Australian politicians Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force officers Australian World War II pilots