Archibald Crofts (9 September 1875 – 20 May 1942) was an Australian politician, business owner and sports figure. Crofts was born in

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

to soldier Benjamin Crofts and Jane Hemhilswood, raised in

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 ...

and educated in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, before becoming a merchant. In 1905, he owned and ran a grocery in

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

, which he expanded to include 137 branches throughout Victoria and the

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

as Crofts Stores, as well as subsidiary interests in the wholesale grocery, manufacturing grocery and wholesale dairy produce trades. Crofts was heavily involved in sporting endeavours, including

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL) club

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

and

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

.'' National Advocate'', "Mr Archibald Crofts Dead", 21 May 1942, p. 6. His horses had won £22 670 by the time of his death, and his best known steeds Valiant Chief and El Golea, which won the

Newmarket Handicap The Newmarket Handicap is a Victoria Racing Club Group One, Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race over a distance of 1200 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia on Super Saturday in March during the VRC Autumn Racing Carn ...

in 1939. In October 1940 El Golea was shot twice while in his stall; it was thought that the shooter mistakenly believed El Golea was fellow racehorse Beau Vite. In late 1931 South Melbourne Football Club official Jack Rohan persuaded Crofts to become club vice-president, as Croft's wealth, stature in the local community and Protestantism would help the club (South Melbourne was primarily a Catholic club).Frost, p. 93. Crofts was elected president in 1933, serving until 1937. As President, Crofts had the financial resources to help attract star

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

ers to South Melbourne, paying them the maximum £3.00 per match allowed under the VFL's Coulter Law and employing many of them in his business. In all, between 1931 and 1934 South Melbourne recruited 11 players, including seven from

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. In response, a journalist jokingly suggested that South Melbourne should be known as "The Swans" (

swans Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...

being the faunal emblem of Western Australia). Crofts was elected councillor for South Melbourne City Council's Queens Ward in 1931, serving to 1942, including a stint as mayor from 1934 to 1935. In 1935, Crofts won a by-election for Melbourne South Province in the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

, representing the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

; he transferred to the new

Monash Province Monash Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council until 2006. It was abolished from the 2006 Victorian general election, 2006 state election in the wake of the Steve Bracks, Bracks Labor government's reform of the Legislative ...

in 1937, where he was reelected unopposed at the

1940 Victorian state election The 1940 Victorian state election was held in the Australian state of Victoria on Saturday 16 March 1940 to elect 44 of the 65 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. Background Several events had taken place since the previous state el ...

.''Record'', "Cr. A. Crofts' Sudden End Whilst On Health Trip", 23 May 1942, p. 1. In addition to his parliamentary and council service, Crofts was heavily involved in the local community, serving as a member of the Albert Park management committee, Prince Henry's Hospital board and the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind board. Following the start of World War II, Crofts started ''Crofts Radio Revels'', a weekly concert for servicemen at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, with the programme broadcast on Melbourne radio station

3XY Magic 1278 (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3EE) is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Australia owned by Nine Entertainment, and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. History 1935–1991: 3XY 1935 ...

Personal life

In 1899, Crofts married Mary Keene, with whom he had five children; Reginald, Arthur, Norman, Hazel and Edna. Reginald died on 17 April 1917 after being struck by a train near South Melbourne railway station.''Record'', "Railway Fatality", 12 May 1917, p. 3. After a period of poor health in 1942, Crofts travelled to

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a list of surface water sports, surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in Glossary of surfing, tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wind wave, wave of water, whic ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

to recuperate, but died there on 20 May 1942.

References

Sources

* Frost, L. (2005) ''Immortals: Football people and the evolution of Australian rules'', John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.: Brisbane. . * Wallish, E.A. (1998) ''The Great Laurie Nash'', Ryan Publishing: Melbourne. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Crofts, Archibald 1875 births 1942 deaths United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council 20th-century Australian businesspeople People from Secunderabad Sydney Swans administrators British people in colonial India British emigrants to Australia