Scotch College

Supercentenarian has link with first Aussie rules game

Bea Riley is a supercentenarian who has a direct link with the first game of Australian rules football, played between Scotch and Melbourne Grammar School in 1858.

‘Supercentenarian’ is the word used to describe anyone aged 110 years or over, and Bea fits that description precisely, having been born on 13 October 1896. It was the year of the first modern Olympic Games, when Australia was still five years away from Federation and its population was just three million.

According to a recent report in the Progress Leader, Bea’s father, David Ogilvy, was a student at Scotch and took part in the first recorded game of Aussie rules in August 1858.

That match will be commemorated in 2008 – the 150th anniversary of the birth of Aussie rules. It’s also Melbourne Grammar’s 150th birthday, and in August 2008 the two schools are planning celebrations to mark footy’s birth, including a re-enactment of the first game and other commemorative events.

If you’d like to help plan the sesquicentenary celebrations, your support will be most welcome. Please contact OSCA Executive Director, Tim Shearer on 9810 4302.