Eddie Mandible's jersey from Wallabies Rugby Union Tour of the United Kingdom 1908

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

Type: Football uniforms
Date: 1908
Place: England
Materials: Plastic - non specific, Textile - non specific
Collection: Eddie Mandible collection
Accession number: 2003.0022.0001

Description

A men's long sleeved rugby jersey with three pearlised white plastic buttons at the neck. The torso and arms are white with pale blue sections. The football jersey is decorated on the proper left breast with an embroidered waratah in red with a brown stem, and green, yellow and cream leaves above blue text inscribed "AUSTRALIA". There is a label sewn inside the neck with red text inscribed "MADE IN ENGLAND FOR / J. PEARSON / 21 KINGS ARCADE / SYDNEY". The proper left inside collar is stamped "16 1/2".

About the collection

This collection consists of Eddie Mandible's jersey from the first Wallabies Rugby Union Tour of the United Kingdom in 1908 and Souvenir Programme of the Australian Tour, London vs Australia 24 October 1908. The jersey is long sleeved and a pale blue. Over the left chest is embroidered a red waratah with green and yellow stem and leaves. 'Australia' is embroidered underneath. The program has an image of a wallaby on the cover with the teams' name 'The Wallabies' underneath. Also on the cover is the Wallabies war cry with its translation. Both are in good condition considering their age and use. At the turn of the 19th century Rugby Union was emerging as an international sport with touring sides from Britain and New Zealand coming to Australia to play in 1899 and 1903. An Australian side crossed the Tasman for the first time in 1905; Mandible was a member of the second New Zealand tour in 1907. Before being selected for the 1907 and 1908 Australian sides Mandible played for Fitzroy Carlton, Eastern Suburbs and Sydney District Football Club. The 1908 tour of the United Kingdom by the Australian Rugby Union side was the first time that the name 'The Wallabies' was used. This name has continued in use up to the present day. The 1908 tour coincided with the London Olympic Games and the Wallabies defeated Cornwall to became Olympic champions. The 1908 Wallabies mainly consisted of New South Wales players and therefore their jerseys used the colours and symbols from this state, pale blue and the waratah flower. It was not until 1928 that Australian sporting sides adopted the green and gold as national colours.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 5:44:20 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-07-23. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.