Wrestling Heritage

By Graeme Cameron

A British History of Australian Wrestling
By Graeme Cameron

Part 6: HINDUS, HEROES AND HACKENSCHMIDT (Part 1)

The start of the new century was a time of change. Australia officially became a country in 1901 and the first federal parliament sat. In pro wrestling, the first Australian Heavyweight title was established when Indian Buttan Singh defeated compatriot Gunga Brahms in 1903. Georges Hackenschmidt toured twice, bringing with him British exhibition partners who settled in Australia and New Zealand. Hackenschmidt would, to some extent inadvertently, have an influence that would contribute to the history of both Australian and New Zealand pro wrestling beyond his time down under. There was a new Australian star, Clarence Weber, Hackenschmidt’s protege. Then, there was the spectre of World War I. The next two parts will tell the stories of wrestlers from the period 1900-1914.  We begin with a familiar name, attached to a new person.

GEORGE DINNIE (1904-1910)

George Dinnie, from the hamlet of Som, South Ayrshire claimed to be the son of Donald Dinnie, though this was never proven. Like his namesake, Dinnie competed in wrestling and put on Strongman shows around the UK in the very early 1900s. He toured around the UK as the exhibition partner of American wrestler, Jack Carkeek. In 1904, they brought their act to Australia. All went well until they got to Perth, when there was a falling out for reasons unknown, and the two parted company. Dinnie remained in Perth, where he settled and became a member of the Perth Fire Brigade. He served for over two years before being persuaded by a senior officer at a social function to switch over to the police force in 1906.

There are no match records before July1907, when Dinnie defeated Londoner Bert Woods at the Perth Opera House in match billed at being for the Western Australian Heavyweight title. It was a bad-tempered affair in which Woods ended up in the orchestra pit, courtesy of Dinnie. Only a week later, Dinnie defeated six wrestlers in a tournament held over a week, downing WM Strong in the final to establish a genuine Western Australian Heavyweight title. A rematch with Woods in November saw Dinnie the victor in only 11 minutes.  

In June 1908, Dinnie travelled to Melbourne where he lost decisively to former Australian Heavyweight Champion, Bhuttan Singh 2-0. While there, he met Lancastrian Peter Bannon and the three of them toured South Australia and Western Australia together. Dinnie and Singh met again in Adelaide with the same result (more about this trio later).  He lost to Bannon in Perth which had consequences for his police career. He was deemed to be on “French Leave” from the police, meaning he took an unauthorised day off to wrestle. With the prospect of a disciplinary review, he left the police force. A challenge to Australian Heavyweight champion Clarence Weber was issued and accepted but the match fell through for unknown reasons. In December, he travelled back to England, where he was defeated easily twice by American champion Frank Gotch in Sheffield.

From this point on, he appears to have made his living doing “Feats of Strength” Shows and working as a miner in the Northwest of Australia. When World War I began, Dinnie enlisted. He appears to have had two stints in the AIF. The first in 1914, was fairly short-lived, lasting only a few months after he went AWOL to perform.  The second, in 1916 lasted two years, Dinnie being invalided out for a “bad leg”. He did not serve in Gallipoli and some sources suggest. There are records of him in performing in Australia at the time of this battle. The application form in his military record had “military police” written with a marker across the top, which is most likely where he was employed.

After the war, he returned to mining, where he had a match against another miner to entertain his fellow workers. The final match record for him is in July 1918, defeating C. Watson in Fremantle, He moved to the coastal town of Geraldton, where he bred sheep and established himself as one the foremost trainers of sheepdogs. He continued to issue public challenges even into 1934, none of which were taken seriously. He died in 1939, age 64. 

Opponents: Jack Carkeek, Bert Woods C.Watson, WM Strong, Bhuttan Singh

BERT “SAILOR” WOODS (1904-1910)

Bert Woods, who sometimes wrestled as “Sailor Woods” came from Islington in North London. Whether or not he was actually in the navy is unknown. It was a case of deja vous as his wrestling career in Australia paralleled that of George Dinnie to some degree.

Like Dinnie, Woods arrived in 1904, as an exhibition partner, in this case for the legendary Georges Hackenschmidt. Like Dinnie, all went well until they got to Perth. Again, there was a falling out which was so acrimonious it ended up in court and the newspapers.

A confrontation over money owed got a little physical and ended up with Woods suing Hackenschmidt for 1000 pounds, claiming damages for breach of contract, assault and false imprisonment. The judge awarded Woods just over 17 pounds. Needless to say, there is a lot more to this story but no space for it here. 

Woods, like Dinnie, also remained in Perth, where he too, joined the Perth Fire Brigade. So much for history never repeats.  Woods and Dinnie both served simultaneously for a year or so, although whether they worked together is unknown. As mentioned, the two clashed twice in 1907, with Woods losing both times. 

That’s where the similarities end. There are no other records for Bert Woods in Perth. Indeed, after his second match with Dinne, he moved to the suburb of Collingwood in Melbourne where he worked in the Abbottsford Brewery. There are two match records for this period. In February 1908, Woods lost to Lancashire’s Peter Bannon at the Melbourne Athletic Club. On New Year’s Day, 1909, he fell short in his challenge for Australian Heavyweight Champion Clarence Weber’s title in the gold mining town of Bendigo. That’s the last match record for Bert Woods

Bert Woods was another whose life was to be a short one. After being diagnosed with a heart condition years earlier, he was found dead in his home in Melbourne in 1923, aged 46. The address? 10 Islington Street, Collingwood.

Opponents: George Hackenschmidt, George Dinnie, Peter Bannon, Clarence Weber

GUNNER MOIR (1904, 1910)

Hailing from Lambeth in London, James “Gunner” Moir was better known as a boxer but had been trained in wrestling by Shepherd’s Bush wrestler, Sid Grumley, while in the army in India.

Moir was an exhibition partner and trainer for Hackenschmidt during both of his Australian tours in 1904 and 1910. He took part in no competitive wrestling matches while on tour, only exhibition matches with Hackenschmidt and his other exhibition partners.   After the first tour, Moir remained in Australia for boxing bouts. Back in England, he won the British Heavyweight boxing title in 1905, holding it until 1907, but failing in attempt to beat Canadian Tommy Burns for the World Heavyweight title. 

He returned to Australia with Hackenschmidt in 1910, again wrestling only exhibition matches. After the tour disbanded in New Zealand, he again returned to Australia for several boxing matches. He retired from boxing and became manager of Canterbury Music Hall, wrote books on boxing and did some acting, appearing in at least three films in the early 1930s.

After a long illness, Gunner Moir died in 1939 in hospital in the London suburb of Sutton, aged 60.

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