Alfred Clunies-Ross
King of the Cocos Islands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Ellen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Children | Five | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Alfred Clunies-Ross (c.1851 – 28 February 1903) was a
Clunies-Ross, a Cocos Malay from a Scots family, was the first non-white rugby union international player.[2]
Early life
Alfred was born around 1851 in the
Rugby union career
Alfred played for the University of St Andrews and such was his prowess he was selected to play in the
Career and personal life
Alfred left St Andrews University for London in around 1872, before graduating. Although he then worked at St George's Hospital in London in 1873 he still did not attain a medical degree, as confirmed in 1885 when E.W. Birch in his government report wrote of Alfred: "He was a medical student but did not graduate." Birch went on: "He lives at the Cocos and is the doctor of the place. He is a bachelor, an exceedingly well-informed man, talks well on most subjects, and is very popular with the natives. He is an excellent carpenter." Alfred later married his cousin Ellen at Cocos in 1886 and they had 5 children, among whom were Ellen and Cosmo[6].[4] In 1888 it is known that Alfred went to work in North Borneo. Of his later years, it is known that in 1901 he became seriously ill and moved to Singapore. Having not recovered from the illness he returned to Cocos to recuperate in 1902 but died in 1903.[4]
See also
- James Robertson (rugby union, born 1854) - the first known black rugby union player. He played for Royal HSFP and Edinburgh District in the early 1870s.
- Andrew Watson (footballer, born 1856) - the first black person to play association football. Watson played for Maxwell, Parkgrove, and Queens Park before being capped for Scotland national football team.
- Robert Walker (Third Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers footballer), another black player to play association football alongside Watson at Parkgrove.
References
- ^ a b c d e Profile of Alfred Clunies-Ross at scrum.com
- ^ "James G Robertson - the first black rugby player?". Scottish Sport History - devoted to our sporting heritage. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ISBN 978-1332116812.
- ^ a b c d University of St Andrew's - Rugby Club alumni[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Madras school archive". Archived from the original on 10 November 2004. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "Civilian Cosmo Clunies-Ross | War Casualty Details".