CONTRIBUTED BY PATRICK BOURKE, former Dubbo High School student

The Astley Cup annual inter-school sporting competition began in Dubbo in August 1923 with a boys’ rugby league game between the Dubbo High School and Sacred Heart College, Dubbo.

The Astley Cup trophy itself was donated by Laurence Astley, a Dubbo businessman. A staunch Methodist, Mr Astley made one of the conditions for the running of the Cup, was that it was not to be played for on a Sunday.

In 1925, Bathurst High School and Orange High School joined Dubbo High School in competition for the Astley Cup, and the high school sporting competition was expanded to include tennis (boys and girls), athletics (boys and girls), girls’ hockey, and girls’ basketball (later renamed netball, when “American” basketball came to Australia during the 1960s) as well as boys’ rugby league. In later years, boys’ basketball, and girls’ and boys’ soccer, have been included.

Dubbo High School ceased as a school in 2000 when the three public schools in Dubbo merged to form Dubbo College, which now competes for the Cup against Bathurst and Orange High Schools.

Many local students, went-on from the Astley Cup to serve in World War II; with recent links found between the tragic sinking of the Japanese prison ship, the Montevideo Maru, in which hundreds of Australian servicemen and women drowned exactly 81 years ago after it had been torpedoed by an American submarine, and Dubbo High.

As far as I know, no known Astley Cup representatives died on the Montevideo Maru. However, two ex-students of Dubbo High School, Frederick Sadler and John Poole, did die in this naval disaster; with Poole a student at Dubbo High, when the school was competing in the Astley Cup.

In 1933, both John Poole and Laurence Astley’s youngest son, John, were in the Order of Knight as members of the Dubbo Methodist Church and, on the 5th of May, 1938, John Poole was ordained a Methodist Minister. During 1940 with his young wife, the Rev John Poole travelled to New Guinea where they were missionaries on the island of New Britain. War records now show that the Rev John Poole died on the Montevideo Maru on 1 July, 1942, the wreck of which was only just recently located off the coats of The Phillipines.

Another Astley Cup connection to the Montevideo Maru, is through Ron Walden who played in the 1923 Astley Cup for Dubbo High School. After Ron Walden’s family left Dubbo and moved to Sydney, Ron took up playing rugby union and had a very successful career. He played over 100 first grade games for Manly, many games for NSW, and four tests for Australia, including three as Captain.

During the 1930s, Ron played with and against a young rugby union player who came from country NSW, Mac Ramsay. Mac made his rugby union test debut for Australia on 23 September 1936 against the New Zealand Maori at Palmerston North, New Zealand. Ron was captain of the Wallabies.

During WWII, Mac Ramsay enlisted in the Australian Army. He was selected for the No. 1 Independent Company, Australia’s first commando unit raised during WWII. Records show that Mac Ramsay also died on the Montevideo Maru on 1 July 1942.

++

Sources

• Dubbo High School year books

• Family records of the Astley Family

• Newspapers digitalized on the National Library of Australia’s TROVE website

• Online publication, Dubbo Methodist Church 1873-1933 Diamond Jubilee, Camden Theological Library

• National Archives of Australia’s Montevideo Maru website

• ESPN Scrum.com website (rugby union records)