Image above:
James Service (1823-1899)
Grandfather of J S Thonemann. Vic. Premier 1880, 1883-86; Commenced a private school at Saltcoats, near Kilwinning; went to Glasgow 1846 and employed in tea and coffee business; arrived Melbourne July 1853 on 'Abdalla' [4] as representative of his Glasgow employer and in 1854 established James Service & Co., merchants and importers, with James Ormond as partner. One of the founders of Commercial Bank. Notable land reformer, federationist and imperialist. First president Emerald Hill municipal council and chairman local bench.
Image above: Old Melburnians logo, established 1895 by Melbourne Grammar Old Boys.
Member — Melbourne & Sydney Glaciarium Syndicates
Player— 1st Australian Ice Hockey Team, 1906, Melbourne
Captain — 1st Victorian Ice Hockey Team, 1907, Sydney
J S Thonemann was James, son of Frederick Emil Thoneman (? -1939), sharebroker and ASX member, and Margaret Louise Service, born England. James was the Grandson of James Service [pictured left] whose name he bears. Possibly no other Victorian politician has ever held such widespread public confidence and affection as Service, who was Victorian Premier 1880, 1883-86.
James' father, Frederick, returned to Melbourne from Britain on 'Mongolia' in July, 1904, and his mother and 3 male children, aged 11 to 16, returned in February, 1906, also on 'Mongolia'. [4] They were both in their mid-30s. James appears to have remained in Melbourne, possibly boarding at Melbourne Grammar. He was about 18 when he played the USS Baltimore team. His grandfather Emil Thonemann (? - 1891), was the Austrian Consul married to Louisa Mary Piper (image below; Brighton Rd house). Their other children included Emil Sterling, d. 1891; and Louis Arnold, d. 1935. [6] These are some of the few civil records of the unusual Thonemann family name in Victoria.
James' younger brother, Harold Eric, was born in St Kilda in 1890 and was the eldest son to return from Britain with his mother and brothers early in 1906. He was also a Melbourne Grammarian, sharebroker, company director and grazier who purchased Elsey Station in the Northern Territory, which the family held until 1959. The early years of Elsey from 1881 were the context in which the book and film 'We of the Never Never' was written. Harold later wrote 'Tell The White Man: The Life Story of an Aboriginal Lubra.' [7] He was principal of Thonemann & Company from 1939 (sold to HSBC and so became a forerunner of Merrill Lynch HSBC Australia Pty Ltd). Harold was MLA for Toorak, 1941-45; Parliamentary secretary and whip 1943-1945, not endorsed by Liberals 1945 when he was defeated. Harold married Nora Kate Shields in 1922, daughter of John Shields and Ellen Connor. He died in Toorak in 1962, age 72, and Nora died in 1985.
Whilst the Melbourne Glaciarium was being built, its syndicate issued a prospectus to finance a third rink in Sydney. It officially opened on the 25 July 1907 and closed in 1955. The ice surface was about 54m by 23m, the minimum size for International matches at that time. James Thonemann is said to have had a large financial interest in both skating rinks, yet he was quite young to to be independently wealthy. It seems more probable that James' sharebroker family were syndicate investors, perhaps facilitated through Old Grammarian links.
Certainly, the Melburnians IHC, one of the original four, were Melbourne Grammar Old Boys who dominated the league, pre-World War 1. The School's first 40 years were a struggle, not helped in the 1890s by economic depression, financial concerns and a number of changes of Headmaster. Falling Senior School enrolments in the early 1890s prompted a desire among Old Boys to do something "to save the Old School". They formed The Old Melburnians Society in April 1895 "to be the means of bringing together many former schoolmates, reviving pleasant recollections, and at the same time benefiting the life of the School as it is today." The Society has been a vital support group of the School for over 100 years. It lent it's name to one of the original four ice hockey clubs and later, the VAFA Old Melburnians Football Club, formed in 1920. [5] The MGS ice hockey players were from the MGS Field Hockey Club formed in 1908. The Club won three consecutive State premierships, 1911, 1912 and 1913. In 1913, it won the Dunraven Cup. Lack of support led to its disbandment during the 1980s. [8]
Sid Tange wrote that the first Sydney match was played on October 3, 1907, billed as NSW v. Victoria, noting his records did not explain the billing, nor the origin of the NSW participants. He concedes it was possible the team consisted of only 6 players (common until 1908); the match was two ten-minute periods; and Poole probably formed the NSW team from teaching staff and patrons of the Sydney rink. [3]
The Victorian team were, of course, members of Melbourne Glaciarium visiting Sydney for the opening. As Tange notes, the group was organised and led by Thonemann, who had played the USS Baltimore in 1906. There is no record of the names of other participants in this match, nor the result. Tange refers to a second match advertised as "Hockey on Ice" on Saturday August 31, 1907- "Black Team v. White Team". He has a record of that match and Poole did play. R Salmon, possibly the player named Samon in the first Melbourne team, was also on the team but, that is not certain because Salmon's first-name initial was the only one unknown to the 'Punch' newspaper reporting the event. Tange cites the date of the 2nd match before the 1st, so something is not right with his account. The 'Black v. White' match may have been first, followed by the NSW v. Victoria match. In any event, for some reason, both IHA and IHNSW discount this 1907 game as the first interstate match, even though it took place, in deference to the 1909 series:
"1909 proved a momentous year for Australian Ice Hockey as a NSW team travelled to Victoria to play the first official Interstate series.... The Victorian Team: Messrs Jackson, S L Reid, Woods, Blair, Smith, Purbick [9] and Heywood. The NSW Team: Messrs Pike, Turnbull, Docker, Rowe, Forsythe, Cuthbertson and Fowler." [3]
Dunbar Poole was far from parochial. He had been a part of Newman-Reid's rink developer syndicate through 3 capitals, finally coming to rest in the last. Although he mostly lived in NSW, he traveled widely; returned to Melbourne and Great Britain, competed in Europe, represented England and even Sweden where he was a registered member of the figure skating club. Yet, there are no known records of Australian representation. So, it is unsurprising that he (and possibly Salmon) changed colours to help establish NSW hockey and the first interstate competition. As did a son and only daughter of Henry Newman Reid. The sport was all the better for it in both cities.
During these years, Melbourne was the largest and most important city — the capital of Australia from Federation until Canberra (1901-27). James Service Thonemann is the only player on record to have played for Victoria in both inaugural matches in Melbourne and Sydney. He was the first Victorian Ice Hockey Captain; a son of the fabled Old Melbourne Establishment that still lives on in the city's sporting and cultural institutions. Unlike other Capitals, Melbourne was founded by free enterprise in 1835, against the wishes of the Colonial authorities seated in Sydney, and the Thonemann merchant-broker family lines were very prominent in the first-generation of the city and thereafter. It is also significant that James' grandfather on his mother's side, was both a Federationist and municipal President of Emerald Hill (now South Melbourne) in which the Glaciarium site was located at the time.
James enlisted in the Australian Army at the age of 52 on 11 Jul 1940 at Preston, Melbourne, although he was still residing at Caulfield. He gave his date of birth as 26 February 1897 and his next of kin as 'A. Thonemann'. However, his birth date was inconsistent with other records which suggest he was born about 10 years earlier. He probably lowered his age by 10 years in order to be serve during the war. [3] The Army hold no records on his date of discharge, rank or posting. As far as we know so far, James lived in Melbourne all his long life until his death at Caulfield in 1957, aged 69. He was young Melburnian with resources, influence and passion, selected to lead the first interstate team, and it is surprising that the formative years of National hockey in Melbourne after 1907 seem to have officially unfolded without him.
August 31, 1909, Melbourne, Victoria defeated NSW 0-1, 1-0, 6-1:
Victoria: R. Jackson, A. Reid, Purbrick [9], Woods, Blair, Smith and Heywood.
NSW:- Turnbull, Cuthbert, J. Pike, Forsyth and Lane
1910, Sydney, Victoria defeated NSW
Victoria: R Jackson (Captain), A. Reid, Woods, Blair, Walker, [John] Goodall (the cup man) and MacGillicuddy.
Sources:
[1] Australian Births Deaths and Marriages Index, Public Records Office Victoria. Thonemann, Harold Eric b. 1891 Reg No 7297; d. 1962 Reg No 15617, m. 1922 Reg No. 7243
[2] 'Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament 1900-84', Browne, G, 1985 [3] Who's Who in Australia 1941-1959; Herald 2 Feb 1932, 6 Aug 1962; 'Politics, Power and Persuasion', Aimer, P., Melbourne, 1974
[3] [1] "Ice Hockey: The NSW Ice Hockey, Association Inc. Australia - Facts and Events 1907-1999" by Sid Tange (199). Extracts are being published on the IHNSW website for the Centenary. Approach with caution; the document contains many errors and ommisions. Also referenced: the IHA 'Goodall Cup History' (IHA website).
[4] Index of Inward Passenger Lists for British Foreign and New Zealand Ports, Public Record Office Victoria, Fiche 043 Page 007 and F Thonneman and family Fiche 715 page 001, Fiche 736 pages 001 and 004.
[5] History of Melbourne Grammar School, Historical Outline, MGS
[6] Australian Births Deaths and Marriages Index, Public Record Office, Victoria. Thoneman deaths: Emil Stelling Reg No: 9755; Louis Arnold Reg No: 6155; Frederick Emil Reg No. 1939; Nora Kate (nee Shields) Reg No 8617
[7] 'Tell The White Man: The Life Story of an Aboriginal Lubra.' (London, Collins, 1949, antique).
[8] 'A Century Celebrated: A short history of the Old Grammarians Society, 1904-2004', Melbourne Grammar School
[9] The Purbrick family have had a long association with Mebourne Grammar School. Children of Reginald Purbrick (1877 - ?) and Dorothy Stevens attended MGS, among them Eric Stevens Purbrick (MA 1903-1991), educated at Melbourne Grammar and Jesus College, Cambridge. Reginald sold his milk company very profitably to Nestlé, and decided to retire to England with his family in 1921 with the idea of entering politics. He purchased a run down vineyard and pastoral property near Nagambie called Chateau Tahbilk, on the off chance that one of his sons might be interested in taking it on. Eventually, his son, Eric, did just that. Reginald became a Member of the House of Commons in 1929 until 1945, possibly the only Australian ever to do so. The Purbrick name was most recently honoured by MGS when Caroline Dowling (Purbrick) was made a life member of the Old Grammarians Society [8].
[10] 'World War 2 Nominal Roll', Commonwealth of Australia 2002. James Service Thonemann Service No. V43009 Online
© 2007 Ross Carpenter. All Rights Reserved. Original Research Nov 07. Reproduction prohibited without prior written permission of the author except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Images:
Image below: The Residence of Emil Thoneman Esqr. Austrian Consul. picture
Date(s) of creation: [ca. 1860-ca. 1879] State Library of Victoria Accession Number: H87.91/12 Image Number: b47385.
[ed. — This house was located in Brighton Road; one of the many lost mansions of St Kilda Road. Originally the residence of merchant Emil Thonemann, Herbert's grandfather. During the 1940s & 50s it was known as "Corvey". Attributed to architect Alfred Kursteiner, a well-known Fitzroy and St Kilda architect of the 1860s on. After falling into disrepair (ahh, that mystical term) it was demolished in the 1960s for the construction of flats. Architect best left unnamed. An existing nearby example of Kursteiner's work is 'Linden' at 26 Acland St, an Italianette mansion erected for Moritz Michaelis, businessman, philanthropist and Jewish community leader. Presently used as a carefully converted apartment house, externally intact. (Register of the National Estate). ]
