Ted Terry
Encyclopedia
Edward Richard "Ted" Terry (4 June 1904 — 5 March 1967) was an outstanding all-round Tasmanian schoolboy athlete.
He was an accomplished professional sprinter, and he also played Australian rules football
in Tasmania before moving to the mainland and playing with St Kilda in the VFL, and with Prahran
in the Victorian Football Association
.
and parts of northeastern Tasmania.
He had one brother, John, and two sisters, Madge and May.
He married Kathleen Melva Westbrook. They had a daughter, Frances Jill Terry.
. He landed in Melbourne in 1852, and in October 1852 sailed to north-eastern of Tasmania, and settled at "Terry Vale" on the banks of the Powers Rivulet, near present day Goshen, Tasmania, in North-Eastern Tasmania. In 1854, hearing of the discovery of some very rich farming land in the region of today’s Pyengana, he moved there. He "selected
" 320 acres (130 hectares) of the very best land, and continued to farm it until his death. He was also the proprietor of the Columba Hotel, the only hotel offering accommodation in the district. In 1864, he married Celia Terry (née Rosier) (1843–1925), who was born in Avoca, Tasmania
.
on 21 August 1872, was one of the eleven sons and four daughters of Richard and Celia Terry.
"Old Ted" owned the Ascot Hotel, near Branxholm, North-Eastern Tasmania
; and, at various times, owned each of the three hotels at Derby, North-Eastern Tasmania
.
Two of "Old Ted’s" brothers also kept hotels: Alfred (1865–1937), the Commercial Hotel, at Ringarooma, Northern Tasmania
, and John (1870–1936), the Scottsdale Hotel, at Scottsdale, North-Eastern Tasmania
.
"Old Ted" also owned a timber mill in Derby, North-Eastern Tasmania
. "Young Ted's" brother John worked at the timber mill; and "Young Ted" also worked for his father at the timber mill for some time both immediately before and immediately after World War II.
"Old Ted" died, in Derby, on 12 May 1954.
He later became an athletics coach. He moved to South Africa in 1909, as the coach of "The Blue Streak" Jack Donaldson
, He was short-listed to coach the German team in the 1916 Summer Olympics
; however, the 1916 Olympic Games were later cancelled due to World War I. He was the coach of the South African Olympic Athletic Teams in 1924 and 1928. He was an athletics coach for the Australian Olympic Athletic Team in 1932.
, a Christian Brothers' college
, in Barrack Street, Hobart; and, whilst there, was an outstanding all-round schoolboy athlete. He excelled at track and field athletics, cricket, football, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, rowing, and handball.
was very strongly promoted amongst the students, driven by the Brothers' view that handball "affords an excellent preparatory training for football, as it calls into play all the resources of the physical man". Handball is one of the best ways for a potential Australian Rules footballer to acquire the optimum level of hand–eye coordination, ambidexterity
, smoothness and flexibility, and sense of where one is in time and space (e.g., Bill Serong
who played in three Grand Finals for Collingwood, went to the Christian Bothers' College in Victoria Parade, and was the Australian handball champion in 1974, aged 38).
Terry became the school's handball champion, and won the College's handball championship's gold medal in 1921.
for Tasmania — and Alan Bispham "Block" Brownell (1904–1981), two of the best bowlers that Tasmania has ever produced; and, in his last year at St Virgil's, he topped the school's batting and bowling averages.
At the 1919 Hobart Associated Secondary Schools' Athletics Carnival, held on Tuesday, 8 April 1919, competing for St. Virgil's, he ran equal third in the under-15 100 yards, second (by inches only) in the under-15 220 yards, second in the under-15 440 yards, and also came second in the under-15 high jump (jumping 4 ft 4in).
The 1919 Tasmanian Associated Schools
' Athletics Carnival had seven schools competing: four from the south (St. Virgil's, Hutchins
, Friends'
, and Leslie House School), and three from the north (Scotch
, St Patrick's
, and Church Grammar School
). Running for St. Virgil's, Ted Terry ran fourth in the under-15 100 yards, second in the under-15 220 yards, and second in the under-15 440 yards, as well as coming sixth in the under-15 high jump.
Despite Terry's outstanding individual success, St. Virgil's did not win the carnival; and, as a consequence, he was not permitted to compete at the Tasmanian State Secondary School Championships, because it was set up to be a competition between the best southern and the best northern school, rather than between the best southern athletes and the best northern athletes.
. The Tasmanian championships that year were especially significant due to the presence of a South African team, which included a number of eminent South African sprinters, including 1920 Olympic sliver medallist in the 4x400 relay, J.K.A. Oosterlaak
, J.W. Bukes and H.P. Kinsman (who would later represent South Africa at the 1924 Olympics and the 1928 Olympics). Kinsman did not compete in the championships due to injury.
Terry won the Secondary Schools' 100 Yards championship (by 3 yards in 10.6 secs), won the 200 yards Cadet Championship (by 5 yards in 25 secs) and, running off scratch, came second in the Secondary Schools' 440 Yards' Handicap, by 4 yards, having given a 20 yard start to the winner.
Then, Terry went on and proved his worth as a sprinter, running against grown men in the senior 100 yards championship, when he ran second in his heat, 2 yards behind Oosterlaak, who won in 10.4 secs.
In a thrilling final, Bukes led from the start and drew away, with Oosterlaak, the favourite, coming back at the finish and appearing to catch Bukes on the line. Terry, by far the best Tasmanian, finished third, just four yards away, in a very fast race; Bukes had won by inches, in a time of 10 secs — an open Tasmanian record. The anticipation of the crowd, waiting to see if the runners could be separated by the judges, was transformed into even greater excitement when the course announcer publicly declared that it was not a dead-heat, but then also (mistakenly) declared Oosterlaak the winner; and, then, immediately had to announce that he was mistaken, and that Bukes had indeed won.
Noting that Terry had been greatly overworked at the championships, and had attempted far too much at such a meeting for such a young man, The Mercury's athletics correspondent asserted that "If I am any judge, I think Terry the best prospect in Tasmania" and, obviously aware of his family's connexions with professional foot-running, expressed a fervent hope that he would not be lost to the professionals.
he jumped 4 ft. 11in, coming second in the high jump by just half an inch, as well as coming second in the 120 yards hurdles (losing by four feet to the winner).
8.13 (61) to 5.12 (42) in the Secondary School's Premiership Grand Final, Terry was best on the ground. On Saturday, 27 May 1922, St. Virgil's first XVIII played against a Friends' School
team that had been "considerably weakened owing to the loss of several of their best players, who had met with minor accidents prior to the match"; St. Virgil's had a massive win, scoring 34.39 (243) to NIL. Terry kicked 10 goals.
Although he was the captain of the school team in 1922, he was unable to play for St Virgil's in the deciding "North vs. South" Secondary Schools match against the Launceston Church Grammar School, because he had been injured during the previous week's match against Hutchins School.
first XVIII, in the Tasmanian Football League
competition.
The team was coached by ex-Carlton and ex-Melbourne player Jack Gardiner
who was, no doubt, responsible for teaching Terry the secrets of the stab-pass, and the placement of long torpedo punts and long drop-kicks, that became so much a part of Terry's game.
At that time, Cananore had somewhat of a reputation for selecting young players: Carlton's Fred Pringle
played his first senior match with Cananore in 1920, aged 15, and would return to Cananore in 1925, and serve four years as Captain-Coach.
On the verge of his selection for the first match of the season, Terry was described as a schoolboy champion, who had given sufficient proof of his ability for senior distinction, and of whom good things were expected. He played in the first match of the 1922, on 5 May, at the Hobart Cricket Ground. Cananore won the match 8.13 (61) to 7.13 (55). Three months into his first season, football writers were describing him as "fast and clever" and speaking of him in the same breath as his legendary team-mate, the champion rover Horrie Gorringe
.
Terry played his last match for Cananore in the 1922 season on Saturday, 19 August, against North Hobart. He sustained a serious injury (a twisted knee) whilst playing school football for St Virgil's against Hutchins on Saturday, 26 August. As a consequence, was unable to play for either St. Virgil's or Cananore for the remainder of the 1922 season; and, therefore, he did not play for the Cananore first XVIII that won the 1922 TFL Grand Final, 9.12 (66) to North Hobart
's 8.8 (56).
On Saturday, 21 July 1923, he played for the Southern Tasmanian Football League, in its first inter-state match of the season against an Albury and District Football League team at the North Hobart Oval. The Tasmanian team won the match, 9.10 (64) to Albury's 7.15 (57).
He played his last match for Cananore in an irregular, out-of-season match between Cananore and the season's premiers, North Hobart, at the North Hobart Oval, on Saturday, 6 October 1923, which Cananore won by two points, 8.7 (55) to 7.11 (53).
, on Tasmania's east coast, he was listed as being trained by his father, Mr. E. Terry ("who is an "old hand" in Tasmanian athletics).
On Friday, 26 December 1924, running off a handicap of 11 yards, aged 20, he ran third in the (130 Yards) Ulverston Cup (later known as the Ulverston Gift) at the meeting conducted by the Ulverstone
Athletics Club.
Six days later, on 1 January 1925, running off a handicap of 11 yards, he won the final of the (130 yards) Burnie Gift
.
He led very narrowly for most of the way, and drew away at the finish to win from A.M. Stuart of Hobart (11½ yards), with M. Campbell of Devonport (11 yards) and G.F. Triffett of Queenstown (11 yards), third and fourth respectively.
The official winning margin was half a yard (approx. 45 cm).
and rover to play against Hawthorn in the first match of the season, subject to his clearance papers arriving in time. For some unknown reason, his clearance was delayed, and it did not arrive in time for him to play in the first match.
However, the Tasmanian Football League granted his clearance ("[a clearance was] granted to E.R. Terry from North-East Coast to Victoria") on Thursday, 2 May 1929. The clearance from the TFL finally arrived in Melbourne, and he was granted a permit by the VFL to play on Wednesday, 8 May, just in time for him to be picked on the wing for the match against Geelong, in Round 3 of 1929, on Saturday 11 May 1929, at the Junction Oval, four weeks before his 25th birthday. On that same day, another Tasmanian and former Cananore player, Alan Scott
, four years older than Terry, also made his debut for St Kilda.
St Kilda was expected to win the match: the teams were level, 4.8 (32) to 4.8 (32), at half time; Geelong only scored two behinds in the third quarter, and was behind 7.9 (51) to 4.10 (34); however Geelong surged back in the last quarter, kicking 4 goals and 2 behinds to St Kilda’s one goal, winning the match 8.12 (60) to 8.9 (57).
Terry sustained a serious thigh injury during a torrid game; and, although the content of the match reports are intentionally somewhat vague, it would seem that he was deliberately maimed, rather than accidentally injured. The match was also marred by the spectators swarming on to the ground at the end of the match and attempting to attack the umpire.
A film was taken of the match that Terry played in against Geelong. It is not known whether the film still exists; or whether the film actually showed Terry at rest or in action at all.
Terry was not fit to play on the following Saturday. His injury was such that he was not fit to play at all for a number of weeks.
He played for the Prahran senior team in the first available match after his clearance (on Saturday, 6 July 1929); and, playing on the half-forward flank, he kicked one goal in Prahran's 16.21 (117) to 9.6 (60) win over Camberwell.
He was playing at Prahran again in 1930, and was selected on the wing for the first match of the season, against Port Melbourne; he played continuously until he suffered a severe rib injury in round 12 (Saturday, 12 July 1930). He did not play for the seniors again in 1930; and, there seems to be no trace of him playing in any of the later seasons.
In April 1949, he entered the North-Eastern Mixed Doubles Championship, with his daughter Jill as his partner.
from 1941 to 1945 as a transport driver, serving for some time in New Guinea.
He was an accomplished professional sprinter, and he also played Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
in Tasmania before moving to the mainland and playing with St Kilda in the VFL, and with Prahran
Prahran Football Club
Prahran Football Club, nicknamed The Two Blues, is an Australian rules football club based at Toorak Park in Orrong Road between High Street and Malvern Road, Armadale, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Since 2007, the club has competed in D1 Section of the Victorian Amateur Football Association...
in the Victorian Football Association
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
.
Early life
Edward Richard "Ted" Terry (“Young Ted”) was born in Launceston, Tasmania on 4 June 1904, the son of Edward "Ted" Terry (“Old Ted”) (1872-1954) and Honorine Cousel (1878-1964). He was, also, the nephew of Ernest Richard "Mick" Terry. He spent his early formative years in ScottsdaleScottsdale, Tasmania
Scottsdale is a town in the north-east of Tasmania, Australia. It lies on the Tasman Highway, around north-east of Launceston and south-east of the coastal town of Bridport. It is part of the Dorset Council....
and parts of northeastern Tasmania.
He had one brother, John, and two sisters, Madge and May.
He married Kathleen Melva Westbrook. They had a daughter, Frances Jill Terry.
Richard Terry
Ted's grandfather, Richard Terry (1833–1909), was born in Middlesex, EnglandMiddlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. He landed in Melbourne in 1852, and in October 1852 sailed to north-eastern of Tasmania, and settled at "Terry Vale" on the banks of the Powers Rivulet, near present day Goshen, Tasmania, in North-Eastern Tasmania. In 1854, hearing of the discovery of some very rich farming land in the region of today’s Pyengana, he moved there. He "selected
Selection (Australian history)
Selection referred to "free selection before survey" of crown land in some Australian colonies under land legislation introduced in the 1860s. These acts were similar to the United States Homestead Act and were intended to encourage closer settlement, based on intensive agriculture, such as...
" 320 acres (130 hectares) of the very best land, and continued to farm it until his death. He was also the proprietor of the Columba Hotel, the only hotel offering accommodation in the district. In 1864, he married Celia Terry (née Rosier) (1843–1925), who was born in Avoca, Tasmania
Avoca, Tasmania
Avoca is a small village located south-east of Launceston in the island of Tasmania. At the 2006 census, Avoca and the surrounding area had a population of 123....
.
"Old Ted" Terry
Ted's father, Ernest "Ted" Terry, born in Pyengana, North-Eastern TasmaniaPyengana, Tasmania
Pyengana is a village in north east Tasmania. The post code is 7216. At the 2006 census, Pyengana had a population of 123.Pyengana is a hamlet located in the north east of Tasmania. It is part of the Break O'Day Council administrative region. The regional centre is St Helens which is...
on 21 August 1872, was one of the eleven sons and four daughters of Richard and Celia Terry.
"Old Ted" owned the Ascot Hotel, near Branxholm, North-Eastern Tasmania
Branxholm, Tasmania
Branxholm is a small town in northeastern Tasmania. Located 93 km north east of Launceston on the Tasman Highway.Branxholm is a typical north-east Tasmania timber town nestled into the rolling hills. It is notable for its saw mills and its hop fields...
; and, at various times, owned each of the three hotels at Derby, North-Eastern Tasmania
Derby, Tasmania
Derby is a small Australian town located in the north east of Tasmania.The area had been surveyed in 1855, but was not settled or inhabited until 1874, when George Renison Bell discovered tin in the area. The Krushka brothers discovered a large lode of tin, and set up a mine in the area, assuring...
.
Two of "Old Ted’s" brothers also kept hotels: Alfred (1865–1937), the Commercial Hotel, at Ringarooma, Northern Tasmania
Ringarooma, Tasmania
Ringarooma is a small town in northeastern Tasmania. The district was opened up to farming in the 1860s, and the town itself was founded in 1882 when a rural property was subdivided into lots by landowner Christopher Krushka...
, and John (1870–1936), the Scottsdale Hotel, at Scottsdale, North-Eastern Tasmania
Scottsdale, Tasmania
Scottsdale is a town in the north-east of Tasmania, Australia. It lies on the Tasman Highway, around north-east of Launceston and south-east of the coastal town of Bridport. It is part of the Dorset Council....
.
"Old Ted" also owned a timber mill in Derby, North-Eastern Tasmania
Derby, Tasmania
Derby is a small Australian town located in the north east of Tasmania.The area had been surveyed in 1855, but was not settled or inhabited until 1874, when George Renison Bell discovered tin in the area. The Krushka brothers discovered a large lode of tin, and set up a mine in the area, assuring...
. "Young Ted's" brother John worked at the timber mill; and "Young Ted" also worked for his father at the timber mill for some time both immediately before and immediately after World War II.
"Old Ted" died, in Derby, on 12 May 1954.
Uncle "Mick" Terry
Ted's uncle, Ernest Richard "Mick" Terry, was born in Pyengana on 17 August 1881. In his prime as an athlete, "Mick" Terry was not only a fine sprinter and middle-distance runner, he was also the champion axeman of the Australian Commonwealth, and he held a number of world records for the 12-in, 15-in, and 18-in standing blocks. He often competed very successfully in private handicap woodchopping contests.He later became an athletics coach. He moved to South Africa in 1909, as the coach of "The Blue Streak" Jack Donaldson
Jack Donaldson (athlete)
John Donaldson, Jnr, , better known as Jack, was a professional sprinter in the early part of the 1900s. He held various world sprinting records ranging from 100 yards to 400 yards, some of which stood for many years.-Early life:...
, He was short-listed to coach the German team in the 1916 Summer Olympics
1916 Summer Olympics
The anticipated 1916 Summer Olympics, which were to be officially known as the Games of the VI Olympiad, were to have been held in Berlin, Germany. However, due to the outbreak of World War I, the games were cancelled.-History:...
; however, the 1916 Olympic Games were later cancelled due to World War I. He was the coach of the South African Olympic Athletic Teams in 1924 and 1928. He was an athletics coach for the Australian Olympic Athletic Team in 1932.
Schoolboy athlete
Ted Terry attended St Virgil's CollegeSt Virgil's College
St Virgil's College Roman Catholic, primary and secondary, day school for boys, located over two campuses in Austins Ferry and Hobart, Tasmania, Australia....
, a Christian Brothers' college
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
, in Barrack Street, Hobart; and, whilst there, was an outstanding all-round schoolboy athlete. He excelled at track and field athletics, cricket, football, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, rowing, and handball.
Handball
Given that St. Virgil's was Christian Brothers' college, handballAustralian handball
Australian Handball is a sport where players hit a ball against one or more walls.-Play:Australian handball is similar to squash played without a racquet. The ball is served such that it makes direct contact with the front wall without having bounced on the ground. It must then be returned...
was very strongly promoted amongst the students, driven by the Brothers' view that handball "affords an excellent preparatory training for football, as it calls into play all the resources of the physical man". Handball is one of the best ways for a potential Australian Rules footballer to acquire the optimum level of hand–eye coordination, ambidexterity
Ambidexterity
Ambidexterity is the state of being equally adept in the use of both left and right appendages . It is one of the most famous varieties of cross-dominance. People that are naturally ambidextrous are rare, with only one out of one hundred people being naturally ambidextrous...
, smoothness and flexibility, and sense of where one is in time and space (e.g., Bill Serong
Bill Serong
Bill Serong is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood and North Melbourne in the VFL.Serong usually played as a centreman but was also seen on the half forward flanks. He made his league debut in 1956 with Collingwood and played in their 1958 premiership side as well as...
who played in three Grand Finals for Collingwood, went to the Christian Bothers' College in Victoria Parade, and was the Australian handball champion in 1974, aged 38).
Terry became the school's handball champion, and won the College's handball championship's gold medal in 1921.
Tennis
On Saturday, 19 November 1921, playing for St.Virgil's College against Hutchins School, Terry lost his only singles match, but won his two doubles matches (those two wins were the only wins for St. Vigil's on that day). On Saturday 15 April 1922, Terry was beaten in the final of the Associated Schools Tennis Singles' Championship.Swimming
At the 1919 Southern Tasmanian Secondary Schools' Annual Swimming Carnival, he came third in the under-15 50 yards freestyle. In 1922 he was St. Virgil's open-age swimming champion.Cricket
He was the first St Virgil's batsman to score a century, which he did in 34 minutes against the attack of Arthur Owen Burrows (1903–1984) — who would later bowl in tandem with Laurie NashLaurie Nash
Laurence John "Laurie" Nash was a Test cricketer and Australian rules footballer. An inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Nash was a member of South Melbourne's 1933 premiership team, captained South Melbourne in 1937 and was the team's leading goal kicker in 1937 and 1945...
for Tasmania — and Alan Bispham "Block" Brownell (1904–1981), two of the best bowlers that Tasmania has ever produced; and, in his last year at St Virgil's, he topped the school's batting and bowling averages.
Rowing
He was stroke of the school's crew in the Head of the River (this would usually indicate that he was the best oarsman); and, in October 1921, he weighed 10st.13 lbs (69.5 kg.).Athletics
Over the years he regularly competed for St Virgil's in the 100 yards sprint, 220 Yards sprint, 440, 880, and mile races as well as the 130 yards hurdles and the high jump.1919
At the 1919 St. Virgil's College sports day, held on Thursday 20 March 1919, he won the open mile (at the age of 14), the under-15 100 yards, 220 yards, 440 yards, and high jump (he jumped 4 ft 7in).At the 1919 Hobart Associated Secondary Schools' Athletics Carnival, held on Tuesday, 8 April 1919, competing for St. Virgil's, he ran equal third in the under-15 100 yards, second (by inches only) in the under-15 220 yards, second in the under-15 440 yards, and also came second in the under-15 high jump (jumping 4 ft 4in).
The 1919 Tasmanian Associated Schools
Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools
The Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools is a group of sixteen schools in Tasmania, Australia formed by AHISA Tasmania to conduct sporting competitions for member schools...
' Athletics Carnival had seven schools competing: four from the south (St. Virgil's, Hutchins
The Hutchins School
The Hutchins School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in Sandy Bay, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia....
, Friends'
The Friends' School, Hobart
The Friends' School, Hobart is an independent, co-educational, Quaker, day and boarding school, located in North Hobart, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia....
, and Leslie House School), and three from the north (Scotch
Scotch Oakburn College
Scotch Oakburn College is an independent, Uniting Church, co-educational, day and boarding school, located in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.Although founded in 1886, the present school was established in 1979 with the amalgamation of the historically boys' Scotch College and girls' Oakburn College...
, St Patrick's
St Patrick's College, Launceston
St Patrick's College is a coeducational Catholic secondary college, located in Launceston, Tasmania. The college has around 1301 students enrolled...
, and Church Grammar School
Launceston Church Grammar School
Launceston Church Grammar School is a co-educational private school in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia for years kindergarten through to Year 12....
). Running for St. Virgil's, Ted Terry ran fourth in the under-15 100 yards, second in the under-15 220 yards, and second in the under-15 440 yards, as well as coming sixth in the under-15 high jump.
1920
At the St. Virgil's sports day, held on Thursday, 25 March 1920, three months before he turned 16, he won the open 100 yards, came second in the open 220 yards, second in the open 880 yards, and third in the open mile.1921
At the 1921 Southern Tasmanian Associated Schools' Athletics Carnival, he won every race he entered, from 100 yards to the mile; he won the senior 100 yards, 220 yards, 440 yards, 880 yards, and mile, as well as the 120 yards hurdles; "he had a great reception, and was carried shoulder high to the pavilion by his school mates".Despite Terry's outstanding individual success, St. Virgil's did not win the carnival; and, as a consequence, he was not permitted to compete at the Tasmanian State Secondary School Championships, because it was set up to be a competition between the best southern and the best northern school, rather than between the best southern athletes and the best northern athletes.
1922 T.A.A.A. Track Championships
On 1 April 1922, Terry took part in the Tasmanian Amateur Athletics Association's Annual Track Championships that were held at the Cricket GroundTCA Ground
The TCA Ground, or Tasmanian Cricket Association Ground, is one of two First Class standard cricket grounds in Hobart, Tasmania in Australia...
. The Tasmanian championships that year were especially significant due to the presence of a South African team, which included a number of eminent South African sprinters, including 1920 Olympic sliver medallist in the 4x400 relay, J.K.A. Oosterlaak
Jack Oosterlaak
Justus Kinloch Ayres Oosterlaak , was a South African athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres....
, J.W. Bukes and H.P. Kinsman (who would later represent South Africa at the 1924 Olympics and the 1928 Olympics). Kinsman did not compete in the championships due to injury.
Terry won the Secondary Schools' 100 Yards championship (by 3 yards in 10.6 secs), won the 200 yards Cadet Championship (by 5 yards in 25 secs) and, running off scratch, came second in the Secondary Schools' 440 Yards' Handicap, by 4 yards, having given a 20 yard start to the winner.
Then, Terry went on and proved his worth as a sprinter, running against grown men in the senior 100 yards championship, when he ran second in his heat, 2 yards behind Oosterlaak, who won in 10.4 secs.
In a thrilling final, Bukes led from the start and drew away, with Oosterlaak, the favourite, coming back at the finish and appearing to catch Bukes on the line. Terry, by far the best Tasmanian, finished third, just four yards away, in a very fast race; Bukes had won by inches, in a time of 10 secs — an open Tasmanian record. The anticipation of the crowd, waiting to see if the runners could be separated by the judges, was transformed into even greater excitement when the course announcer publicly declared that it was not a dead-heat, but then also (mistakenly) declared Oosterlaak the winner; and, then, immediately had to announce that he was mistaken, and that Bukes had indeed won.
Noting that Terry had been greatly overworked at the championships, and had attempted far too much at such a meeting for such a young man, The Mercury's athletics correspondent asserted that "If I am any judge, I think Terry the best prospect in Tasmania" and, obviously aware of his family's connexions with professional foot-running, expressed a fervent hope that he would not be lost to the professionals.
1922 S.T.A.S. Athletics Carnival
On 5 April 1922, at the Southern Tasmanian Associated Schools' Athletics Carnival, Terry won the senior 100 yards (10.6 secs), 220 yards (24.2 secs), 440 yards (56.6 secs), 880 yards (2 mins 14 secs), he did not run in the mile; using the scissors techniqueScissors-Jump
The Scissors is a style used in the athletics event of high jump. As it allows the jumper to land on their feet, it is the most common style used by junior athletes where the landing surface is not deep or soft enough to meet full competition standards....
he jumped 4 ft. 11in, coming second in the high jump by just half an inch, as well as coming second in the 120 yards hurdles (losing by four feet to the winner).
1923
On 6 April 1923, he won the 100 yards at St Virgil's College's Annual Sports; it was the only event in which he competed. On 14 April, he came second in the 100 yards Secondary School's Championship race at the Tasmanian Amateur Athletic Association's Track Championship meeting. On 18 April, he came second, "by inches", in the Open 100 yards at the Southern Tasmanian Associated Schools' Athletics Carnival.Football
In September 1921, even though St Virgil's first XVIII well beaten by Launceston Church Grammar SchoolLaunceston Church Grammar School
Launceston Church Grammar School is a co-educational private school in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia for years kindergarten through to Year 12....
8.13 (61) to 5.12 (42) in the Secondary School's Premiership Grand Final, Terry was best on the ground. On Saturday, 27 May 1922, St. Virgil's first XVIII played against a Friends' School
The Friends' School, Hobart
The Friends' School, Hobart is an independent, co-educational, Quaker, day and boarding school, located in North Hobart, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia....
team that had been "considerably weakened owing to the loss of several of their best players, who had met with minor accidents prior to the match"; St. Virgil's had a massive win, scoring 34.39 (243) to NIL. Terry kicked 10 goals.
Although he was the captain of the school team in 1922, he was unable to play for St Virgil's in the deciding "North vs. South" Secondary Schools match against the Launceston Church Grammar School, because he had been injured during the previous week's match against Hutchins School.
Cananore
Whilst still at school, in April 1922, he was also playing senior football as a wing-man with the Cananore Football ClubCananore Football Club
Cananore Football Club was an Australian rules football club, founded in 1901.It competed in the Tasmanian Football League as a junior club from 1901 to 1907, and as a senior club between 1908 and 1941....
first XVIII, in the Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian Football League
Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...
competition.
The team was coached by ex-Carlton and ex-Melbourne player Jack Gardiner
Jack Gardiner
John Carlton 'Jack' Gardiner was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League . He then became a successful coach in the Tasmanian Football League....
who was, no doubt, responsible for teaching Terry the secrets of the stab-pass, and the placement of long torpedo punts and long drop-kicks, that became so much a part of Terry's game.
At that time, Cananore had somewhat of a reputation for selecting young players: Carlton's Fred Pringle
Fred Pringle
Frederick Neville 'Fred' Pringle was an Australian rules footballer who played for Cananore in the Tasmanian Football League and Carlton in the Victorian Football League during the 1920s....
played his first senior match with Cananore in 1920, aged 15, and would return to Cananore in 1925, and serve four years as Captain-Coach.
On the verge of his selection for the first match of the season, Terry was described as a schoolboy champion, who had given sufficient proof of his ability for senior distinction, and of whom good things were expected. He played in the first match of the 1922, on 5 May, at the Hobart Cricket Ground. Cananore won the match 8.13 (61) to 7.13 (55). Three months into his first season, football writers were describing him as "fast and clever" and speaking of him in the same breath as his legendary team-mate, the champion rover Horrie Gorringe
Horrie Gorringe
Horace Charles "Horrie" Gorringe was a Tasmanian Australian rules football player, considered one of the greatest Australian rules football rovers in the game's history.Horrie Gorringe was born on 4 July 1895 and died on 17 July 1994, aged 99....
.
Terry played his last match for Cananore in the 1922 season on Saturday, 19 August, against North Hobart. He sustained a serious injury (a twisted knee) whilst playing school football for St Virgil's against Hutchins on Saturday, 26 August. As a consequence, was unable to play for either St. Virgil's or Cananore for the remainder of the 1922 season; and, therefore, he did not play for the Cananore first XVIII that won the 1922 TFL Grand Final, 9.12 (66) to North Hobart
North Hobart Demons
The North Hobart Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Tasmanian State League.Players to reach Australian Football League level include Paul Williams, Peter 'Percy' Jones, Daryn Cresswell, Chris Bond, James Manson, Jim Wright, Tony Pickett and several other big...
's 8.8 (56).
On Saturday, 21 July 1923, he played for the Southern Tasmanian Football League, in its first inter-state match of the season against an Albury and District Football League team at the North Hobart Oval. The Tasmanian team won the match, 9.10 (64) to Albury's 7.15 (57).
He played his last match for Cananore in an irregular, out-of-season match between Cananore and the season's premiers, North Hobart, at the North Hobart Oval, on Saturday, 6 October 1923, which Cananore won by two points, 8.7 (55) to 7.11 (53).
Burnie Gift
After leaving school he drifted into the ranks of professional foot-running. Based in PyenganaPyengana, Tasmania
Pyengana is a village in north east Tasmania. The post code is 7216. At the 2006 census, Pyengana had a population of 123.Pyengana is a hamlet located in the north east of Tasmania. It is part of the Break O'Day Council administrative region. The regional centre is St Helens which is...
, on Tasmania's east coast, he was listed as being trained by his father, Mr. E. Terry ("who is an "old hand" in Tasmanian athletics).
On Friday, 26 December 1924, running off a handicap of 11 yards, aged 20, he ran third in the (130 Yards) Ulverston Cup (later known as the Ulverston Gift) at the meeting conducted by the Ulverstone
Ulverstone, Tasmania
Ulverstone is a town on the northwest coast of Tasmania, Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Leven River, on Bass Strait. It is on the Bass Highway, west of Devonport and east of Penguin....
Athletics Club.
Six days later, on 1 January 1925, running off a handicap of 11 yards, he won the final of the (130 yards) Burnie Gift
Burnie Gift
The Burnie Gift is a professional footrace held in Burnie, Tasmania.The race is conducted by the Tasmanian Athletic League, and the feature race is run over 120m.The prize pool for the race is worth $15,000....
.
He led very narrowly for most of the way, and drew away at the finish to win from A.M. Stuart of Hobart (11½ yards), with M. Campbell of Devonport (11 yards) and G.F. Triffett of Queenstown (11 yards), third and fourth respectively.
The official winning margin was half a yard (approx. 45 cm).
Southern United
He was playing football for Southern United in the Tassie United Association in 1925, 1926, 1927, and 1928.South Melbourne
In 1927, Terry travelled to Melbourne from Tasmania. He trained impressively in the pre-season with South Melbourne; and, having done so, returned to Tasmania.St Kilda
In early 1929, St Kilda was very interested in Terry, and were expecting to play him as either a rover or on the wing. He performed well in the pre-season practice matches. He was placed on St Kilda's final list before the first round of the season, and was picked as a forward pocketForward pocket
In Australian rules football, the forward pocket refers to a position on the field deep in offense.Forward pocket players, situated in the forward line, need to have good avoidance and goal sneak skills and usually, quality forward-pockets are noted for their agility and ability to score difficult...
and rover to play against Hawthorn in the first match of the season, subject to his clearance papers arriving in time. For some unknown reason, his clearance was delayed, and it did not arrive in time for him to play in the first match.
However, the Tasmanian Football League granted his clearance ("[a clearance was] granted to E.R. Terry from North-East Coast to Victoria") on Thursday, 2 May 1929. The clearance from the TFL finally arrived in Melbourne, and he was granted a permit by the VFL to play on Wednesday, 8 May, just in time for him to be picked on the wing for the match against Geelong, in Round 3 of 1929, on Saturday 11 May 1929, at the Junction Oval, four weeks before his 25th birthday. On that same day, another Tasmanian and former Cananore player, Alan Scott
Alan G. Scott
Alan G. Scott was an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League...
, four years older than Terry, also made his debut for St Kilda.
St Kilda was expected to win the match: the teams were level, 4.8 (32) to 4.8 (32), at half time; Geelong only scored two behinds in the third quarter, and was behind 7.9 (51) to 4.10 (34); however Geelong surged back in the last quarter, kicking 4 goals and 2 behinds to St Kilda’s one goal, winning the match 8.12 (60) to 8.9 (57).
Terry sustained a serious thigh injury during a torrid game; and, although the content of the match reports are intentionally somewhat vague, it would seem that he was deliberately maimed, rather than accidentally injured. The match was also marred by the spectators swarming on to the ground at the end of the match and attempting to attack the umpire.
A film was taken of the match that Terry played in against Geelong. It is not known whether the film still exists; or whether the film actually showed Terry at rest or in action at all.
Terry was not fit to play on the following Saturday. His injury was such that he was not fit to play at all for a number of weeks.
Prahran
Without playing another senior game, he was transferred, by St Kilda, to the Association club Prahran, in July 1929.He played for the Prahran senior team in the first available match after his clearance (on Saturday, 6 July 1929); and, playing on the half-forward flank, he kicked one goal in Prahran's 16.21 (117) to 9.6 (60) win over Camberwell.
He was playing at Prahran again in 1930, and was selected on the wing for the first match of the season, against Port Melbourne; he played continuously until he suffered a severe rib injury in round 12 (Saturday, 12 July 1930). He did not play for the seniors again in 1930; and, there seems to be no trace of him playing in any of the later seasons.
Field Umpire
Upon his return to Tasmania, he served as a central football umpire for several seasons.After football
He won the 1938 Men's Reserve "B" Grade Singles final in the Southern Tasmanian Lawn Tennis Association's Summer Tournament. He was playing Reserve "A" Grade Tennis in Hobart in 1938. In January 1939, he took part in the Southern Tasmanian Lawn Tennis Association's Summer Tournament, winning his match in the first round of the Men's Open Singles, and losing in the second.In April 1949, he entered the North-Eastern Mixed Doubles Championship, with his daughter Jill as his partner.
War service
During World War II he saw active service in the Royal Australian Air ForceRoyal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
from 1941 to 1945 as a transport driver, serving for some time in New Guinea.