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Young Chinese League football teams

Gallery

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    Cecil [?] Lew Ton, aged 18 in Young Chinese League, c. 1936, courtesy of S. Millard (private hands).
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    Chinese Athletic Association, c. 1922 - c. 1923, courtesy of Chinese Museum (Museum of Chinese Australian History).
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    Young Chinese League, 1947, courtesy of D. Peebles (private collection).
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    Young Chinese League sports team, c. 1947, courtesy of Chinese Museum (Museum of Chinese Australian History).
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Summary

In the 1960s the following people played in the YCL football team: George Ah Yick, Kevin Ah Yick, Len Quon, Frank Grant, Peter Louey, Kevin Louey, Fred Youie, Russell Youie, Harold Chin Quan, Geoff Foote, Wing Chinn, Ken Foo, Robert Foo, Fred Lee, Norman Chin, Henry Chin, Jeff Wing Young, George Dan, Oscar Kwong and V(?) Kwong.

Details

Founded in 1932, the Young Chinese League was established in Melbourne to bring people of Chinese descent together, to meet and share social, cultural and sporting activities. The club merged out of two former social clubs, the Chinese Progressive Association and the Chinese Athletics Association. Social clubs like the Young Chinese League provided an outlet for young Chinese to meet prospective partners and advance ties within the Chinese community.

Sport was central to the Young Chinese League. The Young Chinese League fielded its own Australian Rules football team from the 1930s onwards until the sport played by the club declined in the 1980s. The two clubs that preceded the League played football started this tradition. The Chinese Athletics Association was a competitive sports club. They would regularly play in friendly competition with another Chinese social club, the Chinese Progressive Association, as well as other non-Chinese clubs. Football matches were played at Royal Park and Princes Park.

In a typical season the Young Chinese League football team would play between ten and eighteen matches. Matches would be played against local teams and business houses, in or near Melbourne. In 1941, they played against the Bookmakers and the Past and Present Boxers Association. The highlight for the team was the end-of-season trip to a country town, where on the Saturday the townspeople would offer them their hospitality and on the Sunday, they would play the town football team. Special fundraising dances were held throughout the year to cover the costs of the teams’ travels expenses as well as maintaining a fund for injured players.

The Young Chinese League football team played the sport to promote community’s ties within the Chinese community and further their understanding within the wider Australian community. Chinese Australians participation in AFL did attract press coverage. An article in the Herald from 1971 joked that the Young Chinese League football team’s secret weapon was that they defied stereotype by speaking English on field and not Chinese. They would have been perhaps even more surprised to know that Chinese involvement in Australian Rules football dates back to at least the 1890s.

Sources used to compile this entry: 'YCL football team', The Argus, 6 June, p. 14; 'YCL football teams', The Argus, 5 July, p. 7; 'YCL football team', Herald Sun, 1971; Hess, Rob, ''A death blow to the White Australia Policy': Australian Rules football and Chinese communities in Victoria, 1892-1908', After the Rush: Regulation, Participation and Chinese Communities in Australia 1860-1940 (Otherland Literary Journal), vol. 9, 2004, pp. 89-106; Museum of Chines Australian History collection including - Young Chinese League newsletters (1956-1985); Young Chinese League Exhibition Notes 1993 Russell Moy: Original Transcript (Reels 1-9) + Edited Papers (Pages 1-44).

Prepared by: Brendan O'Donnell, Monash University

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Published Resources

Journal Articles

  • Hess, Rob, ''A death blow to the White Australia Policy': Australian Rules football and Chinese communities in Victoria, 1892-1908', After the Rush: Regulation, Participation and Chinese Communities in Australia 1860-1940 (Otherland Literary Journal), vol. 9, 2004, pp. 89-106. Details

Newspaper Articles

  • 'YCL football teams', The Argus, 5 July, p. 7. Details
  • 'YCL football team', The Argus, 6 June, p. 14. Details
  • 'YCL football team', Herald Sun, 1971. Details

Images

Title
Cecil [?] Lew Ton, aged 18 in Young Chinese League
Type
Photograph
Date
c. 1936
Place
Australia - Victoria - Melbourne
Details
Title
Chinese Athletic Association
Type
Photograph
Date
c. 1922 - c. 1923
Place
Australia - Victoria
Details
Title
Chinese football team, St Vincent's Bazaar
Type
Photograph
Date
c. 8 April 1899
Place
Australia - Victoria - Melbourne - South Melbourne
Details
Title
Young Chinese League football team in the 1950s
Type
Photograph
Date
1950s
Place
Australia - Victoria - Melbourne
Details
Title
Young Chinese League football team, 1947
Type
Photograph
Date
1947
Place
Australia - Victoria - Melbourne - Little Bourke Street
Details
Title
Young Chinese League sports team
Type
Photograph
Date
c. 1947
Place
Australia - Victoria - Melbourne
Details