Australian rugby league jersey

View this record on the National Museum of Australia's website

Type: Football uniforms
Place: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Materials: Textile - non specific
Collection: Vic Armbruster collection
Accession number: 2008.0023.0001

Description

A long sleeve, green jersey. The jersey features a white, heavily stained collar with two buttons, one of which is broken, and a yellow 'V' on the chest, originating from each shoulder to meet on the chest. The front of the jersey is adorned with an Australian Coat of Arms, embroidered on a green felt shield and sewn onto the proper right breast. The front of the jersey suffers multiple stains and several holes on the proper left side. The back of the jersey is adorned with a white heavily stained and torn square of fabric with the number "1" painted on in brown. The back of the jersey also suffers stains and minor damage.

About the collection

The Vic Armbruster collection comprises a 1922 NSW Rugby league cap, a 1924 Queensland Rugby League cap, a 1924 Australian cap and a Kangaroos jersey, dating from 1929-30. Louis Victor Armbruster, known throughout his career as "Vic", played Rugby League for both NSW and QLD, and was a member of the legendary Toowoomba Clydesdales, as well as representing Australia internationally. His career is illustrated by the collection material. Caps were issued to rugby league players as part of their off-field uniform, and were worn on official occasions. The cap was a legacy of an established tradition in rugby union, and was only given to players of representative sides. They featured as a prominent part of representative football uniform up until the late 1930s. The three Vic Armbruster caps are illustrative of the caps issued to members of representative rugby league teams throughout the 1920s. Jerseys are the most recognisable item of Rugby League memorabilia, being part of the universal uniform of football, though for all this they are quite rare, having by their very nature been subjected to much wear and tear. They also serve as a valuable tool for tracking the evolution of the game in terms of styles and team colours. The Kangaroos jersey among the Armbruster material dates from 1929, and represents the very first incarnation of the Kangaroos jersey, which has continued to be used with little alteration since then.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 6:26:49 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-23. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.