Busy on and off the field

“Playing rugby in Spain, is like having a bullfight in Japan…”

Javier Bardem

Charles Cameron Kingston was a busy man. He served as Premier of South Australia, helped write the Australian Constitution, helped set up Federal Parliament, was elected to the first Federal House of Representatives and served as the first Australian Minister for Trade. He was an enormously controversial character and certainly no saint. Affairs, illegitimate children, claims of bullying, physical altercations and even a duel. In 2025 he would have been cancelled pretty quickly. Kingston also loved football, Australian Rules Football. He was the foundation secretary/president of the South Adelaide Football Club. He even played league for the Panthers in their first two seasons. Above you can see him in his trademark top hat, after South Adelaide won the inaugural 1885 SAFA premiership. Kingston through his work on the SAFA board, was key to the adoption of standardised national rules for what would become AFL. He was a particular champion of the rule requiring players to bounce the ball when running. It was said that without Kingston we would all be playing rugby. #fifteenmetremark #letsmakelemonade