Ern Henfry: A champ in two states
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Almost as soon as he could walk Ern Henfry kicked his first football. When he was ten years of age he was captain of the Y.M.C.A. Temperance League football team, and at 13 he was a regular member of the Perth Modern School's first 18. He played his first league game with the Perth club at 16 and wore a State jersey before his 18th birthday. And now, a comparatively young war veteran, Henfry is captain of the Carlton Football Club—the famous Blues—in Melbourne in his first season in Victorian league ranks. This is unique for a West Australian. Such, in brief, is the remarkable record of one of the best footballers this State has ever produced.
Nonemost as soon as he could walk Ern Henfry kicked his first football. When he was ten years of age he was captain of the Y.M.C.A. Temperance League football team, and at 13 he was a regular member of the Perth Modern School's first 18. He played his first league game with the Perth club at 16 and wore a State jersey before his 18th birthday. And now, a comparatively young war veteran, Henfry is captain of the Carlton Football Club—the famous Blues—in Melbourne in is first season in Victorian league ranks. This is unique for a West Australian. Such, in brief, is the remarkable record of one of the best footballers this State has ever produced.
Early years
Ern Henfry was born in Perth 25 years ago and could now be said to be in his football prime. With this thought in mind his father looked back 20 years the other day to the time when he gave young Ern his first birthday present—a small football. Little did he realise that this was to be the first step in an outstanding football career. When he was only six Ern Henfry was taken along by his father to the 1927 grand final in which East Perth defeated South Fremantle. Despite his tender years, one memory became fixed—East Perth's crack forward, Bonny Campbell kicked five vital goals for his club on that day.
In the following year father and son became regular attendants at league games. "Ern and I used to share a bag of peanuts and a programme, and together we spent many thoroughly great afternoons,'' said Mr, Henfry. "We were keen followers of West Perth in those days and Ern was forever reliving the feats of the high-flying Ted Flemming. When we returned home from a game Ern would take his small football on to the front lawn and show me "how Flemming does it.''
Ern Henfry was attending the East Victoria Park State School when he was captain of the Y.M.C.A. team in the Temperance League and it is on record that he participated in a broadcast discussion presenting the case for the Australian code as opposed to Rugby and Soccer.
In 1933 Henfry won an entrance to the Perth Modern School and, in his first year, was included in the first 18 on a half-back flank.
All round sportsman
In addition to playing football at ‘Mod’ Henfry was also active in other sports and was selected to represent his school in the Slazenger Cup tennis team. However, his interest in football predominated and he retired from the tennis team to give his full sporting time to football. He also excelled in basketball and cricket. On December 8, 1937, he made a brilliant 115 not out for the school cricket team and, in the following year, was captain of the first XI and a prefect.
When the first term of 1938 ended Henfry left school to take up a position in a bank and it is interesting to refer to a copy of the Perth Modern School "Sphinx" of May of that year in which it was stated: "One thing has caused sorrow, not only on the part of prefects, but throughout the whole of the school and the staff, and that is the leaving of Ernest Henfry. He was captain of the cricket team, a splendid footballer and undoubtedly one of the most popular boys in the school."
Junior champion
Despite a full sports year at school Ern Henfry found time to play football outside of Perth Modern School. He was regularly playing in the Metropolitan Junior Football Association with the Victoria Park side, and towards the end of the 1937 season had played one game with the Perth league team.
In 1938 he won the Strempel Medal for the fairest and best player in the Metropolitan Association for his brilliant exhibitions at centre half-forward. With 30 votes out of a possible 48 he was 11 votes ahead of the runner-up, Marcel Hilsz, also of Victoria Park, and now the main bulwark in Perth's first line of defence, and Stan "Pops" Heal, of Mt. Hawthorn, who is now the captain-coach of the strong West Perth combination.
As a lad of 16 Henfry had already established a reputation in pennant cricket and, playing with East Perth, he had figured in several dashing partnerships with J. Wilberforce and L. McComish. Later he achieved recognition as a talented wicket-keeper batsman and, until leaving for Melbourne some 18 months ago, was a great asset to East Perth behind the stumps.
Ern Henfry signed up with the Perth Football Club in 1937, became a regular member of the side in 1939 and played outstanding football from the centre half-forward position.
State rep
Following the inability of L. Hardiman, G. Krepp and F. Ward to play in the first of two interstate matches against Victoria in June 1939, Henfry was selected with S. Broom and H. Smith, both of East Perth, to replace the players who had been withdrawn. On a day that will always be remembered for its wretched conditions (at times the wind reached a velocity of 60 m.p.h.) Henfry had few opportunities on the forward line but contributed 1.4 to the West Australian score of 7.13. Victoria ran out easy winners by 20 points.
In the return game Western Australia defeated the Victorians by 13 points. In this game Henfry came into his own on the half-forward line and was one of the outstanding players on the field. After the game he was besieged by several Victorians asking him to join a Melbourne club. At the time he considered he was not sufficiently experienced for Victorian football and declined the offers.
Playing at centre for Perth in 1941 Henfry lost the Sandover Medal to Haydn Bunton, then captain-coach of Subiaco, by one vote. Many will remember Henfry playing with a nose-guard in that season following a bad fracture of the nose sustained in a club game against East Perth early in the season.
War years
Henfry joined the 16th Battalion in 1941 and reached the rank of corporal before transferring to the R.A.A.F. in the following year. After being trained at Clontarf and Cunderdin, he was commissioned at Geraldton. He was then sent to Bairnsdale (Victoria) and later did staff duties at Nowra and Camden in New South Wales. At each of these stations he captained football and cricket teams.
It was in 1943, when he was returning to his home State on leave, that he was farewelled at the Spencer-street station by officials of the Carlton Football Club who prevailed on him to play for the club on his return from Perth. After three weeks in Perth he returned to Victoria and was stationed at Bairnsdale. He had his first game with Carlton against Geelong. At centre he was the star of the match.
Shortly afterwards Henfry was sent to Rathmines (N.S.W.), where he underwent a course on flying boats and was then posted to Darwin, from where he captained Catalinas on operational flights to the Islands as far as the Philippines. While in Darwin, he played football with Spitfires, an R.A.A.F. team, which won the premiership in a hectic final. Phonse Kyne, captain of Collingwood, was in that team. Henfry returned to Perth in October 1945 and was discharged with the rank of flight-lieutenant. He left for Melbourne, where he had been transferred by his bank, in January of the following year.
Honoured by Carlton
It will be remembered that Henfry, together with Perth's George Bailey, shortly afterwards applied for a clearance to Carlton, which was refused by the W.A. League. Both players kicked the pickets in Melbourne last year but at the beginning of the current season their clearances were granted. The period of standing down was not altogether wasted because it enabled Henfry and Bailey to study closely the methods and tactics of Victorian teams.
In being elected captain of the Carlton club in his first season, Henfry has achieved a notable distinction. Despite his inability to train during the week owing to an ankle injury, he has been, as one sporting writer in the Eastern States put it, “the drive behind all of Carlton's scoring moves”. At the pivot he has been one of the outstanding players of almost every match and recently proved his class by holding his own with Bill Twomey, the Collingwood and Victorian centreman, who is acknowledged to be one of the best pivot players in Victoria.
Ern Henfry has added polish to his play since he last played in Western Australia. His punt kicking is more certain now and his stab kicks are spoken of in Melbourne football circles as the most accurate seen in Victorian football for years. He can kick with both feet, is a safe mark, has a demoralising blind turn which he has perfected over the years, all of which combine to make him one of the most attractive footballers ever to don a jersey.
You have to be good to captain any Victorian league team. To captain a side like Carlton when the Blues are at the top of the tree a footballer has to be a champion. And that's where Ern Henfry is today.
Footnotes
Title: Captain of Carlton Football Club in his first Victorian season
Author: Pegasus
Publisher: Western Mail (Perth, WA: 1885-1954)
Date: Thursday 17 July 1947 p 15 Article Illustrated
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