Tom Bushell
1881-1892
73 games
96 goals
Premiership Player 1881, 1885, 1888, 1889, 1890
Leading Goalkicker 1882, 1883
The early days of Australian rules football, much like other forms of football around the world, were deeply rooted in local communities and exhibited a strong connection between the team and its local supporters. The sport, codified in the 1850s in Victoria, quickly became a popular form of entertainment and community engagement.
Many clubs formed within the South Melbourne district in the game's formative years. Albert Park began in 1864. In 1873, South Park, South Melbourne Imperials, and Rising Sun emerged. Emerald Hill Standards, St Vincent, and Excelcias all commenced in 1877, and other clubs whose names have been lost over time. In later years, the Leopold team was the upholder of junior football in Albert Park and provided many champions to South Melbourne.
This was a transformative era for Australian football, and this vibrant new sport experienced an explosive surge in popularity. During this period, Thomas James Bushell was born in Geelong in 1863. The Geelong Football Club had formed just four years prior, and it can be assumed that the Bushell family enjoyed the game, giving Tom his earliest footy exposure.
On June 19, 1874, at the Emerald Hill Total Abstinence Society Hall—now known as the South Melbourne Temperance Hall–a group of men formed the Cecil Football Club. The team was described as the Cecil Southerners and their humble beginnings are highlighted by the solemn proposal, seconded and carried at the inaugural meeting, "that the Secretary has charge of the ball, and that it not be given to less than 10 members of the club, Saturdays excepted."
A month later, a group, including founding president John Parry, changed the name to the South Melbourne Football Club. The club colours were 'white cap with blue stripe from back to front, and round the band'. In 1878, the South Melbourne Cricket Ground was fenced in, the ground was greatly improved, and an eye-catching pavilion was built. The Southerners began their long association with the ground, but the committee held concerns, as it was the first time that football would be played on a first-class cricket ground in Australia.
By world standards of the time, Australian football crowds were extraordinary. In an 1875 edition of The Footballer, T.P. Poer wrote about the game's growing popularity, "The urchins one meets on every street corner, busily engaged in kicking their toes off at a piece of old raiment tightly bound together".
In 1879, South Melbourne won inclusion into the state's premier football competition—the Victorian Football Association. In their second season, the Southerners played in their now famous red and white for the first time, finishing runners-up to powerhouse club Geelong. All signs pointed to a bright future for the club, and in 1881, when a young forward named Bushell joined, hopes increased again.
On the morning of the match against Carlton, South's players greeted Bushell warmly. He entered a team already boasting fellow Swans Hall of Famer Jimmy Young and other notable players Matthew Minchin, Harry Latchford, George Major, and Chris Thomas.
South showed significant improvement, topping the ladder for most of the season. In September, they defeated defending premier Geelong by four goals in front of 10,000 delirious supporters at the Lake Oval, and 'those red and white beauties' claimed their first-ever premiership. Following the win, football writer Reg' Old Boy' Wilmot described Bushell as' a tower of strength to the side.'
In 1882, Bushells's reputation continued to grow. Renowned for his reliable kicking technique, he proved a problematic matchup for opposition defences. South played Carlton at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground in May in a crucial encounter. Late in proceedings, Bushell kicked the match-winning goal and was named among the team's best players. Bushell finished the season with 20 goals to claim his first South Melbourne leading goalkicker award.
Although the team couldn't repeat the previous year's heroics, one of the players to debut in 1882 would profoundly impact the club. Henry 'Sonny' Elms immediately showed his importance to South Melbourne and joined Bushell in representing South on a mid-season trip to Adelaide.
South Melbourne was hit with a raft of retirements and departures ahead of the 1883 season. Still, Bushell replicated his outstanding 1882 season by again kicking 20 goals to finish the year as the club's leading goalkicker for the second time. The new-look Southerners put together a competitive season, finishing runners-up to Geelong.
According to author Mark Pennings, Bushell spent much of the 1884 season in Adelaide before returning late in the season. South was still rebuilding, and it wasn't until 1885 that they found themselves contending for a premiership again. Elms assumed the captaincy and immediately impressed with his forthright leadership, while the arrival of future Bloods Legend Peter 'The Great' Burns sent expectations rocketing.
Bushell, a regular goalkicker again, played a consistent season with his ability to kick long-range goals, winning acclaim across the League. To replicate Geelong's successes, the Southerners applied a more professional approach. Pennings said, "Most energy was directed at developing a regular training schedule, for Geelong had proved the value of top physical conditioning. South also created an 'accident fund' to cover injured players. This was an added incentive for potential recruits, and South was outstanding in this area in 1885."
South's increasingly bold approach ultimately resulted in an undefeated, premiership-winning season. The Australasian declared South's win "The grandest performance in the annals of Victorian football. The splendid discipline of the team and the careful attention to individual condition have been prime factors in its success, as every man throughout the season has gone into the field prepared to play the game and has played it, and we have had no mention of weak or indifferent men throughout the campaign."
The club's 1885 annual report states that 'special prizes were awarded to Bushell, Elms, Harper and Munroe.' After finishing runners-up in 1886 and a disappointing third in 1887, the Southerners were about to embark on the most successful period in club history. Under Elms' leadership, they won the 1888, 1889 and 1890 flags.
As a treasured inclusion on the Swans' Heritage List, the success of the triple-premiership-winning South Melbourne VFA team is described as "South Melbourne embarked upon the greatest period in our history through a successful recruitment drive to match Geelong's enormous pool of football talent earlier in the decade. The Club assembled an imposing list of players with strength, skill and above all power."
Bushell, a senior player now, played a key role and is regarded as one of the finest forwards of his era. A critical part of the club's most successful era, Bushells' forward craft earned him selection in Pennings' South Melbourne team of the (19th) century.
In addition to his sporting satisfaction, Bushell married Ida Mary Louise King in 1890, and children Herbert, Kathleen, Thomas and Raymond completed the Bushell family. Tom worked as a warder, and the family spent time living in Kew and Collingwood. In 1927, aged 63, Bushell passed away.
Tom Bushell is fondly remembered as a five-time premiership player at the Swans and a highly-valued member of the club's golden era. He rightfully earned his place in the Swans Hall of Fame when inducted in 2022.
