On July 24, 1943 a very slightly built young man from Auburn, a suburb in Melbourne, walked into Trumper Park in Sydney's east to watch a game between Sydney and Newtown. "Can I get a game?" he asked an official.
For Bob Neate this started a relationship with the Sydney (Naval) Club which saw him not only win their 1944 Best and Fairest but play in their premiership team of the same year.
After 63 years we have been able to unearth some information about Bob Neate, now 81, on his time playing football in Sydney and importantly what football was like all those years ago.
In 1943 Australia was deeply involved in World War II. Japan had swept down through South East Asia and was knocking on the door of Australia's north. Darwin had been bombed on over 60 occasions; Broome had also been attacked and so too had coastal towns in north Queensland.
The Federal Government resolved that all males turning 18 were to be conscripted for military training. It is hard for us to imagine now, but they were desperate times.
Neate, who had only played juniors in the East Suburbs Protestant Churches Football Association in Melbourne and later with Auburn in the B Grade Amateurs, entered the Army at Royal Park and was assigned to the 23rd Australian Infantry Training Battalion.
He was 1.68m and weighed just over 61 kilograms with a chest measurement of 86cm - a very small framed young man indeed.
After a couple of months his unit was moved by train through country Victoria and NSW to just outside Bathurst, however because Bob had a clerical background before the Army he was sent to Sydney to undergo a 10 week course at Petersham Technical College to train as a clerk. He and his 30 colleagues lived at Randwick Racecourse sleeping under the main stand.
His weekends were free and so his only outlet in this foreign city was a game he had known all his life - Australian Football.
Neate's request to play at the Sydney v Newtown Round 3 match was initially denied by club officials. However, Sydney's astute assistant secretary, Shorty Thomas overheard and asked Bob if he had his boots with him.
Despite the fact he didn't, Neate got a run in the seconds and was taken off at half time and promoted to the seniors. He played the remaining 5 games for Sydney that year including the match against South Sydney where a 21 year old Bill Wood from Albury, and future Footscray player, booted 28 goals on Erskineville Oval - a national record which stood for over 30 years.
Sydney finished on the bottom of the ladder that season, winning only one game, ironically against Newtown in Round 3. A highlight for young Bob in round 15 was a visit to Trumper Park by Prime Minister John Curtain who addressed the players after the game.
Bob's clerical course finished in late September and he was posted back to his unit at Bathurst.
He was still in Bathurst when the 1944 season rolled around. The club wrote to him, offering to pay his nineteen and eleven pence return train fare to Sydney to play each week.
Neate sought permission from the unit's adjutant each time to play. He only had one rest day per week and used this time to travel to Sydney. The adjutant approved his football activities only when he had completed his work, which meant leave was usually granted at about 10.30pm on Friday night. Once leave was approved, Bob would hitch a ride on a truck from the camp to Bathurst Railway Station, buy his ticket and catch the Sydney train which left between 11.30pm and midnight.
The journey was 150 miles (241km) and took approximately 6 hours. This would get him in to Sydney early each Saturday morning. Fortunately he had an aunt who he could visit and eat breakfast with before heading out to the football.
After the game Bob would return for tea before catching the 9.30pm train back to Bathurst, arriving around 3.30am. Once there, he hoped to be transported back to camp by an army truck picking up stores. Sometimes he would have to walk.
The fortunes of the clubs were very much governed by which servicemen they could recruit into their side. Pure luck or word of mouth played a very big part and given the transient nature of serviceman in Australia, players often just turned up at grounds seeking a game. Not many trained.
The Sydney Club altered it's name to Sydney Naval in 1944, hoping to entice naval servicemen to play with the club. Whether a coincidence or not, they went from being last in 1943 to premiers in 1944.
It was 17 year old Western Australian legend, Jack Sheedy who kicked Sydney into their first grand final for 13 years with a goal right on fulltime in the preliminary final which gave them a one point win over Newtown.
Many other stars of the VFL played in the league while they served in the military including Collingwood's Phonse Kyne, Carlton captain Ern Henfrey, Brownlow Medalist Bill Morris, test cricketer and St Kilda player Sam Loxton, Geelong high flyer Clyde Helmer, Footscray captain and coach Alby Morrison and Melbourne's Ron Baggott.
There were hundreds of footballers from other states and country teams who played football in Sydney at the time. The standard was very high, with 83 players playing first grade football with Sydney Naval in 1945.
Despite all the stars in his team, Neate won the club's Best and Fairest in 1944, which was presented to him at an informal affair at the house of a supporter in Kensington, near the Randwick Racecourse. He says he can't remember much of the night despite his non smoking and non drinking life style!
After playing cricket in Bathurst during the summer of 1944-45, Neate moved with his unit to Greta, west of Maitland.
He managed only one trip to Sydney to play in 1945 before all travel was banned. Fortunately, the club had a team photograph taken on Trumper Park before their round 18 clash against Eastern Suburbs. Many of the previous year's premiership side had been transferred and were not in the photograph. Although not allowed, Neate played this match and kicked 1 goal, 2 behinds.
Unable to take leave from his base at Greta, Neate's relationship with the Sydney Naval Club came to an end. Unfortunately the club, along with two other inner city clubs in Sydney also ceased operating.
Neate remained in the army until November 1946 and upon returning to Melbourne, received an invitation to play with Hawthorn. He played one game against Fitzroy and was knocked out in the first minute of play. He played a few games of second division later in the year but realised big time football was no place for a 60 kilogram lightweight.
Bob Neate was eventually discharged from the army in 1946, and returned to the same firm he worked with before the war, retiring in 1990. Bob passed away in Melbourne on 20 February 2010.
Ian
GRANLAND, OAM History Committee
Last Modified on 25/02/2010 10:29