# Arthur Hiskins

Arthur 'Poddy' Hiskins (9 September 1886 – 23 October 1971) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

## Family

One of fourteen children, and the son of John Hiskins (1853-1946) and Emma Hiskins (1856-1934), née Thompson, Arthur Hiskins was born in Wahgunyah, Victoria, on 9 September 1886. He married Annie Wilhelmina "Minnie" Bett (1897-1986) in 1927.
Three of his eight brothers also played senior VFL football: Fred Hiskins (1878–1946), played 50 games with Essendon, Stanley Hiskins (1890–1974), 66 games with South Melbourne, and Rupert Hiskins (1893–1976), 74 games with Carlton. His nephew, Jack Hiskins, Fred's son, played 16 games with Essendon.

## Football

Recruited from Rutherglen Football Club, Hiskins was a versatile player who was usually used in defence but sometimes pushed up forward. He could kick the ball long distances, and was one of the faster players in the side.

### Player (South Melbourne)

He made his debut on 2 May 1908, against Fitzroy, at the age of 21. He played 185 senior games, kicked 56 goals, and retired, aged 37, at the end of 1923, having played at full-back in the 1923 Preliminary Final (also against Fitzroy).
Over his career, he played in six Semi-Finals, three Preliminary Finals, and one Grand Final, selected at centre half-forward, in the 1909 premiership team.
He did not play in 1916, 1917, and 1918 due to his war service. He immediately resumed his career, upon his discharge from the army (on 1 September 1919), in the match against Carlton on 6 September 1919.

### Representative player

In 1913, he was selected to represent the VFL in a match against a combined Ballarat Football League team on 5 July 1913; he was replaced by Bill Eastick.

### Captain-coach (South Melbourne)

He was captain-coach of South Melbourne in 1920.

### Goal Umpire

Hiskins officiated in 52 league games as a goal umpire from 1930 to 1933.

### Tribunal

He was reported twice; and was suspended on each occasion.
* 1912: 31 August 1912 (round 18) — reported by VFL steward Fred Fontaine for striking Collingwood's Ted Rowell, he was suspended for 4 matches: "the investigation committee held that the charge … [of] striking Rowell … was sustained by the evidence, and that being so, they rightly determined that the pugilistic tendency [of Hiskens] should be checked by rustication" (The Leader, 14 September 1912).
* 1914: 6 June 1914 (round 7) — reported, again by Fred Fontaine, for striking Richmond's Ted Farrell, he was suspended for the rest of the season (i.e., 13 matches).

## Military service

Hiskins enlisted in the First AIF in October 1916, and was discharged in September 1919.

## Death

He died on 23 October 1971.

## Footnotes

* ↑ "Arthur Hiskins - Player Bio". Australian Football. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
* ↑ Obituary: Mr. John Hiskins, The Corowa Free Press, (Friday, 27 September 1946), p.5.
* ↑ Death of Mrs. E. Hiskens, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 13 January 1934), p.4.
* ↑ Marriages: Hiskins—Bett, The Argus, (Saturday, 24 December 1927), p.11.
* ↑ Deaths: Hiskins, The Age, (Saturday, 12 July 1986), p.33.
* ↑ Football, The Albury Banner and Wodonga Express, (Friday, 9 August 1907), p.23.
* ↑ South Melbourne (7.11) Beat Fitzroy (6.8), The Age, (Monday, 4 May 1908), p.11; South Melbourne's Prospects, The Argus, (Monday, 4 May 1908), p.9.
* ↑ The Final Match, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 6 October 1923), p.2; Football, The Argus, (Monday, 8 October 1923), p.12; Final, The Age, (Monday, 8 October 1923), p.13.
* ↑ Football Final: South Melbourne v. Carlton: Positions on the Field, The Argus, (Saturday, 2 October 1909), p.17.
* ↑ South Melbourne Wins: The Game of the Season, The Argus, (Monday, 4 October 1909), p.6; The Football Premiership, The Age, (Monday, 4 October 1909) p.8; The Game, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 9 October 1909), p.3.
* ↑ "1909 VFL Grand Final, South Melbourne vs Carlton" on YouTube
* ↑ Welcome Home: Driver Arthur Hiskins, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 9 August 1919), p.2.
* ↑ Play and Players, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Friday, 4 July 1913), p.4.
* ↑ Football, The Ballarat Star, (Friday, 11 July 1913), p.6.
* ↑ Player-Umpires, AFL Umpires Association.
* ↑ Rough Football: Hiskens Disqualified, The Argus, (Thursday, 5 September 1912), p.4; Play and Players, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Friday, 6 September 1912), p.2.
* ↑ Football Gossip, The (Melbourne) Leader, (Saturday, 14 September 1912), p.18.
* ↑ Football Incidents: A Rough Game, The Argus, (Monday, 8 June 1914), p.8; Checking Rough Football: League Players Disqualified, The Argus, (Friday, 12 June 1914(, p.10.; Football, The Richmond Australian, (Saturday, 13 June 1914), p.3; Hiskens Disqualified, The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 13 June 1914), p.3; (News), The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 13 June 1914), p.2.
* ↑ Deaths: Hiskins, The Age, (Monday, 25 October 1971), p.13.