Louis Australia Whyte (1852 – 3 April 1911) was an Australian amateur tennis player and golfer. He won the Intercolonial Lawn Tennis Championships twice, in 1881 and 1883. In golf he won the Victorian Golf Cup in 1894 and the

Australian Amateur The Australian Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of Australia. It has been played annually since 1894, except for the war years, and is organised by Golf Australia. Having traditionally been a match play event, from 2021 it has ...

in 1900.

Early life

Louis Whyte was born in

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 ...

in 1852, the son of Charles James Whyte. He first married Margaret Skene, the daughter of late Hon. William Skene on 30 April 1879. However Margaret died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

less than three months later, aged 26. He was married again in 1889, in London, to Minna Burnett. Minna, a widow, was the daughter of Charles Ibbotson. Louis and Minna had a son, Louis Melville Whyte who was born in London in 1890.

Tennis career

White won the " Intercolonial Lawn Tennis Championships", twice, in 1881 and 1883. The 1881 championship was played on grass at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Frank Highett, the defending champion, reached the final again but lost to Whyte. The 1882 championship was played on the asphalt courts. Whyte reached the final and met Arthur Keyser, a member of HMS ''Nelson''. Whyte won the first set, but Keyser took the next three to win the championship. Whyte reached his third successive final in 1883 where he beat Walter Carre Riddell in three straight sets. 1885 saw a repeat of the 1883 final between Riddell and Whyte. A different scoring system was in use that year. There were no sets, the winner being the first to reach 25 games. Riddell took a 12 games to 1 lead and eventually won by 25 games to 13. Whyte represented Victoria in their intercolonial matches against New South Wales, which started in 1885. He played in the inaugural match in Sydney in 1885 and in both matches in 1886.

Golf career

In 1894 the

Melbourne Golf Club Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a 36-hole golf club in Australia, located in Black Rock, Victoria, a suburb in southeastern Melbourne. Its West and East courses are respectively ranked number 1 and 6 in Australia. The West course is ranked in th ...

founded the "Victorian Golf Cup" open to all amateurs in Australasia. It was played on 5, 7 and 9 November with the result decided by a bogey competition over three rounds. Whyte won with a score of 6 holes down on bogey, 6 holes ahead of Mark Anderson. The Victorian Golf Cup rapidly established itself as the main golf tournament in Australia, and was regarded as the amateur championship of Australia. From 1899, the Australian Golf Union ran their own

. The 1899 championship was preceded by the inaugural foursomes championship of Australia, a 36-hole bogey competition. Whyte paired up with Harry Howden and they won the event by 7 holes. In 1900 it was held at Adelaide Golf Club on 28 and 29 June. Whyte won with a score of 382, four ahead of Walter Carre Riddell. None of the leading players from New South Wales played. In 1903 Whyte won the Surrey Hills Gentlemen's Championship, beating William McIntyre by one hole in an 18-hole playoff. They had both finished two down in the 36-hole bogey competition.

Later life

On 3 April 1911, Whyte killed himself with a pistol, at his house, "The Heights", in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

. He had been suffering from

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...

and

neurasthenia Neurasthenia ( and () 'weak') is a term that was first used as early as 1829 for a mechanical weakness of the nerves. It became a major diagnosis in North America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries after neurologist Georg ...

and was depressed. He left an estate valued at £38,700. "The Heights" was prefabricated in Germany and assembled in 1855 for Charles Ibbotson, Minna's father. Minna inherited the house and it later passed to Louis Melville Whyte. Louis junior married but had no children and, after his death in 1975, the house was left to the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whyte, Louis Australian male golfers Amateur golfers Australian male tennis players Sportspeople from Geelong Sportsmen from Victoria (state) Suicides by firearm in Victoria (state) Colony of Tasmania people 1852 births 1911 deaths 1911 suicides 19th-century male tennis players