Sporting greatness

• Fleurieu Sun

• 14th February 2025

• MICHAEL SIMMONS

The   Rumbelow   name   has   been   synonymous  with  the  Encounter  Bay  since  the  1850’s,  when  Malen Rumbelow,  his  wife Alice  and  their  eight  children  arrived  in  the colony.  

The family landed at Port Adelaide on October 9, 1854, having sailed from Southampton  UK  on  the  barque  Pestonjee  Bomanjee.  They  then  travelled  on  foot  to  Encounter Bay arriving on January 5, 1855. 170 years later, the family is still embedded and  revered  in  the  Victor  Harbor  community. 

The  pioneering  family  is  well  known  for  its fishing  heritage,  but  the family also  reveled on  the  sporting  field. Football,   cricket,   sailing,   surf   life   saving, tennis  and  shooting  were  fantastic past times for the Rumbelow family.

Besides    fishing, Stanley Malen (Ween) Rumbelow, 1915 to 1985, for example, had two other interests: football and cricket.  He  both  played  for  and  captained  the  Encounter Bay cricket team. Ween began playing football for Encounter Bay when he was 17, but after a disagreement with the club, he took advantage of the fact that they  then  didn’t  need  clearances  to  change clubs and began playing for Victor Harbor. Later on, until his 50s, he was an umpire for the Great Southern Association umpire.

Graham Toleman Rumbelow, 1927 to 1996, was a keen sportsman and was captain of the Encounter Bay Cricket Team for 13 years.  He  became  a  life  member  of  the  Football Club  and  represented  the  Association  in  both sports. He was a tough footballer and many opponents feared his aggression.

On  February  11,  2023,  Graham  Rumbelow was  inducted  into  the  Encounter  Bay  Cricket Club Team of the Century. Malcolm  (Skinny)  Rumbelow  was  a  good sportsman  himself  playing  cricket  and  football for Encounter Bay and attended the event and received the coveted accolade on behalf of Graham.

In  regard  to  the  Encounter  Bay  Football Club  there  are  not  too  many  football  teams that  can  boast  of  having  six  members  of  the same  family  playing  in  the  same  team  on  one day.

In  the 1960s the  Rumbelow  family fielded five players in the one Encounter Bay team: Malen  Rumbelow  5th,  Charlie  Rumbelow, Jim Rumbelow, Malcolm Rumbelow and John Rumbelow

Life  Member,  Past  President  and  club  stalwart Donald Rumbelow is the respected heart and  soul  of  the  Encounter  Bay  Footy  Club  today. It  is  also  a  fine  statement  to  the  family  to realise  that  it  has  10  Life  Members  of  the  Encounter Bay Football Club. 

Planning  is  going  at  full  pace  for  the  170th Anniversary  Celebration  to  be  held  at  the  Encounter  Bay  Sporting  Club  on  the  weekend  of  March 29 and 30. Families   and   descendants   of   Malen   and  Alice  Rumbelow  and  their  children  Godfrey, Alice,  Sophia,  Mahalia,  Carolyn,  Malen  2nd, Emma  and  Sarah  are  invited  to  attend  The Rumbelow  &  Descendants  170  Year  Celebration.    Friends,  residents  and  connections  are also welcome to participate.

A highlight on the weekend will be an exhibition  of  12  paintings  that  feature  members of the Rumbelow, Ewen and Shannon families known as the Peter Matthews Collection. The  portraits  were  bequeathed  to  the  City of Victor Harbor in the 1980s by local artist Mr Peter Matthews. They were painted by his son Andrew Matthews and William Needs.

“Peter  thought  it  was  important  to  capture their lives on the sea of these outstanding personalities  and  commissioned  the  12  portraits to  the  then  District  Council  of  Victor  Harbor,” Matt Rumbelow said.

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