ARCHIVES
ABOVE FROM LEFT : FREDERICK WILLIAM TURNER ( SC 1890-91 ), 1897 PLAYER ; GLENN ELLIOTT ( SC 1965- 68 ), 1969-77 PLAYER ; BILL TEMPLE ( SC 1950-53 ), 1966 PREMIERSHIP PHYSIO ; AND FREDERICK ROWDEN PHILLIPS ( SC 1921-23 ), 1924-32 PLAYER .
EDWARD SHEW AND THE BIRTH OF THE ST KILDA FOOTBALL CLUB
A SON OF SCOTCH WAS THE INAUGURAL TREASURER OF THIS 150-YEAR OLD CLUB
The Shew name has a long association with Scotch , but not until the St Kilda Football Club turned 150 did Scotch learn of Edward Shew ’ s involvement at the birth of the club .
The Herald of 3 April 1873 reported that ‘ A tolerably well attended meeting was held last evening at Young ’ s Hotel , St . Kilda , to complete the formation of a St . Kilda Football Club […]. The following office-bearers were also elected : treasurer , Mr . Edward Shew [….] Gentlemen desirous of becoming members are requested to apply to Mr . Shew , at the Bank of Australasia , Collins Street ….’
Born on 3 June 1849 at Doncaster , England , Edward attended Scotch from 1860 to 1863 . His brothers were Charles Dunbar Shew ( born 11.8.1868 , SC 1878-83 , died 27.2.1943 ) and Frank Shew ( born 14.6.1851 , SC 1860-66 , died 15.6.1934 ) who taught Classics and English at Scotch from 1870 to 1922 !
Early Saints ’ records are patchy , but newspaper articles show that Edward was Treasurer until at least 1875 and also played in the 3rd XVIII in 1874 .
Edward was Manager of the Collingwood branch of the Bank of Australasia in 1885 , and in 1888 became Sub-Manager of the Collins Street branch . In 1896 Edward became Manager of the Ballarat branch , from which he retired on 17 February 1909 . In giving evidence in financial court cases from 1886 , Edward became renowned Australia-wide as an expert in handwriting and detecting forgeries . In retirement he continued work as an expert handwriting witness , often in widely-reported and extraordinary fraud cases .
A man who served his communities , he rowed bow in Banks Rowing Club ’ s ( founded 1866 ) winning 1867 crew , and was later
Banks ’ Vice President . Edward was President of the Ballarat Club and Ballarat ’ s Athletic , Swimming , City Rowing and Handball Clubs , and Vice Commodore of the Yacht Club . He was Honorary Treasurer of the Society for the Protection of Animals ( now the RSPCA ) and President of the Athenaeum Library .
Edward died on 2 September 1920 at home at ‘ Otmoor ’, Crimea Street , St Kilda . His sons Edward Joseph Dougall Shew ( born 11.3.1876 , SC 1885-92 , died 2.8.1965 ) and Gilbert Frank Shew ( born 5.11.1877 , SC 1886-93 , died 8.8.1959 ) and grandson Gilbert Barry Shew ( born 30.11.1911 , SC 1922-28 , died 1.8.1975 ) followed him at Scotch .
Edward ’ s cousin , William Henry Hatch ( born 1857 , entered SC 1868 , died 13 July 1927 ), a Union Bank teller , also made a ( lesser ) name as a handwriting witness , and also served St Kilda Football Club . He was on its 1887 and 1912 to 1915 general committees , and was Treasurer ( 1898-1905 ; with a gap in records thereafter ).
Scotchie James Burt Stewart ( born 25.9.1864 , SC 1876-80 , died 25.10.1945 ) played for St Kilda in 1888 : his jumper from that year is understood to be the oldest surviving Australian Rules jumper .
When St Kilda joined the new Victorian Football League ( now the AFL ) in 1897 , four Scotchies ( including twins ) debuted for it in round 1 , with a fifth debuting two weeks later . Of the 20 Scotchies ( out of 180 Scotchies who have played VFL / now AFL football ) who have played for St Kilda to date , the most prolific are the classmates , mates and current players : Jack Billings ( SC 2001-13 ; 152 games , 107 goals ) and Jack Sinclair ( SC 2008-13 ; 144 games , 47 goals ). Angus McLennan (' 21 ) is the latest Scotchie to join St Kilda . ( See page 78 ).
100 Great Scot Issue 168 – May 2023