Lines of argument or considered opinion were not developed. Tom’s attitude was “I’m the best - why wouldn’t you do what I say?” The attitude of bodies like the committee of the Melbourne Cricket Club was, “You’re our employee – you’ll do as wesay”.Well here are three things I know about the debate as to whether Aboriginal football was played at Moyston. The Languages and Customs of Several Tribes of Aborigines in the Western District of Victoria, Australia … is one of Victoria’s treasures. Number one – the local Aboriginal people, the Tjapwurrung, had their own word for football. His father Horatio has been the first white settler in the Ararat region, arriving in or around 1838.Horatio Wills believed he could persuade the local Aboriginal people of his friendly intentions. His family, who believed Tom’s abilities in life were limited to bats and balls, sent up his younger brother to oversee him.And thus the game we call AFL was born.But Tom lost the political battle over control of the Aboriginal team just as he lost every political battle of his life. Tom Wills is such a figure in every respect.Although you may not be fully aware of the fact, allow me to tell you that you have rendered a greater service to the aboriginal races of this country and to humanity, than any man who has hitherto attempted to uphold the title of the blacks to rank amongst men.I now deeply vainly deplore my want of a mathematical and classical education. Tom Wills knew Tjapwurrung songs, he knew Tjapwurrung dances. In 1851 the first intercolonial match was played at Launceston between the Gentlemen of Port Phillip and the Gentlemen of Van Diemen’s Land.With new financial backers attracted by the money-making aspects of the scheme, the idea of sending the team to England was pursued and, under the guidance of Hayman and the coaching of Lawrence, the team left Sydney in February 1868. Down the hill to the east is an area of flat land with a small waterway running through it. The Johnny Mullagh memorial trophy is named in his honour and the Johnny Mullagh Cricket Centre has been established in Harrow, Victoria.In May 1868 the first Australian cricket team arrived in England for a series of matches.The team consisted of 13 Aboriginal men from the western district of Victoria. These ‘Aboriginal sports’ often drew large crowds due to their novelty and the players’ skill.The tour made headlines in England and Australia and continues to be a significant moment in Australia’s cricketing history, racial relations and national identity.ABN 70 592 297 967 | The National Museum of Australia is an Australian Government Agency1868: Aboriginal cricket team tours EnglandWith the assistance of Tom Wills, who coached and played for the team, Hayman arranged a match in Melbourne to take place on Boxing Day 1866. The Jardwadjali, Gunditjmara and Wotjobaluk men were coached and captained by an ex all-England cricketer, Charles Lawrence. Premiership Club. He would have been the first Australian captain to have won at Lord’s and his life would have made some sort of sense. I went to see a traditional Aboriginal football carnival with 32 communities competing. After developing their participation in the game an Aboriginal team from Western Victoria was invited to play the Melbourne Cricket Club on the MCG on Boxing Day in 1866.In 2004 the Johnny Mullagh Cricket Centre was opened in Harrow. Whatever his inner world was, he rarely let it be known. Horatio’s political career had stalled because he was the son of a convict so he decided he would head out again to the frontier, which now lay in Queensland, and take Tom with him and make a man of him. Within a few minutes the place was deserted and the ball was left sitting in the red sand.And, thirdly, the closest living person to the whole Tom Wills story is Lawton Wills Cooke, now into his 90s and here in Melbourne. He also achieved four stumpings while playing as wicketkeeper.A poster was produced as part of the promotion of the 1868 tour that depicted each of the players and managers. Yet five years later, Tom coached the first Aboriginal cricket team. With Tom in the team, they almost certainly would have won. It’s built in a square with a hollow interior to assist with its defence in the event of attack. It was the first intimation of a cricket match between the MCC and an Aboriginal team from Victoria's Western District. Tom Wills lived hard and fast, challenging authority on and off the field. Charles Lawrence, an ex-all England player who remained in Australia after the 1861–62 tour, took over coaching the team and raised enough funds for the players to return to Victoria.Each of the Aboriginal players is identified and is shown either in a traditional cricket stance or holding an Indigenous weapon, such as a boomerang or a spear. And, at 52, she died last year of heart failure.I want to talk today about the most moving game of football I saw last year. For a boy who loved games, it must have been like seeing the circus come to town. I can tell you that while I’ve met whitefellers who can speak Aboriginal languages, I’ve never met one who grew up speaking the Aboriginal language for the place he grew up in.Five days later, Moyston Willaura played for and won their first premiership. His punctuation was idiosyncratic.