John Sandilands (Jack) was born in 1854, his brother William in 1856, the oldest two boys in a family of 13 born in Scotland to Benoni Nimmo Sandilands and wife Sarah, they migrated to Melbourne around 1859 and settled in South Melbourne where a street is now named after them.
Benoni was a solicitor in partnership with fellow Scot Robert Anderson between 1863 and 1876 and was a South Melbourne Councillor between 1867 and 1877, being Mayor in 1868-69.
Details can be sketchy because of time and the methods of reporting but it is reported both boys played football for Albert Park, St Kilda, Melbourne and South Melbourne at different stages in a time where chopping and changing clubs was completely acceptable even within a season.
Albert Park player Jack Sandilands joined Geelong in 1878 as vice-captain and ‘coach’, and with new fitness regimens (including additional gym work) the team began to develop an innovative style of systematic teamwork.
It also attracted a host of brilliant players and quickly captured its first VFA premiership in that same year and again in 1879.
In 1879, the boys had moved to Wellington, New Zealand which was not unusual as thousands of Australian gold miners had moved to New Zealand following a series of gold rushes in the country.
It was very much at that stage tied to Victoria through the flows of people, knowledge of mining techniques and associated business.
Will Sandilands formed a football team with himself as Captain called the Reform Football club which played under the Victorian Rules and the club had its first training session on the 9th of April 1879 at the (now) historic Basin Reserve in Wellington.
At some point, the Reform football club proposed to play a match under electric lights at the Basin Reserve and the game was set down for the Friday, May 31st, 1879.
Up until this point only one football (soccer) match had ever been played under electric light anywhere in the world and that was in Sheffield England at Brammal lane between teams from Sheffield and that game was 14th October 1878.
This game would be the second night football match ever by electric light, the first in the southern hemisphere, the first for Australian football, beating by some months the first night game at the MCG which was between East Melbourne Artillery and Collingwood Rifles and oddly this game would be outside the country that the code was developed in.
After several false starts, a good steady light was obtained at about 8pm, and the respective teams were photographed, it is not clear from my research who actually won the game but roughly 40 pounds was raised and donated to the local asylum.
In 1879 a football match by electric light was a momentous occasion for its time and the major players deserve kudos for having the foresight to organise it, what is even more historic is this game was a game of Australian football in New Zealand. These are the sort of historic moments that the AFL should be highlighting and paying more attention to.
Jack Sandilands did not play in the game as he went back to Melbourne to play football, his passage paid for by Geelong FC, but was back playing with his brother at the Reform club by October of the same year, by 1881 he had moved to Adelaide and was captain-coach of Port Adelaide FC.
At different stages the brothers were opposing captains when teams were drawn from the Reform club and at least one other brother played, Will stayed in Wellington and in 1882 Mr W A Sandilands who was formally known in Melbourne as a prominent member of the Melbourne Football Club passed his final examination as a solicitor for the Supreme Court of New Zealand.
Even in 1905 Will was still involved in the game and was President of a club in Wellington playing under the rules of Australian football while at least one of his sons (Ben) played whom also later served for New Zealand during the Boer war.
William Sandilands passed away after a cycling accident in 1910 and his historic house and property is still owned by his descendants.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
Brad Scott told journalists while the focus will be on the final play, he could cite a couple of other decisions that didn't go…
Controversy has erupted following Essendon's thrilling three-point victory over Adelaide, with an umpire under fire for his decision to not award the Crows a…
It was a horror last quarter at the Adelaide Oval for Josh Rachele, who also missed a chance to win the game for the…
Now that was a quick change of mind!
