Barnett, Jim

BORN IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA IN 1904, the son of Albert and Mary Agnes Barnett of Glebe, [1] he joined Western Suburbs in 1922, soon after the war interruption, a prospective goalkeeper at the age of 17. [2] In 1923, the morning press reported his outstanding ability as a substitute tender for Jack Pike's Wests, largely crediting him with the defeat of Jim Kendall’s Easts, 4-3. [2, 3]

A piece in the Evening News said the "The outstanding feature of the match was the fine exhibition of goal-keeping by J Barnett, a boy of 15 years of age, who was put in as emergency at the last minute for Wests". He was 17 or 18 years-old. Easts went on to win the Hamilton Cup, the State Premiership trophy, with half their 36 goals produced by Kendall on the blue line. The young tender performed very well in his début against the Montreal University graduate, who won the Tintex Cup for Highest Scorer.

Scorning normal goalkeeping protective gear, he wore only field hockey leg pads and gloves, and used a normal hockey stick, not a goalie stick. [2] A foundation player with Glebe in 1923, where the average age was eighteen years, he started with the Raith brothers, John Kerr, younger brother of Carl, Norm Turner and Tommy Wells, and went on to play over 100 matches. With Kendall's playing career over, his team set a national record winning the state premiership for five straight seasons, 1925 to '29. [2, 5] They finally lost to St George in 1930 before 2,000 spectators, but won a sixth Cup in 1933.

He represented NSW on fifteen occasions [7] during the years Victoria did not win a Goodall Cup for a quarter century, winning all six Cups he contested — 1925, ’26, ’27, ’29, ’30, and ’33. "The first test of 1925 will go down in ice hockey history as one of the greatest games ever played in Australia," reported the Sporting Globe in Melbourne during Kendall's last season. "Although New South Wales won the match with seven goals to nil, there was little between the teams.

"Even when Victoria's chance of winning was hopeless, their side stuck to their guns and fought doggedly. Both States had about an equal number of shots, but those of New South Wales were harder, better played and scored goals, whereas those of Victoria were turned aside by the New South Wales goalie, J Barnett, who gave a brilliant exhibition of goal keeping. Barnett is 17 years of age, and has only played ice hockey for two years". [4] He was 20 years-old and in his third season.

Barnett once mentioned in a press interview he played against a visiting Canadian team, but no record has been found. [1] He was goalkeeper in 1925 for NSW against a team from the visiting USS Idaho, the match resulting in a draw. Pro skaters Howard Nicholson and Henri Witte were instructors in Melbourne and Sydney that year when Nicholson jumped over 14 US sailors lying on the ice. Among the best players of the 1926 and 1930 Goodall Cups, Barnett played top-level hockey for well over a decade, and was a teammate of such NSW greats as Jim Brown, Jack Pike, Widdy Johnson and Percy Wendt.

He was assistant secretary of the state association to secretary Norm Joseph for nine years. A state team selector with Jack Kennedy and Carl Kerr in 1936 and ’37, he was the fifth Life Member of his state association in 1937, although neither he nor Jim Kendall now appear on the Honour Roll. The Referee newspaper reported: "At the annual meeting of the NSW Ice Hockey Association last week, the delegates unanimously elected Jim Barnett, the former State and Glebe goalkeeper, as a life-member. It was a fitting method of honoring one who has for years done excellent work for the game. There are only five life members of the IHA — E J Kendall, D Poole, N P Joseph, C V Kerr and J Barnett. [6, 7]