PLAYER, COACH

Frederick William Wort was a player and coach credited to bringing football to Blackstone in 1888, and helping to establish the code in Charters Towers in 1890. 

Wort was born on the Isle of Wight, before moving emigrating to Australia in 1887 aged 24. After a short stint in Toowoomba, he moved to Blackstone, Ipswich in 1888, having been appointed to the position of drill sergeant for the Volunteer Corps. 

Despite their long association with the mining community, Blackstone Rovers were formed by Wort in 1888 from the Volunteers, making the club military in origins. 

Wort notable played his first game with the club under the name of Fred William, taking the alias as he was technically on sick leave with an injury. He both captained the coached the side that year. The paucity of newspaper reports in 1889 prevent us knowing how long he played for Rovers.

At the end of the decade, Wort was reassigned to the Volunteers in Charters Towers. The town’s first soccer team coincided with his arrival, which he captained against Queenton Rangers in the earliest known game in the region.

After Charters Towers, he returned to Brisbane, farming in Cleveland and worked for many years Cleveland Division Board, the local government authority. He died in Raby Bay in 1932.