Tom Wills. His spectacular rise and tragic fall. Greg de Moore. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2008 (xvi + 336 pp). ISBN 978 1 74175 499 5.

Greg de Moore, a Sydney psychiatrist, has undertaken an amazing amount of research in compiling this account of the interesting life of one of Victoria’s sporting identities of the 19th century. Born on a sheep run on the Molonglo River in 1835, Tom Wills was sent in 1850 to England for education at Rugby, where he was no great scholar but excelled in cricket, football, athletics and other sporting activities.

On returning to the colony, Wills soon established himself as the best batsman and bowler in the colony of Victoria and achieved celebrity status. He was later described by the English doyen of cricket, Dr W G Grace, as “the greatest cricketer in the land”. At that time, cricketers were given such prominence that the sitting times of Parliament were adjusted to facilitate members watching the match. Employers were expected to release workers for the same reason.

Football was a winter game played after the cricket season was completed and was virtually a free-for-all without rules. In a hotel on 17 May 1859, Wills and three others wrote the first rules of the Australian Football Code (a copy of the original hand-written document is reproduced in the book). Wills’ family, and later Wills himself, moved to a cattle station in Queensland. His father was later killed there by Aboriginal people. To the surprise of many, years on, Wills coached the well known all-Aboriginal cricket team. Unfortunately, Wills was a heavy drinker, and ultimately suicided.1

De Moore has located original records held by numerous organisations, including Rugby school. In addition to the details of Wills’ life, he gives an interesting insight into Victorian society as it was in Australia. His book is well priced and worthwhile reading for anyone interested in sport or sporting history.

1 de Moore GM. The suicide of Thomas Wentworth Wills. Med J Aust 1999; 171: 656-658.