Matthew Stanley McKenzie (17 May 1890 – 8 December 1915) was an Australian

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

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.

Family

The son of Henry McKenzie (1850–1929), and Jane Danks McKenzie, née Young, Matthew Stanley McKenzie was born in

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...

on 17 May 1890. His brother, George Frank McKenzie (1892-), was awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

in 1915.

Education

He was educated at

Scotch College, Launceston (I will find a way to higher things.) , established = 1886 (MLC)1901 (Scotch)1979 (Amalgamation) , type = Independent, co-educational, day and boarding , denomination = in association with the Unit ...

Cricket

A right-handed opening batsman, he played five first-class matches for

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

between 1910 and 1913.

Football

McKenzie was also an accomplished footballer, and he represented Tasmania at the

1911 Adelaide Carnival The 1911 Adelaide Carnival was the second edition of the Australasian Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It took place from 2 to 12 August at Adelaide Oval. A crowd of 20,000 witnessed South Australia convin ...

. He played club football for Launceston in the Northern Tasmanian Football Association in the early 1910s. He was part of the team which forfeited the 1913 Tasmanian State Premiership match, and he along with team-mates were consequently issued amateur sports suspensions by the

Tasmanian Football League The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the "Tasmanian Football League (TFL)" (formerly known as the "Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL)" and several other short-term names) is the highest ranked Australian ru ...

, which became a major off-field dispute between Northern Tasmania and Southern Tasmania in the months that followed. In the fall-out, when McKenzie was selected by the Northern Tasmanian Cricket Association (which refused to recognise the validity of the suspension) to play for the North XI in an intrastate cricket match against the South XI team in December 1913, the South called off the match. He moved to Victoria at the start of 1914, and joined both the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

and the Carlton Cricket Club. His senior VFL career with Carlton did not begin until June 1914, when the dispute in Tasmania had ended and his suspension was lifted. He played 14 VFL games for the year, including a Preliminary Final, but he was omitted from the winning 1914 Grand Final team on form. McKenzie's final game for Carlton was in the

1914 Championship of Australia The 1914 Championship of Australia was an Australian rules football match that took place on 3 October 1914. The championship was contested by the premiers of the VFL, Carlton and the premiers of the SAFL, Port Adelaide. The match was played a ...

match against .

Military service

McKenzie enlisted with the First AIF (on 17 November 1914) as a medical orderly. He was a Sergeant with the 1st Australian Clearing Hospital, First A.I.F., and spent some time at Gallipoli before being moved to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

in Egypt.

Death

He died of

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

on the hospital ship HMHS ''Gloucester Castle'', in Alexandria Harbour, Egypt, on 8 December 1915,Deaths: McKenzie, ''The Launceston Examiner'', (Monday, 27 December 1915), p.1.
/ref> and was buried at the Alexandria (Chatby) Military Cemetery.

Footnotes

References

* Main, J. & Allen, D., "McKenzie, Stan", pp. 125–128 in Main, J. & Allen, D., ''Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War'', Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002.
World War One Embarkation Roll: Private Matthew Stanley McKenzie (1459)
Collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.
World War One Service Record: Sergeant Matthew Stanley McKenzie (1459), ''National Archives of Australia''.

Roll of Honour: Sergeant Matthew Stanley McKenzie (1459)
''Australian War Memorial''.
Roll of Honour Circular: Sergeant Matthew Stanley McKenzie (1459)
Collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.
Sergeant Matthew Stanley McKenzie (1459)
''Commonwealth War Graves Commission''.
Australian Casualties: 129th List Issued: Died of Illness: Tasmania: Sgt. M. S. McKenzie, ''The Argus'', (Tuesday, 4 January 1916), p.8.

at ''Tasmanian War Casualties''.

External links

*
Blueseum Biography: Stan McKenzie

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Stanley 1890 births 1915 deaths Australian Army soldiers Australian cricketers Australian military personnel killed in World War I Australian rules footballers from Launceston, Tasmania Carlton Football Club players Cricketers from Launceston, Tasmania Launceston Football Club players Tasmania cricketers