The Australian Football World Tour was a series of

international rules football International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed ...

matches, organised by

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

sports broadcaster and former VFL

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per' ...

Harry Beitzel Henry John "Harry" Beitzel (6 April 1927 – 13 August 2017) was an Australian football umpire, print, radio and television sports broadcaster and media personality best known for his contribution to Australian rules football. Early sporting li ...

and Irish born Melburnian, James Harkin in 1967 and 1968.

First tour

The first team was christened " The Galahs" by the Melbourne press after a comment made by the eccentric athletics coach

Percy Cerutty Percy Wells Cerutty (10 January 189514 August 1975) was an Australian athletics coach in the 1950s and 1960s. The eccentric Australian pioneered a home-spun system of "Stotan" training, embracing a holistic regime of natural diets, hard trai ...

, having seen their garish blazers, their slouch hats, and their hats' ostentatious plumes (deliberately chosen by Beitzel to evoke comparisons with the heroes of the Australian Light Horse Regiments in the Boer War and World War I

and to the effect that they were "a pack of galahs". The name stuck. The games were played under the rules of

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

with the single exception that the Australian players were not compelled to "toe" the ball from foot to hand every few yards, and they were allowed to bounce the ball.

First tour's itinerary

Their matches, opponents, and scores were as follows: * Tuesday, 24 October 1967: The Galahs began their trip with an exhibition match of Australian rules against a

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The league is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during ...

representative side in Darwin. Played in sweltering conditions in front of a crowd of 4,000 spectators at Gardens Oval, the Galahs defeated the NTFL by 69 points, 18.15 (123) to 7.12 (54), with

Royce Hart Royce Desmond Hart (born 10 February 1948) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Regarded as one of the greatest centre half-forwards to ever play Australian ...

booting seven goals. * Saturday, 28 October 1967: Civil Service, a

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

club team, preliminary warm-up match. The Galahs won by two points. * Sunday, 29 October 1967: The 1967 All-Ireland Senior Football Champions Meath, the first touring match, played at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and h ...

, and won by The Galahs 3-16 (25) to 1-10 (13) in front of 23,149 people. * Tuesday, 31 October 1967: Exhibition match of Australian Rules Football, conducted in heavy rain, under lights, at London's

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

between "Australia" and "Britain". The Britain team was composed mainly of expatriates, plus several of The Galahs (including

Alex Jesaulenko Oleksandr "Alex" Jesaulenko ( ; uk, Олександр Васильович Єсауленко, Oleksandr Vasiliovych Yesaulenko, ; born 2 August 1945) is a former Australian rules footballer and who played for the Carlton Football Club and ...

). Australia beat Britain 101 to 75. * Saturday, 4 November: Mayo, the 1967

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning ...

winners, played at

(incidentally the first time Gaelic football was played on a Saturday afternoon at the venue), and won by The Galahs 2-12 (18) to 2-5 (11) in front of an attendance of 20,121. * Sunday, 5 November:

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, played at Gaelic Park,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The Galahs lost the match 4-8 (20) to 0-5 (5), the visitors not managing a score after half time. Hassa Mann, king-hit behind the play, had his jaw broken in three places. Ron Barassi had his nose broken by a giant New York narcotics detective (Brendan Tumulty), who broke his own thumb in the process of hitting Barassi.

1967 touring party

Original selections

(Ex-umpire), promoter

Ron Barassi Ronald Dale Barassi Jr. (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player to be inaugurated into ...

( Carlton, playing coach
Bob Skilton (

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...

)
Herb Matthews, Jr.(

)

Stuart Magee Stuart Michael Magee (born 13 October 1943, in Northern Ireland) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Magee, who played as a centreman and rover, made hi ...

(

)

Norm Brown Norman Brown (6 August 1943 – 1 December 2022) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the VFL. Football Fitzroy (VFL) Brown joined Fitzroy from North Heidelberg in 1962. Known for his size (191 cm), physical st ...

( Fitzroy)
Hassa Mann (

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

)

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number ...

(

)
Barry Davis (

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 ...

)

Ken Fraser Ken Fraser (born 17 February 1940) is a former Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League (VFL). Originally recruited from the Essendon Baptists St John's club (which has since merged with Ascot Vale Presbyterians to b ...

(

)
John Dugdale (

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...

)
Laurie Dwyer (

)

(

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

)

Paddy Guinane Patrick Guinane (31 January 1939 – 8 December 2019) was an Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1958 and 1968 for the Richmond Football Club. Football career ''Paddy'' Guinane was a powe ...

(

)

Bill Barrot William Thomas Barrot (6 May 1944 – 29 November 2016) was a professional Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL), the South Australian Football League (SANFL) and the Victorian Football Association ...

(

)

Neville Crowe Neville Crowe (1 June 1937 – 2 September 2016) was an Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1950s and 1960s. He also served as club president from 1987 to 1993, and was at the forefront ...

(

)

( Carlton)
John Nicholls ( Carlton)

John Jillard John Jillard (28 March 1941 – 28 December 1998) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Latrobe Football Club in the North West Football Union The North Wes ...

( Footscray)
Graeme Chalmers ( Footscraybr>

Ian Law Ian Law (born 27 September 1938) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). A rover, Law won the Hawthorn Best and fairest award in just his second year of VFL fo ...

(

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

) Later additions to original selections

Bob Keddie Robert Mackay Keddie (born 10 May 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and West Adelaide, South Adelaide and Glenelg in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). ...

(

)
Peter Body ( Sydney Naval

Roger Dean (

)

Second tour

In 1968, a second representative team, consisting of elite players from 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 ...

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. O ...

West Australian 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 ...

and the

Victorian Football Association 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 ...

, was undefeated in the series, playing against

teams at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

and

, Meath, Kerry and

were among the opponents. The Galahs also played exhibition matches of

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 ...

throughout the tour, including a game in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

1968 touring party

Victorian Football League

(Ex-umpire, promoter)

( Carlton, playing coach)
Kevin Bartlett (

)
Gary Dempsey ( Footscray)
John Dugdale (

)

Bob Farmer Robert 'Bob' Farmer (born 2 June 1947) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s. A centre half forward, Farmer was aged just 16 years and 363 days when he made ...

( Collingwood)

(Richmond)

Peter Hudson Peter John Hudson AM (born 19 February 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the New Norfolk Football Club and Glenorchy Football Club in the T ...

(

)
Sydney Jackson (Carlton)

(Carlton)
R. Tassie Johnson (

)
Don McKenzie (

)

Des Meagher Desmond Meagher (7 March 1944 – 9 March 2011) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Football career Meagher was a left-footed wingman, recruited to Hawthorn from Old Xaverians. He ...

(Hawthorn)
John Nicholls (Carlton)

Daryl O'Brien Daryl Ernest O'Brien (born 10 September 1941) is a former Australian rules footballer who played 135 games for the North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s. A tenacious utility player who often started on the hal ...

(North Melbourne)

Bryan Quirk Bryan Quirk (born 26 December 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League. He was recruited from Morwell Football Club in the then Latrobe Valley Football League. He was Collingwood fan as a child. Quirk ma ...

(Carlton)

Wayne Richardson Wayne Richardson (born 8 December 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League. Collingwood Football Club snared Wayne Richardson from South Fremantle Football Club in 1965 before he had made his senio ...

(Collingwood)
Brian Roet (Melbourne)

John Sharrock John Sharrock (born 16 February 1944) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the VFL during the 1960s. Football Sharrock played most of his career as a half forward flanker and was a premiership player in 1963, hi ...

(

Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...

)
David Thorpe (Footscray) South Australian National Football League

John Birt John Birt, Baron Birt (born 10 December 1944) is a British television executive and businessman. He is a former Director-General (1992–2000) of the BBC. After a successful career in commercial television, initially at Granada Television an ...

( West Torrens)

Neil Kerley Donald Neil Kerley (20 February 1934 – 29 June 2022) was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He is best known for taking three clubs to four South Australian National Football League (SANFL) premierships over three decades as both a p ...

( Glenelg) West Australian Football League
David Dyson ( West Perth)

Graham Farmer Graham Vivian "Polly" Farmer (10 March 1935 14 August 2019) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the East Perth Football Club and West Perth Football Club in th ...

(West Perth)

Murray Leeder Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

(West Perth)

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...

(

Swan Districts The Swan Districts Football Club, nicknamed the Swans, is an Australian rules football club playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). The club is based at Bassendean Oval, in Bassendean, an eastern suburb ...

)
John Wynne (West Perth) Victorian Football Association
Fred Bayes ( Box Hill)
Geoff Bryant (Box Hill)
Trevor Collins (

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This ...

)

Gary Fenton Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Uni ...

( Sandringham)
Geoff Slade ( Frankston) Other leagues
Mike O'Brien (

Redan Redan (a French word for "projection", "salient") is a feature of fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped salient angle towards an expected attack. It can be made from earthworks or other material. The redan developed from the lunette, o ...

Ballarat Football League The Ballarat Football League (BFL) is an Australian rules football competition that operates in the Ballarat region of Victoria, Australia. The competition formed in 1893 as the Ballarat Football Association and was renamed Ballarat Football ...

)
Greg Tootell ( Caulfield Grammarians,

VAFA The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria. It consists of seven senior men's and women's divisions ranging from Premier to Division 4. In addition there ...

)Rundle, N., "250 Up to Caulfield Veteran", ''The Amateur Footballer'', (Saturday, 30 July 1977), p.9

Roger Hoggett (AFL NSW/ACT, NSW)

Notes

References

* Burke, P., "Harry and the Galahs: Remembering the Meeting of Two Football Codes Thirty Years On", ''Australian Society for Sports History Bulletin'', Vol. 29, (1998), pp. 9–1

* Ross, J. (ed), ''100 Years of Australian Football 1897-1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.

External links

Super8 film taken during the 1968 tour by one of the players (Daryl O'Brien, North Melbourne)
{{International Rules Series 1967 in Australian rules football, World Tour 1968 in Australian rules football, World Tour 1967 in Gaelic football 1968 in Gaelic football International rules football