James Edward Melbourne (''c.'' 1876 – 13 December 1937) was the first

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

to play senior

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 ...

in the Western Australian Football Association. Melbourne was orphaned at the age of four and spent his formative years in a

Middle Swan Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek (d ...

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

before being put into the care of various businessmen in York. As a teenager, he was an accomplished

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

and spent time in prison for petty crimes (including stealing, cashing a cheque, passing

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

coins, and escaping from a lock-up). Melbourne played his first game for West Perth against

East Fremantle East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

in the Western Australian Football Association on 2 June 1900 and was a member of their 1901 premiership side. He then moved to South Fremantle in 1902, playing four games, and then went to play for Subiaco in 1903 and 1904. In 1907, Melbourne played in the Collie Football Association, and then in the Bunbury Football Association until 1908. He was also a boxer and professional runner. In the later stages of his life he moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria, and joined the Australian Imperial Force at the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. On 13 December 1937, Melbourne was murdered at his home in

South Melbourne, Victoria South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government areas of ...

. At this time he is recorded as being married or living with Mary Edith Melbourne, a former war nurse. His landlord was convicted of Melbourne's manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison. Melbourne is buried at

Springvale Botanical Cemetery The Springvale Botanical Cemetery is the largest crematorium and memorial park in Victoria, Australia, located in the southeastern Melbourne suburb of Springvale, Victoria, Springvale. History Originally known as The Necropolis Springvale, the c ...

in Melbourne. Since 2007, Melbourne's name has been perpetuated with the ''Jimmy Melbourne Cup'' being awarded to the winners of a game played between South Fremantle and

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...

during National Aboriginal Islander Day Observance Committee Week (known as ''NAIDOC Week''). These are the two WAFL clubs that have featured the most Aboriginal players.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melbourne, Jimmy 1870s births 1937 deaths West Perth Football Club players South Fremantle Football Club players Subiaco Football Club players Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Australian rules footballers from Western Australia People from York, Western Australia Manslaughter victims Date of birth missing Australian military personnel of World War I People murdered in Victoria (state) Australian murder victims