RENOWNED
SPORT JOURNALIST & HISTORIAN TED SIMMONS
HEADING TO HOBART
A not-to-be-missed event for Soccer fans!
Richly illustrated book chronicles the rise of the beautiful game in Australia
On Thursday, 15th February The Hobart Bookshop in Salamanca Square will host an exclusive Meet and Greet event with the author of a landmark new book that sheds light on the origins of Football in Australia.
Legendary journalist,
athlete, referee and sports administrator Ted Simmons, OAM has released
a 336-page coffee-table book chronicling the rise of the beautiful game in
this country.
The richly illustrated volume contains a wealth of facts and figures about the evolution of both the men’s and women’s game in Australia, intermingled with fascinating insights and entertaining anecdotes. It includes the names, photos and stories of hundreds of players and officials – the men and women who pioneered the game in Tasmania and every other State and Territory.
It was originally thought the game first came to Tasmania about 1898 when visiting navy and merchant seamen would play against the stationed army units at the Anglesea Barracks in Hobart. However, research by historian Ian Syson has revealed that at least two games of soccer were played in Hobart in 1879 between local clubs.
Simmons’ book also reveals that due to a mix-up in dates, a 1923 match in Launceston against a visiting South China Football Association team was played at Danbury Park Trotting Club on the West Tamar – resulting in a trotting meeting going on the outside track and an international soccer match on the sports field inside the track!
In addition to comprehensive coverage of the men’s game, the book contains little-known facts about the birth of women's football a century ago, when the very first women's match in Australia was played in Sydney. While researching the history of the men's game in Australia Simmons found a disappointing lack of information about women's football.
"There are many books and lots of information about men's players and coaches, but hardly anything about the women," he said. "The more reluctance I faced searching for information about the history of women's soccer in Australia, the more determined I became to rectify this.“
As a result, the book is illustrated with a vast array of vintage images and memorabilia which bring to life the origins of both the men’s and women’s game. Matildas Cap No 1 Julie Dolan, former Socceroo captain Paul Wade and Football Australia’s CEO James Johnson are some of many national and international players and officials who have acclaimed the book.
About the Event
Author Ted Simmons will be joined by fellow Football Australia Hall of Fame inductee Walter Pless, an invaluable contributor to the Tasmanian chapters of Ted’s book.
Locally-owned and renowned as a vibrant part of Tasmania’s literary community, The Hobart Bookshop is located at 22 Salamanca Square, Hobart - a short walk from the city centre.
Simmons will meet soccer fans and sign copies of this remarkable book at The Hobart Bookshop between 12 noon and 2pm on Thursday, 15th February. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet and chat to Ted Simmons and Walter Pless next Thursday!
About the Author:
A former player, coach, official and referee who was still officiating junior soccer games into his seventies, Simmons said the book took him 20 years to compile.
He is an Honorary Member of the Swiss-based International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). In addition to his Order of Australia Medal (OAM) he has been honoured with the Australian Sports Medal (ASM) and Life Memberships of various Club, State, national and international sporting organisations. Simmons was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame in 2011 and elected to its Panel of Historians in 2012, maintaining an active advisory role to current times.
“Historians, apart from recent times, generally appear to have ignored the beginnings of the world game in Australia except for University articles and there has been an absence of public knowledge or information. “There have been books on individuals in the game but these are also few in number,” he explained.
“This book, in a small way, is an attempt to weave the history of the game in Australia, how it began in each State for men and women and hopefully the basis on which other historians can build,” he added.
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For further
information or to arrange an interview with Ted Simmons, please contact:
Lynne Clay, E: lynne.clay@outlook.com
M: 0419 444 280
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at AAMI Park on 12 November 2022.
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