129-695: VFL Representative Coaching John Raymond Dyer Sr. OAM (15 November 1913 – 23 August 2003), nicknamed Captain Blood , was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1931 and 1949. One of the game's most prominent players, he was one of 12 inaugural "Legends" inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame . He later turned to coaching and work in
258-556: A playoff match to determine the season's premiership; this was the first time this had occurred in VFA history. The match took place on 3 October 1896 at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground . Collingwood won the match, six goals to five, in front of an estimated crowd of 12,000. This grand final would be the last match South Melbourne would play in the VFA, as the following season they would be one of eight founding clubs forming
387-575: A 19-year investigation undertaken by members of the Historical Committee, no evidence was found to have any winner of a "Best and Fairest Award" for Richmond in 18 of the seasons between 1911 and 1936 . It is thought that the awards in question were retrospectively added in 1988 and 1991 in error. As a consequence, he now shares his Richmond best and fairest tally record of 5 with fellow AFL Legend Kevin Bartlett . He married Sybil Margaret McCasker,
516-665: A Demon player about Hanna's condition, and Hanna had recovered. He was selected as an interchange player in the AFL's 1996 Team of the Century ". He gradually played less as a ruckman and more as a forward later in his career. He invented the drop punt , a kicking style that gradually gained popularity over the intervening decades and is now almost universal, and has now spread to Rugby union , rugby league and American football . He kicked 443 goals, fifth on Richmond's list of all-time goalkickers. In 2009, The Australian nominated Dyer as one of
645-634: A Sydney team, dismissed the Canberra bid publishing a scathing report on the development of football in the ACT, stating that the VFL might consider Canberra for a licence in another 10 years. Aylett's view was that Sydney offered a much bigger television audience and the most potential to add to the league's lucrative television rights. The league had also estimated that the club could initially draw support from an estimated 300,000 ex-Victorians living in and around Sydney. With
774-575: A VFL club to Sydney. The idea began to gain traction and in 1977, Ron Barassi proposed the VFL setting up a club in Sydney, which he offered to coach believing that it would help spread the code in the state. Upon becoming league president, Aylett had the league investigated playing Sunday matches at the SCG. The VFL scheduled 2 premiership matches for the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1979. One of them, between
903-493: A century, it had strategically scheduled matches in Sydney and through the Australian National Football Council – had allocated a significant share of its marketing budget to developing the code in Sydney, showcasing interstate tournaments and encouraging its clubs to play against the state representative side. At one point, it even attempted to negotiate a hybrid code with rugby league . However interest in
1032-548: A challenge to take the prime ministership in September 2015. Two months after coming into office, the new republican prime minister announced that the Queen had approved his request to amend the Order's letters patent and cease awards at this level. Existing titles would not be affected. The move was attacked by monarchists and praised by republicans. The amendments to the constitution of
1161-489: A dirty knee bandage on his left knee, breaking away from the pack, with his eyes fixed on the lake -end goals (Dyer went on to kick a goal) in the last quarter of the 1944 Preliminary Final, held at the Junction Oval on Saturday 23 September 1944, in which Richmond defeated Essendon , primarily due to Dyer's nine goals. Led by a four-goal burst by Dyer, who was playing at full-forward, Richmond scored 8.2 (50) to 0.5 (5) in
1290-438: A first quarter in second-round games. Clapping on the pace, and with the ball the objective all through, Richmond played a strong, concerted game. With Dyer the spearhead after the first few minutes, the strong captain-coach played one of the finest games in his career to kick four of the eight goals scored [in that quarter] and take a hand in at least three others. He showed dash, cleverness, anticipation, and good marking to outwit
1419-500: A full senior team, may have contributed to its absence during the football season competition begun in the 1870s. Throughout this period South Melbourne, along with neighbouring Cup member club Albert Park, had experimented with rugby football rules which in May 1874 had advocated strongly for their widespread adoption in Victoria; however, this did not meet favour with the more powerful clubs in
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#17328561397711548-564: A goal before travelling to Sydney where it defeated Sydney by just a single goal in front of a large crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground and East Sydney Football Club by a goal in front of 600 spectators. In May 1889, the Swans lost narrowly to a touring Maori team from New Zealand . At the end of the 1896 season, Collingwood and South Melbourne finished equal at the top of the VFA's premiership ladder with records of 14–3–1, requiring
1677-462: A key part of the Sydney side, at a league-determined total fee of $ 240,000 (less than the $ 500,000 Geelong demanded and even the $ 300,000 Sydney offered). The likes of Gerard Healy , Merv Neagle and Paul Morwood were also poached from other clubs, and failed approaches were made to Simon Madden , Terry Daniher , Andrew Bews and Maurice Rioli . During the Edelsten years, the Swans were seen by
1806-402: A loss of at least $ 150,000 for the previous five years. News of the proposal broke on 2 July 1981, after which a letter was sent to members justifying the board's reasons for making the proposal and noting that the coach and current players were in favour of the move. On 29 July 1981, the VFL formally accepted the proposal, and paved the way for the Swans to shift to Sydney in 1982. Inevitably,
1935-569: A member of the British Empire, members of the colonies and later federated nation of Australia were able to have achievement awarded under the British Imperial Honours system . However, existing criticism of the aristocratic nature of the awards grew following a cash-for-honours corruption scandal in the UK in 1922. Moves to abolish the awards federally and the states were unsuccessful; however
2064-542: A mid-week competition. Dyer's desire was to play for Richmond in the VFL as he admired one of the Tigers' players, George Rudolph . In 1930, Dyer won the Metropolitan League's award for the best player at the age of 16. Richmond officials had not yet attempted to sign him, and Dyer applied for a clearance to play with the Tigers' main rival, Collingwood. The Richmond officials wanted to see him in action before any decision
2193-573: A nursing home. After retiring from coaching, Dyer turned to the media, where he became a commentator and football media personality. He contributed to two sports/comedy offerings on Melbourne television: World of Sport , a Sunday morning panel show; and, later, League Teams , a Thursday-night variant which later inspired AFL Footy Show . He also had a regular column which went under the name "Dyer 'ere" (a pun on diarrhoea ) in Melbourne's Truth newspaper. His media work began after resigning from
2322-442: A player in 1940, and he was appointed captain-coach in 1941. He went on to play 312 games for Richmond, being voted the club's best and fairest player in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, and 1946. He played in seven Grand Finals for two premierships in 1934 and 1943 , one as captain and playing coach of the side. Dyer was a ruckman ; and, at 6'1" (185 cm), was not particularly tall for that position. Possessed of great strength, he
2451-480: A possible 14th team. The VFL was under strong pressure from interests in Adelaide to admit a South Australian club and from the ACT for a new Canberra license, however VFL president Allan Aylett was convinced that Sydney was the most viable option. By 1981, Canberra's ACTAFL had edged out rugby league in popularity with an increase in participation it had become the number one sport. Under significant pressure from
2580-573: A representation of the states (with whom Whitlam's government was constantly in dispute) through the state badges within the Commonwealth Coat of Arms . The original three-level structure of the Order of Australia was modelled closely upon the Order of Canada , though the Order of Australia has been awarded rather more liberally, especially in regard to honorary awards to non-citizens. As of July 2024 only 30 non-Canadians have been appointed to
2709-404: A rugby league junior development push and fearing the impact on its strong local competition of entry of a Sydney team made a formal bid for licence to enter a Canberra team into the VFL. With corporate backing and strong public support including local legend Alex Jesaulenko , the Canberra bid was confident it would be a successful expansion club. Aylett however, determined to pursue the entry of
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#17328561397712838-434: Is a registered charity, whose stated purpose is "[t]o celebrate and promote outstanding Australian citizenship". It also supports the "community and social activities" of members and promotes and encourages the nomination of other Australians to the Order. The Order also runs a foundation that provides scholarships to tertiary students that show potential as future leaders and are involved in community activities. Branches of
2967-473: Is issued with each badge of the order at the time of investiture; AK/AD and AC lapel pins feature a citrine central jewel, AO and AM lapel pins have a blue enamelled centre and OAM lapel pins are plain. The different levels of the order are awarded according to the recipients' levels of achievement: Since 1976 any Australian citizen may nominate any person for an Order of Australia award. People who are not Australian citizens may be awarded honorary membership of
3096-553: Is likely to feel a bit second-rate, and the public is likely to agree. We hate to be the first to say it, but there is no doubt that the Order of Australia (OA) will be labelled as the Ocker Award. Satire and mockery also greeted the awards, being dubbed "Gough’s Gongs" and "the Order of the Wombat". The newly elected Liberal Fraser government decided to once again make recommendations for imperial awards, whilst maintaining and expanding
3225-481: The ACTAFL initially proposed to buy the failed club and shift it to Canberra, however the VFL claimed this was too extreme a move. The league compromised and along with Aylett, who had denied Canberra a license in 1981, proposed that the Swans play away games in the ACT with a dual aim of giving the club a sustainable supporter base and helping resurrect the code in the ACT which had lost enormous ground to rugby league since
3354-478: The Australian Labor Party remained opposed and generally refused to recommend awards whilst in office, with this a part of the party's platform since 1918. This was confirmed in a resolution adopted unanimously by the party conference in 1921. However, the non-Labor parties remained supportive, with the long running Menzies government making significant use of the imperial system. The Order of Australia
3483-588: The Essendon Football Club . Both games were at the SCG. The Swans remain one of only two clubs to have scored consecutive team tallies above 200 points, the only other being Geelong in 1992. However, this was followed by several heavy losses, including defeat by Hawthorn by 99 points in the Qualifying Final and by 76 points against Melbourne in the First Semi-final. The club's form was to slump in
3612-568: The Yarraville Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (which, at the time, was aggressively recruiting VFL stars to play under its new throw-pass rules ), and he lodged a request with Richmond for a clearance to the VFA club. Richmond rejected the clearance, and Dyer was unwilling to transfer without a clearance (even though one was not required at the time). Dyer ultimately decided to remain with Richmond as
3741-426: The previous year's grand finalists North Melbourne and Hawthorn drew a record 31,395 to the gates. In 1979 the financially struggling Fitzroy Lions conducted a feasibility into the possibility of moving to North Sydney and a proposal was put forward, but was voted down by its board in 1980. To test the market further, the VFL scheduled 4 matches for the SCG in 1980 with an average attendance of 19,000. In April 1980,
3870-465: The "Bloods" in reference to the red colour used on players' guernseys , the Swan emblem was adopted in 1933 after a journalist at the time referred to them using the moniker following a large influx of Western Australian players. In 1982, it became the first professional Australian football club to permanently relocate interstate (from Victoria to New South Wales). Initially playing in Sydney as "The Swans", it
3999-399: The "Bloods", in reference to the bright red diagonal sash on their white jumpers The colourful epithet the "Bloodstained Angels" was also in use. Following the 1880 amalgamation it became the strongest in metropolitan Melbourne. Over its first decade as an amalgamated club, South Melbourne won five VFA premierships – in 1881, 1885 (undefeated) and three-in-a-row in 1888, 1889 and 1890 – and
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4128-409: The "Swanettes", becoming the sole such American-style cheerleading group among VFL teams following the disbandment of Carlton's Blue Birds in 1986. The Swanettes did not get much performance time, owing to the short intervals between quarters of play in the VFL and the lack of space in which they might perform while other activities take place on the field. The Swanettes were rapidly discontinued. During
4257-477: The 20,000 average crowds predicted by the VFL's 1980 Hennessy Report). Television ratings and sponsorship revenue in Sydney were also far below the league's expectations. Operating at a loss well short of the VFL's predicted $ 750,000 a year profit poor financial performance continued to drown the club in 1984, with the club flagging pay cuts to its players in order to survive. Coach Ricky Quade resigned and caretaker coach Bob Hammond, despite showing some promise,
4386-494: The 25 greatest footballers never to win a Brownlow medal . The " Jack Dyer Medal " is awarded each season to the winner of the Richmond Football Club 's best and fairest count. Since the 2000s, the Richmond captain has automatically switched to wearing guernsey number 17, the number worn by Dyer throughout his career. But when Trent Cotchin took over the captaincy of the Tigers in 2013, he continued wearing his number 9. Following
4515-474: The 435 people who have received the nation's top Order of Australia honours since they were first awarded in 1975, shows they disproportionately attended a handful of elite Victorian secondary schools. Scotch College alumni received the highest number of awards, with 19 former students receiving Australia's [then] highest honour". On 26 January 1980 the Order of Australia Association was created as an incorporated body with membership open to award recipients. It
4644-523: The AFL rejected this. There were also strong rumours that the AFL intended to merge the club with the Brisbane Bears to form a combined New South Wales/Queensland team, fold altogether, or even move back to South Melbourne. Without adequate alternatives the AFL Commission instead decided to step in and save the club, offering substantial monetary and management support, with the 15 clubs asked to cover
4773-479: The Bloodbath ", due to the player brawl that overshadowed the match, with a total of 9 players being reported by the umpires. Carlton won the match by 28 points, and from then on, South Melbourne struggled for many years. Following the end of the second world war, South Melbourne consistently struggled, as their traditional inner-city recruiting district largely emptied as a result of demographic shifts. The club missed
4902-681: The Clarendon Hotel in South Melbourne to establish a junior football club, to be called the South Melbourne Football Club . The club commenced playing in 1874 at its home ground, Lakeside Oval in Albert Park . Playing as South Melbourne, it participated in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) competition from 1878 before joining the breakaway Victorian Football League (VFL) as a founding member in 1897. Originally known as
5031-525: The Edelsten era, the club's owner and the private company Westec are reported to have sunk more than $ 10 million in additional private capital to keep the club afloat. When the Southern Cross club went bankrupt in 1987, the club relocated to the newly built Sydney Football Stadium . In 1987, the Swans scored 201 points against the West Coast Eagles and the following week scored 236 points against
5160-459: The Keep South at South board resigned and a board in favour of the move to Sydney was installed. In 1982, the club was still technically a Melbourne-based club which played all of its home games at the Sydney Cricket Ground . Its physical "home club" was the "Southern Cross Social Club" at 120a Clovelly Road, Randwick In response to the move, the club's sponsors, Bond Corporation pulled out and
5289-418: The Order of Australia and the award of 199 Honorary Medals of the Order of Australia. Notable honorary awards include: Since 1975, just over 30 per cent of recipients of an Order of Australia honour have been women. The number of nominations and awards for women is trending up, with the 2023 Australia Day Honours resulting in the highest percentage of awards for women to date (47.1 per cent, 47.9 per cent in
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5418-578: The Order of Australia. This was done by with the addition of two additional award levels: Knight or Dame (AK or AD) above the level of Companion, and the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) below Members. The Civil Division was also renamed the General Division, so that awards could be given to those in the Defence Force for non-military achievement. These changes were made on 24 May 1976. The reaction to
5547-481: The Order of Canada, while 537 non-Australians have been appointed to the Order of Australia, with 46 to the Companion level. Public reaction to the new awards was mixed. Only the state Labor governments of Tasmania and South Australia agreed to submit recommendations for the new awards, with the remaining governments affirming their committent to the existing imperial honours system. Newspaper editorials similarly praised
5676-492: The Order were gazetted on 22 December 2015. Yvonne Kenny AM represented the Order at the 2023 Coronation . King Charles III , when he was Prince of Wales , was appointed a Knight of the Order of Australia (AK) on 14 March 1981. As he is not an Australian citizen, even though he was the heir to the Australian throne at the time, this would have required the award to be honorary. To overcome this issue, his appointment
5805-581: The Order would be determined by the Council of the Order of Australia. Awards of the Order of Australia are sometimes made to people who are not citizens of Australia to honour extraordinary achievements. These achievements, or the people themselves, are not necessarily associated with Australia, although they often are. On 1 July 2024, the Australian Honours website listed appointments for 46 Honorary Companions, 118 Honorary Officers, 174 Honorary Members of
5934-441: The Queen to reinstate the level of knight or dame and the Queen co-signed letters patent to bring this into effect. The change was publicly announced on 25 March, and gazetted on 17 April 2014. Up to four knights or dames could be appointed each year, by the Queen of Australia on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with the chairman of the Order of Australia Council. Five awards of knight and dame were then made, to
6063-585: The Swans had made successive finals appearances for the first time since relocating. His consistently spectacular aerial exploits earned him the Mark of the Year award in 1987 while his goalkicking efforts (amassing 103 goals in 1987) made him runner up in the Coleman Medal two years running. The Swans' successive finals appearances saw crowds during this time peak at an average of around 25,000 per game. Edelsten also introduced
6192-704: The Swans in Sydney was so bad that by the start of the 1985 season, the VFL began to backflip and the league's administrators, having sunk large amounts of money into the club began looking to offload it. On 31 July 1985, for what was thought to be $ 6.3 million, Geoffrey Edelsten "bought" the Swans; in reality it was $ 2.9 million in cash with funding and other payments spread over five years. Edelsten resigned as chairman in less than twelve months, but had already made his mark. He immediately recruited former Geelong coach Tom Hafey . Hafey, in turn, used his knowledge of Geelong's contracts to recruit David Bolton , Bernard Toohey and Greg Williams , who would all form
6321-405: The Sydney public as a flamboyant, flashy club, typified by the style of its spearhead, Warwick Capper , his long bright blond mullet and bright pink boots made him unmissable on the field and his pink Lamborghini, penchant for girlfriends who were fashion models and his general showy eccentricity made him notorious off the field – all somewhat fashionable in the 1980s . During Capper's peak years,
6450-521: The Tigers won in a rematch with the Swans. Richmond's successfully used a ruck combination of Bentley, Dyer and rover Ray Martin. The number of on-field incidents grew and after a particularly difficult game during 1935, newspaper cartoonist John Ludlow in The Age drew a picture of Dyer as a pirate and a journalist nicknamed him 'Captain Blood', after the Errol Flynn film Captain Blood . Initially, Dyer
6579-432: The VFL paid Powerplay just $ 10 to transfer ownership of the club in an attempt to keep it afloat until a buyer could be found. The VFL would wait months for the club to regain financial security. The VFL had reported that it needed to find a buyer willing to pay at least $ 4 million in order to make the club financially viable in the medium to long term. In the meantime, the league had secured a sponsor which helped underwrite
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#17328561397716708-404: The VFL stated that its market study showed there was sufficient support for a Sydney team, finding that there was an increase in television ratings in Sydney and sustained attendance at matches and that it intended to have a team in Sydney, possibly as soon as 1982. A 1981 report by Graham Huggins concluded that there was an "untapped market in Sydney which represented an excellent opportunity for
6837-506: The Yarra Junction primary school. For his secondary education, Dyer was sent by his parents to St Ignatius in Richmond . He boarded in the city with an aunt. One of the brothers running the school offered Dyer a sporting scholarship to De La Salle College, Malvern . After leaving school with several sporting trophies, Dyer played with St Ignatius on Saturdays and with Richmond Hill Old Boys in
6966-466: The advice of then prime minister Gough Whitlam . Before the establishment of the order, Australians could receive British honours , which continued to be issued in parallel until 1992. Appointments to the order are made by the governor-general , "with the approval of The Sovereign", according to recommendations made by the Council for the Order of Australia . Members of the government are not involved in
7095-553: The association are in all the states and territories of Australia as well as the UK and the USA. Total inductees as of July 2024 . The order of wearing Australian and other approved honours is determined by the government. The award is parodied in the play Amigos , where the central character is determined to be awarded the AC, and uses persuasion, bribery and blackmail in his (ultimately successful) attempts to get himself nominated for
7224-498: The award to Prince Philip in a ReachTEL poll. The Australian Labor Party continued to oppose knighthoods and damehoods. Leader of the opposition Bill Shorten stated in March 2014 that the party would again discontinue the level if it were to win the next Australian federal election. The knighthood decision was a significant factor that caused Liberal party members to question Abbott's leadership, with Malcolm Turnbull succeeding in
7353-528: The award. During the 1996 season of the popular television programme Home and Away , the character Pippa Ross was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her years of service as a foster carer. Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney , New South Wales . The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and
7482-411: The awards as an example of Australia's greater independence, whilst also noting that the awards would likely appear second-rate. The Australian stated that There is no longer a British Empire; everyone knows that. But somehow the phrase "imperial honours" still carries a ring of regal authenticity that somehow transcends nationalism. For the time being a recipient ... of the Order of Australia
7611-518: The basis for: John Raymond Dyer was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division (OAM) , in the 1990 Queen's Birthday Honours List , "for service to Australian Rules Football". Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II , Queen of Australia , on
7740-408: The breakaway Victorian Football League joining St Kilda , Essendon , Fitzroy , Melbourne , Geelong , Carlton and Collingwood . South Melbourne was one of the original founding clubs of the Victorian Football League that was formed in 1897. The club had early success and won three VFL premierships in 1909, 1918 and 1933. However, they were the subject of some off-field difficulties, and
7869-404: The centre an enamelled disc bearing an image of the coat of arms of Australia . The colours of royal blue and gold are taken from the livery colours of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms , the then national colours . The star for knights and dames is a convex golden disc decorated with citrines, with a blue royally crowned inner disc bearing an image of the coat of arms of Australia. The ribbon of
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#17328561397717998-519: The changes to the awards were similarly split along party lines. Following the 1983 federal election , Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke recommitted to the end of recommendations for imperial awards. No knighthoods were awarded during his first term in office and he advised the abolition of the knight/dame level after being re-elected in 1986. During the time the division was active from 1976 to 1983, twelve knights and two dames were created. On 19 March 2014, monarchist prime minister Tony Abbott advised
8127-404: The club in droves, including Brownlow Medalist Greg Williams , Bernard Toohey and Barry Mitchell . The careers of stars such as Dennis Carroll , David Bolton , Ian Roberts , Tony Morwood and David Murphy wound down, while promising young players like Jamie Lawson , Robert Teal and Paul Bryce had their careers cut short by injury. Attendances consistently dropped below 10,000 when
8256-436: The club until the sale. At the end of 1988 the VFL re-tendered the Swans license and a group of financial backers including Mike Willesee , Basil Sellers, Peter Weinert and Craig Kimberley, purchased the licence and bankrolled the club. Morale at the side plummeted as players were asked to take pay cuts. Coach Tom Hafey was sacked by the club in 1988 after a player-led rebellion at his tough training methods (unusual in
8385-539: The club was left without a major backer. At a major launch in Sydney, Aylett vindicated the league's decision, announcing it had signed a new sponsor, Ward Transport, and that on-field success for the Swans would soon follow. The Swans experienced success in the 1982 Escort Championships with 1,000 supporters packing out the Chevron Hotel ballroom in King Cross in response to the win, however Channel Seven did not broadcast
8514-471: The club's AUD$ 1.2 million annual expenses including license fee and hire of the SCG. With draft and salary cap concessions in the early 1990s and a series of notable recruits, the team became competitive after the early part of the decade. During this time, the side was largely held together by two inspirational skippers, both from the Wagga Wagga region of country New South Wales, Dennis Carroll and later
8643-531: The coaching position at Richmond. Dyer, along with former Collingwood captain Lou Richards , became an early television commentator on Australian football after the medium was introduced to Australia in 1956. Dyer also was a radio broadcaster – for many years, he and Ian Major called football matches for radio station 3KZ (KZ-FM after the station converted to FM in 1990) as The Captain and The Major . According to various historical articles, videos, quotes on
8772-453: The code in Sydney remained the poorest in the country (where it was behind three other football codes). In the late 1970s, however, with increasing professionalism of the sport there was an overall increase in national interest in the VFL competition. In 1976, Melbourne journalist Jim Main began to break a story that a leading Melbourne businessman who had relocated to Sydney, Mannie Bongornio, had been meeting with Allen Aylett about luring
8901-556: The colony. Despite not being part of the big league of clubs, South Melbourne by the mid-1870s is recorded to have enough senior players to field two teams of twenty and played matches against non-Cup clubs during this time against nearby clubs including Fawkner Park, Elwood, West Melbourne , Southern Rifles in 1875 and Sandridge Alma, St Kilda Alma, Victoria Parade, and Williamstown in 1876 among others. Many of this group of clubs most of which had primarily juniors had also begun to discuss starting their own cup competition. South
9030-459: The courageous captain Paul Kelly . However coach Gary Buckenara was sacked after 18 straight losses, managing to register just 2 wins and a draw during his term. Desperate to hang on, the club was keen to enlist the biggest names and identities in the AFL, and recruited Ron Barassi as coach who helped save the club from extinction while serving them as coach from Round 7, 1993 to 1995. At roughly
9159-595: The cousin of Keith "Bluey" Truscott , on 25 November 1939 at St Ignatius' Church, Richmond . After an assortment of jobs in his early adulthood, Dyer joined the police force in July 1935. Dyer served in the police for nine years, before he resigned to conduct a milk bar , The Tiger Milk Bar and Newsagency at 394 Church Street, Richmond. In 1949 he became the publican at the Foresters' Arms Hotel in Port Melbourne, and in 1952,
9288-423: The day and admitted many years later to being intimidated. In 1932, partnering Bentley in the ruck, Dyer played successfully in the first half of the season before suffering a serious knee injury that put him out for the rest of the year. In ten matches, Dyer received 12 Brownlow medal votes for four best afield performances. He was chosen for Victoria after fewer than a dozen league matches. On Grand Final day, Dyer
9417-465: The day. Dyer got another couple of chances and showed some form, but by mid-season found himself in the seconds team, with players who were not quite league standard, but wanted to stay on at the club and earn an extra few shillings per week to support their families. At one point, Dyer walked away from Richmond for a few weeks and returned to suburban football. Club secretary Percy Page persuaded him back by promising to clear any recalcitrant players. In
9546-428: The decision that had been made on 29 July required a three-quarters majority in a vote of all twelve clubs, and at a meeting on 14 October it failed to obtain this majority. The new board, whilst representative of most fans, lacked the support of the players, many of whom were in favour of a long-term move to Sydney; in early November, after the board promised that it would try to bring the club back to Melbourne in 1983,
9675-593: The early favourites to win, South Melbourne were a notable exclusion from the Challenge Cup competitions of the 1870s with entry to this competition strictly limited to clubs playing under the Melbourne Football Club 's rules. The club's lack of adherence to the Victorian Rules (and insistence on playing by its own rules) resulted in some controversial early wins. This, along with ability to regularly field
9804-424: The elimination final. In that time, they "won" three wooden spoons . Between Round 7, 1972 and Round 13, 1973, the team lost 29 consecutive games. By the end of the 1970s, South Melbourne were saddled with massive debts after struggling for such a long period of time. The VFL had been actively seeking an audience in Sydney since its first exhibition match in 1903 drew 20,000 people. For more than three quarters of
9933-458: The exception of awards recommended by the soon to be independent government of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea ); however this did not affect the constitutional right of state governments to recommend imperial awards. According to the governor general's then-secretary Sir David Smith , Whitlam was furious when he first saw Devlin's design for the insignia of the order, due to the inclusion of
10062-418: The finals in 1946 and continued to fall such that by 1950 they were second-last on the ladder. They narrowly missed the finals in 1952, but from 1953 to 1969, they never finished any higher than eighth on the ladder. By the 1960s it was clear that South Melbourne's financial resources would not be capable of allowing them to compete in the growing market for country and interstate players, and their own local zone
10191-420: The finals, and some good wins at home and respectable home crowds against league leaders Carlton and Richmond, the lack of success and cold reception in Sydney led to the lustre quickly leaving the league's glamour team. It was officially renamed the "Sydney Swans" in 1983. In 1983 average crowds in Sydney continued to plummet to 12,000 and Swans supporter packages dropped to as low as 100 members (well short of
10320-424: The finals, including four successive grand final appearances from 1933 to 1936, albeit with only one premiership in 1933. The collection of players recruited from interstate in 1932/1933 became known as South Melbourne's "Foreign Legion". On grand final eve, 1935, as the Swans prepared to take on Collingwood, star full-forward Bob Pratt was clipped by a truck moments after stepping off a tram and subsequently missed
10449-429: The first quarter (kicking against the wind); and, although Essendon outscored Richmond in the last three quarters, Richmond won the match 16.12 (108) to 12.15 (87). Dyer's performance that day was one of the best individual performances by a Richmond player in the club's history. A match reporter for The Argus , in an article titled "Dyer's Grand First Quarter", wrote: Rarely has a higher standard of play been seen in
10578-425: The following season 1934. The name stuck, in part due to the club's association with nearby Albert Park and Lake , also known for its swans (although there are no longer any non-native white swans and only black, indigenous swans in the lake). After several years with only limited success, South Melbourne next reached the grand final in 1945. The match, played against Carlton, was to become known colloquially as "
10707-490: The following year. Losses were in the millions. It was obvious to most that the Swans were struggling financially, though the owners, Sydney Rules Pty Ltd a subsidiary of Powerplay International Ltd were not selling. In early 1988 the company advised the Australian Securities Exchange to cease trading its shares as it could not continue to trade until it had offloaded the Swans. A Canberra consortium including
10836-476: The general division). Advocacy groups such as Honour a Woman and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency have called for greater effort to be made to reach equal representation of men and women in the order. In December 2010, The Age reported a study of the educational backgrounds of all people who had received Knight/Dame and Companion level awards at that time. It reported: "An analysis of
10965-657: The governments of each respective state and territory, and three ex officio members (the chief of the Defence Force , the vice-president of the Federal Executive Council and a public servant responsible for honours policy). The Council chair as of August 2024 is Shelley Reys. The Council makes recommendations to the governor-general. Awards are announced on Australia Day and on the King's Birthday public holiday in June, on
11094-572: The governor-general to remove an individual from the order, who may cancel an award. Announcements of all awards, cancellations and resignations appear in the Commonwealth Gazette . Nomination forms are confidential and not covered by the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) . The reasoning behind a nomination being successful or unsuccessful—and even the attendees of the meetings where such nominations are discussed—remains confidential. As
11223-461: The introduction of the Canberra Raiders. However the VFL blocked the move feeling that the club would lose its identity if it were to play matches in Canberra. By mid year the VFL had revoked the Swans license and took over ownership of the club, after an investigation under VFL CEO Ross Oakley determined that it was unable to continue operating. However, there were no buyers. On 6 May 1988
11352-496: The late 1920s, the South Melbourne Districts Football Club donated 40 guineas to South Melbourne to stop them from folding. The Districts also often provided assistance payments to players when needed. In 1932, the red sash on the guernsey was replaced with a red "V". The club was at its most successful in the 1930s, when key recruits from both Victoria and interstate led to a string of appearances in
11481-463: The league floated a radical proposal for Carlton or Collingwood to play all of their away games in Sydney, however it was felt that even the leagues most popular clubs wouldn't be able to draw a sufficient audience in Sydney to cover for the loss of the Swans. The AFL extended an offer for a Tasmanian license which was declined, and received an offer from the ACTAFL to relocate the club to Canberra, however
11610-417: The league." The report claimed that 60,000 people in Sydney had stated that they would regularly support the new club and 90% of these supporters would watch VFL on television from Sydney and 80% of these supporters had not attended rugby and 92% believed that Australian rules could become popular in Sydney. In 1981 the VFL had decided that it would establish an entirely new 13th VFL club in Sydney along with
11739-406: The match for South. Ironically, the truck driver was a South Melbourne supporter. It was during this period that the team became known as the Swans. The nickname, which was suggested by a Herald and Weekly Times artist in 1933, was inspired by the number of Western Australians in the team (the black swan being the state emblem of Western Australia), and was formally adopted by the club before
11868-406: The match in Sydney. The club won their first official Sydney home game against Melbourne in front of 15,764. In June 1982, it dropped the name "South Melbourne", officially becoming "the Swans" for the rest of the season. The name change, however, did not endear either the Sydney media or the Sydney public, and after successive games at home, began to draw as few as 10,000. Despite just missing
11997-544: The media as a popular broadcaster and journalist. Dyer was born in Oakleigh , now a south-eastern suburb of Melbourne , but grew up in the small farming hamlet of Yarra Junction on the Yarra River , approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) east of the city. His parents, Ben and Nellie, were of Irish descent. The second of three children, Dyer had an elder brother, Vin, and a younger sister, Eileen. Dyer first played football at
12126-496: The most recent of which came in 2024 . According to Roy Morgan , the Swans are one of the most supported clubs in the AFL with more than a million fans in 2021. The club's origins trace back to 21 March 1873, when a meeting was held at the Clarendon Hotel in South Melbourne for the purpose of establishing a junior football club, to be called the South Melbourne Football Club. According to club historians, it
12255-407: The move caused very great internal difficulties as a large supporters' group known as Keep South at South campaigned against the move throughout the rest of 1981; and, at an extraordinary general meeting on 22 September, the group democratically won control of the club's board. However, the new board did not have the power to unilaterally stop the move to Sydney: under the VFL constitution, to rescind
12384-412: The nearby Albert-park Football Club , which had a senior football history dating back to May 1867 (Albert-park had, in fact, been known as South Melbourne during its first year of existence). Following the amalgamation, the club retained the name South Melbourne, and adopted the club's now familiar red and white colours from Albert-park. Nicknamed the "Southerners", the team was more colourfully known as
12513-417: The occasion of a special announcement by the governor-general (usually honorary awards), and on the appointment of a new governor-general. The governor-general presents the order's insignia to new appointees. Appointments to the order may be made posthumously as long as a person was nominated for an award whilst they were still alive. Awardees may subsequently resign from the order, and the Council may advise
12642-504: The official Richmond website, and press obituaries, Dyer was responsible for many malapropisms , witticisms , and comical gaffes , including: Other memorable quotes include: Retiring from the media in the early 1990s, when KZ-FM stopped broadcasting football, Dyer successfully led opposition to an AFL proposed merger of his old club with St Kilda in 1989. A photograph was taken of Richmond captain-coach Dyer, aged 30 and playing his 222nd game, wearing white strapping on his left thumb and
12771-457: The opposition, and, with [Leo] Merrett darting in and out of the packs to lead attacks from the wing, and the rucks functioning well, the bombardment was so intense that Essendon wilted. The photograph, which also appeared on the cover of the Australian Post's $ 4.50 booklet of ten "Richmond Tigers" postage stamps issued in 1996 as part of the "centenary of the AFL" celebrations, has also been
12900-649: The order at all levels. Nomination forms are submitted to the Director, Honours Secretariat, a position within the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia , at Government House, Canberra , which are then forwarded to the Council for the Order of Australia . The council consists of 19 members: seven selected by the prime minister (described as "community representatives"), eight appointed by
13029-407: The order in descending order of seniority are: Honorary awards at all levels may be made to non-citizens. These awards are made additional to the quotas. The order's insignia was designed by Stuart Devlin . The badge of the Order of Australia is a convex disc (gold for AKs, ADs and ACs, gilt for AOs, AMs and OAMs) representing a single flower of mimosa . At the centre is a ring, representing
13158-416: The order is royal blue with a central stripe of mimosa blossoms. Awards in the military division are edged with 1.5 mm golden bands. AKs, male ACs and AOs wear their badges on a necklet and male AMs and OAMs wear them on a ribbon on the left chest. Women usually wear their badges on a bow on the left shoulder, although they may wear the same insignia as males if so desired. A gold lapel pin for daily wear
13287-453: The outgoing governor-general , Quentin Bryce ; her successor, Peter Cosgrove ; a recent chief of the Defence Force , Angus Houston ; a recent governor of New South Wales , Marie Bashir ; and Prince Philip . This last award was widely met with ridicule and dismay by many in the Australian media. The award was also heavily criticised in the community, with 72% disapproving and 12% in favour of
13416-422: The players went on strike, seeking to force the new board to commit to Sydney in the long term as well as seeking payments that the cash-strapped club owed them from the previous season. The board ended up undermining its own position when it accepted a $ 400,000 loan from the VFL in late November in order to stay solvent, under the condition that it commit to Sydney for at least two years. Finally, in early December,
13545-472: The possibility of another club making Sydney a viable move, in 1981, the South Melbourne board, recognising the structural difficulties it faced with long-term viability and financial stability in Melbourne, decided not to miss what it saw as a strategic opportunity to capture an untapped market and save its club. The board made the decision to play all 1982 home games in Sydney. The club had been operating at
13674-672: The prime minister alone, rather than by the Council of the Order of Australia, as is the case with all lower levels of the order. In accordance with the statutes of 2014, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , was created a Knight of the Order by letters patent signed by the Queen on 7 January 2015, on Abbott's advice. Prince Philip's knighthood was announced as part of the Australia Day Honours on 26 January 2015 and his appointment attracted criticism of what Abbott described as his "captain's call". Abbott responded by announcing that future recommendations for appointments as Knights and Dames of
13803-869: The publican at the Post Office Hotel in Prahran. On 8 March 1940, Richmond announced that they had refused the recently married Dyer a clearance to coach VFA club Yarraville ; and Dyer stated that he would not cross to Yarraville without a clearance. He and his wife Sybil had two children, Jack Jr (Jackie, born 15 December 1940) and Jill (married name Devine). Jackie had a brief career at Punt Road from 1959 to 1961, playing three games, but retired from all football aged just 23. Following Sybil's sudden death in 1968, Dyer met Dorothy Eskell, with whom he spent 25 years. Dorothy supported him in his media career, and they lived together in Frankston . In his final years, Dyer lived in
13932-431: The recommendation of appointments, other than for military and honorary awards. The King of Australia is the sovereign head of the order, and the governor-general is the principal companion and chancellor of the order. The governor-general's official secretary , Paul Singer (appointed August 2018), is secretary of the order. The order is divided into a general and a military division. The five levels of appointment to
14061-571: The run up to the finals, with Richmond sitting second on the ladder, ruckman Percy Bentley went down with an injury that ended his season. Hughes included Dyer in the Tigers' team for the second semi final against Geelong . Playing mainly up forward, the unknown Dyer played a successful game, kicking three goals. In the Grand Final a fortnight later, again against Geelong, Geelong used their player and coach "Bull" Coghlan playing on Dyer. Coghlan played roughly against Dyer; Dyer had only four touches for
14190-475: The same time, Dermott Brereton was also recruited from Hawthorn on a three-year contract becoming one of the swans highest paid players, and was considered to replace Paul Kelly as club captain. However Brereton's time in Sydney was marred by multiple tribunal appearances including 6 and 7 week bans and while he starred in some upset wins he spent more time off the field than on it; resulting in Barassi labelling
14319-557: The sea, with the word Australia below two branches of mimosa. The whole disc is topped by the Crown of St Edward . The AC badge is decorated with citrines , blue enamelled ring, and enamelled crown. The AO badge is similar, without the citrines. For the AM badge, only the crown is enamelled, and the OAM badge is plain. The AK/AD badge is similar to that of the AC badge, but with the difference that it contains at
14448-508: The season, against North Melbourne . Dyer was made a reserve while the team achieved a VFL record score of 30.19 (199) in one of the biggest wins in VFL/AFL history. Hughes left Dyer on the bench. It was the height of the Great Depression and the going rate for the players was 3 pounds per match, but Richmond only paid half that for unused reserves, so Hughes saved the club thirty shillings on
14577-502: The semi-professional days of that era). The Willesee consortia appointed Col Kinnear as the new coach. Capper was sold to the Brisbane Bears for AUD$ 400,000 in a desperate attempt to improve the club's finances. Instead, it only led to disastrous on-field performances. Instead of a 100-goal-a-season forward, Sydney's goalkicking was led by Bernard Toohey (usually a defender) with 29 in 1989, then Jim West with 34 in 1990. Players left
14706-439: The site of the club's senior men's team home matches since 1982. The Swans have won five VFL/AFL premierships including 1909 , 1918 , and 1933 , before experiencing a 72-year premiership drought—the longest of any team in the competition's history. This premiership drought ended with the 2005 premiership , which was later followed by another title in 2012 . Their five premierships are supplemented by fourteen grand final defeats,
14835-452: The team performed poorly between 1990 and 1994. Kinnear in 1990 urged his players rally to support the club's loyal fans and stem their mass exodus however he was ultimately stood down in August 1991. The nadir came with three consecutive wooden spoons in 1992, 1993 and 1994. In October 1992, members from the 15 AFL clubs voted on axing the struggling Swans. To fill the void left by the Swans,
14964-506: The women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reserves men's team in the Victorian Football League (VFL). The Sydney Swans Academy, consisting of the club's best junior development signings, contests Division 2 of the men's and women's underage national championships and the Talent League . The club's origins trace back to 21 March 1873, when a meeting was held at
15093-438: Was a reportable offence. In a nineteen-year career, he was reported five times and suspended once. Dyer was keen to take on a coaching role, and had reportedly been promised the position of playing coach by the Richmond committee at the end of 1939 before it reneged and re-appointed Percy Bentley . As a consequence, Dyer announced that he would not play for Richmond in 1940. He received a lucrative offer to become captain-coach of
15222-488: Was adept at punching the ball out of a pack contesting a mark, often sending the ball more than 40 yards. In 1947, Dyer crashed into Melbourne's Frank Hanna in round 15. The umpire cleared him for rough conduct, though Hanna was knocked unconscious. Don Cordner checked his pulse and Hanna was covered with a blanket, including his head, and was carried off on a stretcher. Dyer thought he had killed Hanna. By three-quarter time, he still believed he had killed him until he asked
15351-433: Was angry at the connotation and the implied slur on his sportsmanship. Dyer preferred the 'hip and shoulder' method of meeting an opponent rather than grabbing him in a tackle. The force of being hit by the athletic, 89 kg frame of Dyer was often enough to leave a player prostrate and not wanting to re-enter the fray for a while. Occasionally, the hip and shoulder could go awry and Dyer's forearm would come into play, which
15480-429: Was back in reserve as his teammates won Richmond's third premiership after several finals failures. Dyer did reappear in 1933, wearing a dirty knee bandage. In his own phrase, Dyer was unable to "turn off" or "pull up" and he sometimes collected a teammate if his timing was out. In the Grand Final against South Melbourne , Richmond lost by eight goals, but Dyer achieved thirty touches. In the following year's Grand Final,
15609-447: Was created by an amendment to the constitution of the Order of Australia by special letters patent signed by the Queen, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser . In March 2014 the knight and dame levels, which had been abolished in 1986 by Prime Minister Bob Hawke , were reintroduced to the Order of Australia by Tony Abbott . At the same time, Abbott announced that future appointments at this level would be recommended by
15738-498: Was established on 14 February 1975 by letters patent of Queen Elizabeth II , acting as Queen of Australia , and on the advice of the newly elected Labor prime minister , Gough Whitlam . The original order had three levels: Companion (AC), Officer (AO) and Member (AM) as well as two divisions: Civil Division and Military Division. Whitlam had previously announced in 1972 (on his third day in office) that his government would no longer nominate persons for British Imperial honours (with
15867-643: Was given its current name in 1983. The club has a rivalry with the Greater Western Sydney Giants , with whom they contest the Sydney Derby . Their headquarters and training facilities are located in the Moore Park sporting precinct, with offices and indoor training at the Royal Hall of Industries and outdoor sessions conducted on the adjacent Tramway Oval and Sydney Cricket Ground , the latter being
15996-603: Was incorporated at the Temperance Hall, Napier Street at Emerald Hill 19 June 1874. It was first known as "Cecil Football Club" (after Cecil Street, South Melbourne , one of the early thoroughfares), but adopted the name "South Melbourne Football Club" four weeks later on 15 July. The club was based at Lake Oval alongside the lake in Albert Park, also home of the South Melbourne Cricket Club . While one of
16125-416: Was made and Dyer was in training with Richmond for the start of the 1931 season. Richmond's coach 'Checker' Hughes pitting Dyer against veteran Joe Murdoch in a practice session. Dyer hardly touched the ball and was disheartened about his prospects until Hughes consoled him by explaining the pairing with Murdoch was a trial of courage, not skill. Hughes selected him for his debut in just the second game of
16254-499: Was never strong enough to compensate for this. The introduction of country zoning failed to help, as the Riverina Football League proved to be one of the least profitable zones. Between 1945 and 1981, South Melbourne made the finals only twice: under legendary coach Norm Smith , South Melbourne finished fourth in 1970, but lost the first semi-final; and, in 1977, the club finished fifth under coach Ian Stewart, but lost
16383-429: Was one of Victoria's most prolific touring clubs. Seeking more regular senior competition in 1876 South Melbourne also went on one of its first regional tours playing against newly formed clubs at Beechworth , Blackwood , Taradale and Ballarat . South Melbourne was a junior foundation club of the Victorian Football Association in 1877, and attained senior status in 1879. In 1880, South Melbourne amalgamated with
16512-469: Was runner-up to the provincial Geelong Football Club in 1880, 1883 and 1886. The 1886 season was notable for its 4 September match against Geelong, which generated unprecedented public interest as both clubs had entered the match undefeated. The club was the second Victorian club to visit New South Wales in 1883 travelling to Newcastle where it also defeated the Northern Districts League by
16641-425: Was unable to turn the club's poor performance around. In order to keep the club solvent during this time, the VFL began to write loans to the Swans that the club would have been unable to pay off on its own. The Swans were the league's most reliant on sponsorship and subsidies from the VFL to stay solvent and meet player payments due to its continued poor crowds, public apathy and poor TV ratings. Public support for
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