George Johnston
Personal information
Full name George Henry Johnston
Nickname(s) Cheerful
Date of birth 12 February 1877
Place of birth Sandridge, Victoria
Date of death 11 August 1945(1945-08-11) (aged 68)
Place of death Hobart, Tasmania
Original team(s) Albert Park
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1897 Carlton (VFL)   1 (0)
1899-1900 Prahran (VFA) 22 (2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1900.
Career highlights

Inaugural team captain: Prahran (VFA) 1899.

Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

George Henry Johnston (12 February 1877 – 11 August 1945) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in its first-ever match (1897) in the Victorian Football League (VFL) competition,[1] and with Prahran in its first-ever match (1899) in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) competition.

Family

The son of John Johnston (1836-1888),[2] and Susannah Johnston (1844-1914), née Knight,[3] George Henry Johnston was born in Sandridge, Victoria on 12 February 1877.[4]

He married Edith Florence Button (1873-1933) in 1900.[5] They had four children.[6]

Football

Carlton (VFL)

Recruited from the Albert Park Football Club, Johnston only played once for the Carlton Football Club: against Fitzroy, at the Brunswick Street Oval, on 8 May 1987, in the first-ever round of the new Victorian Football League (VFL) competition. Three weeks later he was cleared back to Albert Park.[7]

Prahran (VFA)

Recruited from Albert Park, Johnston played in the first-ever match that Prahran played on its re-entry into the VFA — against Richmond, at Toorak Park, on 6 May 1899 — at full-back, and as the team's captain.[8][9][10] He played in 17 matches (scoring 1 goal) in 1899, and in 5 matches (scoring 1 goal) in 1900.[11]

Recognition

He was a Life Member of both the Prahran Football Club and the Victorian Football Association.[12]

Military service

He enlisted in the First AIF in November 1915. He served overseas, and was wounded in action twice: in 1917,[13] and in 1918.[14][6]

Death

He died at the Repatriation General Hospital, Hobart, on 11 August 1945.[15]

Notes

  1. ^ Holmesby & Main (2009).
  2. ^ Deaths: Johnston, The Age, (Tuesday, 16 October 1888), p. 3.
  3. ^ Deaths: Johnston, The Age, (Wednesday, 25 March 1914), p. 1.
  4. ^ Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria Births Registration no.5251/1877.
  5. ^ Deaths: Johnston, The (Hobart) Mercury, (Monday, 17 April 1933), p. 1.
  6. ^ a b Service Record.
  7. ^ 'Wing', "Junior Jottings", The (Melbourne) Herald, (Friday, 28 May 1897), p. 7.
  8. ^ The Association: Prahran v. Richmond, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Saturday, 6 May 1899), p. 4.
  9. ^ ' Rover', "Opening of the Season at Toorak Park", The Prahran Telegraph, (Saturday, 13 May 1899), p. 2.
  10. ^ Prahran Football Team (Photograph), (Melbourne) Punch, Thursday, 29 June 1899), p. 25: Johnston is in the centre of the second row, holding the football.
  11. ^ The VFA Project.
  12. ^ Millard, P.J., "Port Melbourne need better home-game Ground", The (Melbourne) Herald, (Monday, 16 April 1945), p. 10.
  13. ^ Roll of Honor: Casualty Lists—Nos.336 & 337: Tasmanian Casualties: Wounded in Action, The (Launceston) Examiner, (Thursday, 13 September 1917), p. 7: note that he is listed as "Johnstone".
  14. ^ Roll of Honor (Casualty Lists Nos.448 & 449): Tasmanian Casualties: Wounded in Action, The (Launceston) Examiner, (Tuesday, 3 December 1918), p. 5: note (a) that he is listed as "Johnstone", and (b) that his wounding-in-action is "second occasion".
  15. ^ Deaths: Johnston, The (Hobart) Mercury, (Monday, 13 August 1945), p. 10.

References

External links

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