Jack Chamberlain

Who was Jack Chamberlain?

John "Jack" Aloysius Chamberlain was an Australian sportsman who played Australian rules football, cricket and rugby union at a high level.

After spending some time in Tasmania, Chamberlain moved to Sydney at the age of 17 and played Australian rules football for Paddington. During this time, he twice represented New South Wales at interstate football. He took up association football when he moved to Perth two years later but gave it away in 1906 to play for the Perth Football Club in the West Australian Football Association. Chamberlain did however play cricket in the summer and played one first-class match for Western Australia against New South Wales in March 1907.

In 1908 he signed with the Norwood Football Club in the South Australian Football League. Playing as a forward, Chamberlain kicked 30 goals to top his club's goalkicking and fall just three short of league leader J. Mathieson from Port Adelaide. He participated in the 1908 Challenge Final, which Norwood lost narrowly, and represented South Australia in that year's Melbourne Carnival.

Chamberlain played for Norwood initially in 1909 but during the year was relocated to Singapore, through his work with the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company. While in Singapore he played rugby union and represented the Crown colony in fixtures again the Malay State. He also played for the Straits Settlements cricket team, appearing in four matches against the Federated Malay States between 1910 and 1913. In 1914, while on leave, Chamberplain played again with Norwood.