Last Saturday Australia’s Wallabies took on Japan for the second time in a week. While it was a great test match, it was also a little bit extraordinary. It was the debut of Wallaby number 1000 Massimo de Lutiis.
Just like Australian cricketers, Wallaby players are given a number when they play their first test match. This began when Australia played the British side in four tests in 1899.
Rugby Australia, knowing Wallaby 1000 would play in this Townsville test match decided to see if there were any of the family of Wallaby number 1, Patrick Carew, still involved in Rugby Union or interested in the game. As it turned out there were three of Carew’s grandchildren, Jan Smith in Colac, Annie Jensen just outside of Canberra and Don Jamieson in Harden. Jan Smith being somewhat of a Rugby tragic got to work contacting her brother Don and her cousin Annie. Annie had grandchildren playing Rugby in Coonamble, while Don’s grandson Rob, the son of Cunningar olive growers, Karen and James Jamieson, was involved as a strength and condition coach with the NSW Waratahs.
It was quickly organised that Annie would collect Patrick Carew’s number 1 cap from
the Queanbeyan Sporting Hall of Fame and take it with her to Townsville while James and Rob would fly from Sydney to be part of the occasion. It should be noted that the numbers allocated to the first Wallabies to play in 1899 were listed in alphabetical order so the first 18 listed all really qualify for that number 1 rating.
Rugby Australia provided the trio with wonderful seats, and they were interviewed on Channel 9 and Stan Sport after the game. After the interview they were taken to the dressing room to meet the Wallabies. It was great particularly for Rob as he knew a number of the players having been involved in Rugby coaching in recent years.
James and Rob really enjoyed meeting and talking with Massimo and his parents and grandparents. It was interesting to compare cap number 1 with cap 1000. In 1899 when the first caps were given out only NSW and Queensland played so the caps consisted of blue and maroon triangular velvet pieces sewed together with silver thread. Today’s caps are green and gold.
When James rang his dad after leaving the ground he said to him, “I didn’t ever think that I would ever have been able to stand in the Wallaby dressing room and sing the national anthem in amongst them.” The national anthem is a Wallaby dressing room tradition.
Don and his family look back with great pride on the achievements of their number 1 Wallaby. Patrick Carew was playing for Toowoon Rugby club in Queensland when he was selected to play for Australia. He was one of only four players to play all the tests in that 1899 series. Patrick was a keen cricketer as well and he moved to Sydney in the hope of playing Sheffield Shield. He did manage that, and as well played for Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union club in 1901 when they won their first premiership, then coached the team the next year. Rob Jamieson was pleased to follow in his great-great grandfather’s footsteps, a century later when he served in the coaching team at that same club.
Patrick Carew played many different sports over his lifetime, and he also made his mark in both business and local government serving as Shire Clerk in five council districts He died of cancer in 1942 in Queanbeyan while he was Shire Clerk there.While the Jamieson family look back proudly at Patrick, they also acknowledge that this community was the home of one of Australia’s greatest fullbacks, Wallaby number 430, Jim Lenehan, and also the home for fifty years of the mighty Red Devils who go into the grand final on Saturday.
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