Thomas Henry Smith (born 1 July 1830 in

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The population was 5,745 at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a castle buil ...

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

, Ireland) was an

Irish Australian Irish Australians () are ‌‍‍‍‍residents of Australia who are either fully or partially of Irish people, Irish descent. Irish immigrants and their descendants have had a prominent presence in Australian society since the First Fle ...

who had a clear role in the

origins of Australian football The origins of Australian rules football date back to the late 1850s in Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria. There is documentary evidence of "foot-ball" being played in Australia as early as the 1820s. These games were poorly documented b ...

by being one of the first people to introduce school football games to Australian public schools in 1858 and as one of the founders of the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

. Smith was a founding member and signatory to the foundation document of the Melbourne Football Club. According to some sources (including himself in an 1876 letter to ''

The Australasian The ''Australasian Post'', commonly called the ''Aussie Post'', was Australia's longest-running weekly picture magazine. History and profile Its origins are traceable to Saturday, 3 January 1857, when the first issue of ''Bell's Life in Victori ...

'') he was one of few people to be present at the meeting of the incorporation of the club on 17 May 1859. At this meeting, the first

Laws of Australian Football The laws of Australian rules football were first defined by the Melbourne Football Club in 1859 and have been amended over the years as Australian rules football evolved into its modern form. The Australian Football Council (AFC), was formed i ...

were decided upon and written. Smith was also a distinguished player for the club.

Life

Educated at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

(1846–50), Smith was a headmaster at several Melbourne

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

s including the Model School and inspector for schools for

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

. Smith was involved in early experimental matches of Australian Football against

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

between July–August 1858 and is said to have facilitated the matches as one of three teachers who took part. In addition to being involved in the football club, Smith was a cricketer and member of the

Melbourne Cricket Club The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia. The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Groun ...

serving on the committee in 1861. He was captain of the Melbourne Football club in 1862 during the Caledonian Society games. He was also the first captain to take a team away from home when Melbourne played the

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Kardinia Park in South Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

and won. In 1864 he was suspended from teaching due to his sharp temper and strict discipline before resigning from his position in 1875. Smith was involved in the selection committee at Melbourne FC in 1865. He moved to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and in 1876, wrote to ''

'' from there to speak out against what he perceived as poor journalism from which had overlooked his role in the foundation of the Melbourne Football Club. Details of his life are scant and according to the Melbourne Football Club, it is not known when and where he died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Thomas H. 1830 births Year of death missing People from Carrickmacross Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Sportspeople from Melbourne Sportspeople from County Monaghan Irish players of Australian rules football Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Melbourne Football Club founders Australian headmasters Melbourne Football Club (pre-VFA) players