Roland James "Rowley" Pope (18 February 1864 – 27 July 1952) was an Australian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er best known for representing the

Australian national cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in international cricket. Along with England, it is the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing and winning the first ever Test match in 1877; the team also plays One ...

in one Test match in 1885, and later also known as an

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. From

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, he was selected for the Test as the result of a player strike during the English tour of Australia during the 1884–85 season, and made three runs across his two innings. Having studied medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, Pope was head of the ophthalmology section of

Sydney Hospital Sydney Hospital, historically known as the Rum Hospital, is a major hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at ...

for a period of 17 years, and was later involved in the establishment of the library and art gallery of the

City of Newcastle The City of Newcastle is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The City of Newcastle incorporates much of the area of the Newcastle metropolitan area. The Lord Mayor of the City of Newcastle Council is Co ...

Early life and cricket career

Pope was born in Ashfield, a suburb of

, on 18 February 1864, and educated at

The Hutchins School The Hutchins School is an Anglican, day and boarding school for boys from pre-kindergarten to Year 12 in Hobart, Tasmania. Established in 1846, Hutchins is one of the oldest continually operating schools in Australia. Hutchins is a founding-m ...

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

.Roland Pope
– ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 July 2012. His first recorded cricket matches were played for

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

's cricket team against

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...

in 1879 and 1881, though it is unknown if he actually attended the university at that time.Miscellaneous matches played by Roland Pope
– Cricket Archive. Retrieved 27 March 2024. Partly as a result of scoring 170

not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...

for a Melbourne

I Zingari I Zingari (from dialectalized Italian , meaning "the Gypsies"; corresponding to standard Italian ') are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs, founded in 1845 and 1888 respectively. It is the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the ' ...

team against the Richmond Cricket Club, Pope was selected to make his first-class debut for

against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

in late December 1884 at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

, and made what was to be his highest first-class score, 47 runs, in New South Wales' first innings. The

English cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

was touring the Australian colonies at the time, and the second Test match of the series was scheduled to be held in Melbourne beginning on 1 January 1885, two days after the conclusion of the New South Wales–Victoria game. A number of leading New South Wales players, including

Jack Blackham John McCarthy Blackham (11 May 1854 – 28 December 1932) was a Test cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. A specialist wicket-keeper, Blackham played in the first Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877 and the ...

, Harry Boyle, George Bonnor, and

Percy McDonnell Percy Stanislaus McDonnell (13 November 1858 – 24 September 1896
— '' Victorian Cricket Association Cricket Victoria (CV) is the governing body for the sport of cricket in the Australian state of Victoria. It is integrated with the Victorian Women's Cricket Association to include funding, programs, office accommodation and staff assistance. ...

was forced to choose a team comprising nine debutants (including Pope) for the Test, with

Tom Horan Thomas Patrick Horan (8 March 1854 – 16 April 1916) was an Australian cricketer who played for Victorian Bushrangers, Victoria and Australia national cricket team, Australia, and later became an esteemed cricket journalist under the pen name ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. In the match, Pope batted at number six in both innings, making a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

in the first innings and three runs in the second innings of what was to be his only Test. Having moved to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

to study at the

Medical School A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

of the

in 1886, Pope played a number of matches for Scottish representative sides against English county sides, as well as playing for the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

on its tour of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in 1891. Australian representative sides toured England in 1886 and

1890 Events January * January 1 – The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony in the Horn of Africa. * January 2 – Alice Sanger becomes the first female staffer in the White House. * January 11 – 1890 British Ultimatum: The Uni ...

, and Pope played in a number of matches for the teams. In 1892 he was awarded a

Doctorate of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

for his thesis, Modern therapeutics of certain ocular affections from the University of Edinburgh, and fellowship of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

, subsequently returning to Australia. For a period of 17 years, from 1894 to 1911, Pope worked at

, firstly as honorary ophthalmic assistant, and then as honorary ophthalmic surgeon, later being appointed to the honorary consulting staff after his resignation in May 1911.

Later life

Outside of his profession as a medical practitioner, Pope acted as the medical advisor to a number of Australian touring cricket teams up until the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A 1934 article in '' The Daily News'' noted he had been "away with 12 Australian Test teams". Pope was in England at the same time the Australian team was touring in 1902, and acted as the team's medical advisor and "unofficial baggage handler". At various stages of the tour, a number of Australians were rendered unable to play due to an outbreak of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

, and Pope was called upon to play in the match against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, held at F. P. Fenner's Ground in June 1902. Pope batted at number nine in the batting order in the Australians' only innings, and made two

in his first first-class match since 1891. Pope was also present on the unofficial 1932 tour of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

organised by

Arthur Mailey Alfred Arthur Mailey (3 January 188631 December 1967) was an Australian cricketer who played in 21 Test matches between 1920 and 1926. Mailey used leg-breaks and googly bowling, taking 99 Test wickets, including 36 in the 1920–21 Ashes se ...

– it was subsequently noted that his "usually voluminous luggage was 'restricted' to 36 bags". Pope was also involved in the establishment of the Manly Golf Club. He and his brother, Norman Pope, acquired land near Farrell's Paddock, Manly, with an eighteen-hole course being established in May 1908. In July 1945, Pope presented a collection of "oils, water colours, prints, and rare books" to the

to serve as the "nucleus of an art gallery and library" for

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. For his donation, he was awarded the medal of the Society of Artists by the society's president,

Sydney Ure Smith Sydney George Ure Smith OBE (9 January 188711 October 1949) was an Australian arts publisher, artist and promoter who "did more than any other Australian to publicize Australian art at home and overseas". Unlike most of his contemporaries, he s ...

. Pope was also a keen amateur

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

, and had acquired a "large collection of specimens from around the world" – his donation to the City of Newcastle had included original editions of works by Mathews and Gould, two early Australian ornithologists. Pope's collection of 137 paintings was held in storage for twelve years until 1957, when the Newcastle City Art Gallery opened. Pope died at his home in Manly on 27 July 1952, and was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

.TWO DOCTORS DIE
– ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

''. Published Tuesday, 29 July 1952. Retrieved from Trove, 2 July 2012.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Roland 1864 births 1952 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Australian cricketers Australian ophthalmologists Australian ornithologists Australian philanthropists Australia Test cricketers Cricketers from Sydney Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Gloucestershire cricketers Australian expatriate cricketers in England Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers New South Wales cricketers Australian sports physicians Australian art patrons Australian art collectors People educated at The Hutchins School Colony of New South Wales people

Early life and cricket career

Later life

See also

References

External links