Football Tasmania unveiled its Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, 13 September when it announced the inaugural list of 11 inductees at the Football Tasmania 2025 Awards Night dinner at the Wrest Point Hotal Casino's Tasman Room.
Five hundred guests attended the function, where well-known television identity Brent Costelloe was the MC.The Hall of Fame was agreed upon following an idea promoted and vigorously pushed for by football personalty Matthew Rhodes.
Chris Hudson, the author of "A Century of Soccer: A History of Tasmanian Football", came to the function all the way from Kiama in New South Wales.
Hudson, and local football historian and expert Paul Hunt,did much of the research about the inaugural inductees on behalf of Football Tasmania and nominations were sought from clubs, coaches, players, officials and fans of the game in Tasmania.
There will be further inductees at the end of every season from now on.
FOOTBALL TASMANIA HALL OF FAME – INAUGURAL INDUCTEES
13 SEPTEMBER 2025
1. 1 Joseph Huxley Honeysett
Jo Joseph Huxley Honeysett was born in 1890, and arrived in Tasmania as a child in 1904, living on the family farm at New Norfolk.
Joe first played for the New Norfolk Football Club in 1906 before moving to South Hobart. He worked at the Cascade Brewery.
He was a player of immense talent and represented Tasmania in every interstate fixture from 1911 to 1924, a tremendous record that will be hard to replicate. He also captained the State on numerous occasions.
In the First World War, Joe was promoted to captain and awarded the Military Cross in 1920, the year he returned to Tasmania.
He famously captained the State team against the touring Chinese side at the North Hobart Oval in October 1923, Tasmania being the only state to beat the tourists.
Also in 1923, Tasmania toured South Australia and Victoria. It was to become one of the most successful tours to date with a 3-0 win in Adelaide and a 1-1 draw at the Fitzroy Oval against Victoria.
A staunch South Hobart player, he also captained the Southern Association team against the Northern Association throughout the twenties and in one North v South clash bagged seven of the eleven goals scored, which was a record.
When he hung up his boots in the late twenties, he took up a position on the Southern Tasmanian British Football Association for twelve years.
Joseph Huxley Honeysett was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame in 2022.
2. 2. Vic Tuting MBE
Affectionately known as “Mr Soccer”, Vic Tuting was, by his own account, “never a really good player”, but once he turned his hand to the game’s administration, he shone like a diamond.
He arrived in Launceston in 1920 from Rochdale, England at the age of 15. He and his older brother signed on for the Invermay club in 1921. Vic hung up his boots in 1934 and turned to administration, becoming the Northern Tasmanian Soccer Association secretary in 1935.
Work commitments moved him South, and in 1938 he joined the Tasmanian Soccer Association (TSA). He held various positions on the committee and became Chairman of the TSA in 1956. During this period, Vic instigated that the TSA come under national control to unite Soccer Australia.
He was appointed the Tasmania Soccer Council’s first Life Member in 1953. In the same year, he became a Life Member of the Southern Tasmania Soccer Association.
From 1956, Vic had held every conceivable position on the board. His administration skills were highlighted when he was voted Vice President of Football Australia in 1974, a position he held until 1983.
In 1990 FIFA recognised Vic’s dedication to the sport by awarding him a medallion for “Long Service to Football”, with the Honorary Presidency to the Oceania Confederation. He received his medallion from Heinz Marotz, one of FIFA’s top coaches at the time.
He was awarded an MBE for community services in sports administration rendered. Vic covered every angle of the sport in administration and was very good at bringing all parties together to resolve situations. One of his famous quotes was: "Rules are never black and white, there always has to be some elasticity."
At the age of 84, Vic was recognised by FIFA for his life-long dedication to the sport at an Oceania Conference meeting held in Fiji.
The Vic Tuting Medal is still awarded to the Best and Fairest player in the Southern Championship, and Vic was also inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame in 1999.
3. 3. Frederick Joughin OAM
Frederick Joughin was born in Liverpool England in 1925. He arrived in Tasmania after the war and was involved with soccer in Tasmania as a player and administrator for fifty-eight glorious years.
In an incredible playing record for the University club, Fred missed the very first game in the 1950 season when he joined, but didn’t miss another game until the 1956 season, 322 games in total. But it is estimated Fred possibly played 600 games overall!
He became the TSA secretary in 1951, a position he held for five years.
At the University club, Fred was a player, club captain and Head of the Selection Committee for six years from 1950 to 1955, during which time the team was in the Second Division.
Fred moved north due to work commitments and became Burnie Celtic’s Chairman in 1955 and the following year became the North-West Soccer Association’s Chairman.
He created the “high school to club movement” for young, advanced players, which was a first. The idea was to keep a flow of young talent coming through the ranks from schools to the senior clubs on the coast.
He returned to Hobart in 1957 and the following year he was elected as Chairman of the University club, a position he held until 1978. The same year, Fred was elected club Honorary Life President (to present day). In 1962 he became a Life Member of State’s Soccer Council.
In 1966 Fred was made an Honorary Life Member of the University Soccer Club, and in 2009 he received the Order of Australia Medal (OAM).
A law graduate, his brilliant mind helped galvanise the University club and was the instigator of the move from sharing the rugby fields at Sandy Bay to the current home base at Olinda Grove.
4. 4. Harold Pattison
Born in Belfast, Ireland, Harold came to Tasmania in 1951 and was integral part to the development of the game on the North-West coast.
He first played for Burnie Celtic, making his senior debut at the tender age of 14 years old. He moved on to Devonport in 1964 where he became synonymous with the game and the club.
Harold was a great inside-forward and a lethal marksman, but was also noted for his tricky wing play. He represented the State eight times over 11 years, scoring two goals, and was selected to represent the North-West Association to play against the North and Southern Association’s numerous occasions during the fifties and sixties.
On retirement from playing, Harold became a committee member of the Devonport City Football Club for many years, eventually becoming its President. He helped instigate and organise the club’s famous “Night Series” between northern and north-west teams which was extremely popular at the time, including the novelty of playing under lights. He became a Life Member of the club in 1981.
In 2012 the club’s Best & Fairest Award was named in his honour. Harold was involved with the merging of Mersey United and Devonport in 1966 to form what is now the Devonport City Strikers.
As part of the clubroom redevelopment in 2022, the Strikers officially opened the Harold Pattison Memorabilia Room.
Harold’s hard work and dedication has been a tremendous factor in the growth and success of the game and the Devonport club for more than thirty years.
5. 5. Gordon Rimmer
Gordon Rimmer arrived in Tasmania with his family in the mid 1950’s as a young man and eventually became a pivotal figure in establishing football on the north-west coast.
One of his massive contributions to football was the creation of the
current fields at Valley Road. Started in 1967, the Devonport Soccer Club
developed the area over time and construction of the first clubrooms began in
1970. They were officially opened in 1972, with Gordon Rimmer serving as club
President at the time.
In the club’s early days, Gordon
also arranged for the production of team shirts and other apparel through
Tootles Textiles where he worked as a manager.
Gordon’s contributions extended well
beyond administration. From 1980, he played a key role in securing overseas
coaches to lift the club’s standards and continued success.
These initiatives - engaging high
quality coaches and focusing on development of the club’s infrastructure - remain
today as key pillars of the club’s ongoing success and the game’s growth on the
coast.
Gordon was also a Board Member of the NWTSA and as such was also instrumental in the administration of the game on the North-West Coast.
Always being supported by his wife Jean at his side, he encouraged the club to be the best it could be competitively but maintaining a family friendly focus as well, that has flourished and grown. He would be very proud to see what it has become today.
Following Gordon’s passing in 2001, the original grandstand (and its replacement in 2025) was named The Gordon Rimmer Stand in his honour — a tribute to his lasting legacy and dedication to the club and the development of the sport.
6. 6. Walter Pless
Walter Pless arrived in Tasmania with his family as a young child from Austria in the mid-fifties.
He first played for Croatia Glenorchy juniors and seniors in the sixties then signed for Caledonians, Metro, Rapid and University during the sixties and seventies.
He initially turned to coaching first at University, then Metro Claremont and Croatia Glenorchy.
A teacher by profession, Walter easily turned his hand to writing about the sport he loved, starting in 1978, and it was a love-affair that would span a mammoth 46 years.
He covered football for The Hobart Mercury for over 25 years, while also writing for Australian Soccer Weekly (Sydney), Soccer Action magazine (Melbourne) and World Soccer magazine (London), Australian 4-4-2, and “Goal Weekly” (Melbourne).
He also had a story published by the iconic “Goal” magazine, London, in the eighties.
He retired from full time work in 2009 to concentrate on football writing covering a sport that struggled for media coverage in the State.
Every week in his 25 years at the Mercury, Walter would write six articles a week, including previews, reviews and general discussion of the sport. And when Friday night football was introduced, he wrote up those games. It was a well-read, extremely popular coverage of the sport.
In 2022 Walter was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame for services to football.
Walter’s unbiased, honest views on the game were very well received by his peers, and his current internet blog “Walter Pless on Association Football” is a go-to for everything to do with football.
7. 7. George Dale
George arrived in Tasmania from Newcastle, England in March 1957, where he made his home at George Town.
He immediately became involved with the Northern Tasmanian Soccer Association as an administrator, where he became president.
He was also a founding member and past President of the Tasmanian Soccer League, Vice President of the Tasmanian Soccer Federation, and a Tasmanian delegate to the National Soccer Federation
To this day, Football Tasmania’s Northern Championship men’s Best and Fairest medal is named in his honour.
George presented this Award in
1975 & 1976 but passed away at the age of 62 in 1977.
8. 8. Peter Mies
Peter Johannas Mies leaves behind an extraordinary 64 continuous years of active involvement in Tasmanian football.
He was born in 1936 in Neerbeek, Netherlands and arrived in Tasmania in 1960. He signed for Launceston Juventus and continued to play at the highest level until he turned 44.
A talented footballer, he eventually became captain-coach, before his contributions evolved into leadership roles that included committee member, President, Life Member, and ultimately club Patron.
He was instrumental in securing the home ground at Prospect in 1978 in partnership with the Australian Italian Club. He even put up his own family home as collateral to purchase the site!
He first represented the State in 1964 against Victoria in the Australia Cup. Peter was also a constant selection in the Northern Association Rep’ teams in the seventies. His son Roger and grandson Noah also went on to represent the State, becoming the first and only footballing family to this day in Tasmania to claim the honour of having three generations representing Tasmania at the highest level.
Peter was a stalwart of not just Launceston City FC, but of football in Tasmania. Even in the final days before his sudden passing in 2024, current officials, coaches, and board members regularly sought his counsel, a testament to the immense respect and trust he inspired.
He was also responsible for bringing to Tasmania some noteworthy talent including Peter Savill , Peter Sawdon, and Ernie and Colin Guest, helping to raise the standard of the game across the State.
Launceston City names the annual “Peter Mies Rising Star Award” (both male and female) in his honour, along with the new Peter Mies Pavilion at Prospect Park in 2024.
9. 9. Milan Lakoseljac
Born in Croatia in 1947, Milan arrived in Tasmania in 1969 and made a significant contribution to the local game.
Milan Lakoseljac became the most prolific goal scorer in Tasmania since Walter Worsey in the sixties.
Milan won the Golden Boot award constantly in Southern Tasmania during the seventies, taking out the award in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979 and 1981. This is a phenomenal record when one looks at the high standard of players around him in the seventies.
He was extremely quick and was nicknamed by his teammates “Monaro” after the Holden Monaro car, which in those days was one of the fastest cars on our roads.
He was part of the famous 1970 Croatia Glenorchy side that won the treble – the State Title, Statewide Cup and Southern League Title in that year.
Milan won the Best and Fairest Award in 1971 and again in 1973 while playing for Croatia Glenorchy. He retired from playing in 1981.
He coached junior football at the Glenorchy club for five years. Among his charges was his son Brendan Lakoseljac, who himself became a prolific goalscorer at the club. His grandson Bradley plays to this day with South Hobart.
He went onto coach senior players and in 1991 guided Croatia Glenorchy to a reserve premiership. The following year 1992, he coached the senior team from a distant fourth position in the finals series to a memorable State Championship win over Devonport City.
Sadly, Milan passed away in 1999 aged 52 after a lengthy illness. The Statewide Cup was renamed and relaunched in 2000 as the Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy to honour his memory and continues to be awarded each year.
10 Ken Morton
Ken’s vast array of international coaching experience brought the next level of professionalism to the State and he has to be considered as the most successful coach in the history of the game in Tasmania.
Born in Copley County Durham, UK in 1947, he played for several English clubs before moving overseas. He made 14 appearances in England, mainly at York City.
He arrived in Tasmania in 1979 and over the years played for Caledonian, Rapid, Hobart Juventus, Olympia, Croatia Glenorchy, Devonport and Launceston City, being player/coach for the majority of those teams.
Overseas, Ken coached in Malaysia, Maldives, Vietnam and went back to UK for a brief spell at Walsall. He also coached the Wollongong Wolves for a season.
Where he coached, medals followed; Rapid Wrest Point, Juventus, Croatia Glenorchy, Hobart Olympia, but it was when he joined South Hobart in 2008 that everything clicked.
Under Ken’s guidance, South Hobart went through an incredible phase of 65 games undefeated, winning the Premiership titles from 2008 to 2012. Also in these years, the club won three State Play-off Titles in succession.
President of South Hobart Football Club from 2009-2024, after joining the board in 2003, he has moulded the club into a truly professional outfit.
Morton’s Soccer School is now paramount in coaching kids the correct way to play and the school is nurturing young talent and investing in the future of football across the State.
It’s Ken’s legacy to the game he has cherished from those early days as a 15-year-old on Manchester United’s books to his present day success.
Ken’s passion for the game and worldly experience has lifted the coaching bar in Tasmania to the next level.
11. David Pease
It’s rare for a player to stay with the same club for the majority of their playing career, but to also continue in administration when they have hung up their boots is dedication personified.
David was a Somerset Sharks player from 1985 until 2000, 260 games in all and took over senior coaching duties in 2002/2003.
He was voted club person of the year in 1992 and gained Life Membership in 2002.
He has served on the Executive Committee of the Sharks for 20 years - eight as Treasurer and 12 as President – and more than 28 years on the Committee in total.
David knew that the club would not survive long-term if it did not have a junior pathway coming through to its senior ranks.
He has been heavily involved in the WSSA (Western School Soccer Association), serving on the Executive Committee and assisting with the coaching and operation of the Skill Acquisition Program (SAP). In 2023/24 David was instrumental in establishing the Somerset Junior Development Program.
Originally only 30 juniors signed up, but with David’s dedication to the program there are now hundreds enjoying the SAP program which benefits all the North-West coast, with players travelling from as far afield as the West Coast and Circular Head areas to participate.
David lobbied for the development of the Cardigan Street ground, liaising with grant bodies, government, and peak bodies to get the improvements necessary for the club to move forward. This has resulted in new lights, drainage and resurfacing of the grounds and the current grant to build new change rooms and toilets.
He has been a Junior and Youth Coach in both the North West League and Northern Youth Premier League from 2020 to present day. His advocacy for the sport and tireless efforts to improve junior numbers on the coast is admirable.
7 comments:
Best thing to happen in Tasmania Football in a long time congratulations Walter .
Congrats Walter - well deserved recognition for a life time of love for the beautiful game, rain, hail or shine.
Interesting that not one born in Tasmania
Honestly is that the best you can do surely you can find other fault’s .
FFS 🤦♂️
So can you name one Tasmanian from the early days that could of been added??
As we all know, back then, it was known as Wogball. And as the great man said " only Sheila's, wogs and p##%&÷<s play this game lol.
This just shows us that it truly is the World game & if not for the immigrants that came to Tasmania, we would not have much of a football history, or perhaps not one at all.
Anon 29/9 6.16pm.
100% spot on. Too many people involved or follow the game at the moment have no idea of the history of the game in Tasmania. In Tasmania particularly the banning of ethnic names was the worst thing that could have happened.
Post a Comment