Of the 1500 players who have represented St Kilda Football Club, many have made a greater mark on the football field than Alan Stretton.

But Stretton, who died on October 26 at the age of 90, is one of the most famous in terms of his off-field exploits.

Alan Stretton’s fame came from his deeds as the man who led the reconstruction of Darwin after Cyclone Tracy destroyed the Northern Territory’s capital in 1974.

The following year the retired Major General was crowned Australian of the Year.  He was a fascinating character who led an amazing life.

In his 38 year career in the army he served Australia with distinction at home and overseas, but it was in the time of Australia’s worst natural disaster that he came to the nation’s attention.

As a man from a military background, Alan Stretton was accustomed to things being organised and cohesive. So it came as a shock when, as St Kilda’s players representative on the Club committee, he saw violence break out at the committee table following a heated discussion.

“They were discussing an issue and the press was waiting outside to hear the result. All of a sudden a fight broke out, the table was overturned and two of the committee had to be separated,” he was     quoted as saying at the time.

The club secretary and one of the committee members then fronted the waiting pressmen and informed them that all differences had been ironed out and everything was OK. The only trouble was that one of the combatants was suffering cuts and a black eye!

It is clear that Alan Stretton was highly regarded by his teammates as he had only been at for the Club for a year, but obviously his bearing as an army officer gave them the opinion he would be their ablest representative at the committee table.

For his whole life he maintained a keen interest in the team he followed as a boy, and then played for immediately after World War II.
“I was a Melbourne boy originally - lived in Elwood,” he said in a 2006 interview.

“I can remember watching players from about the late 1920s like Tiger Bence, and Colin Watson, who won our first Brownlow.”

Stretton went to Scotch College and had ambitions of joining the legal profession. But in 1940, the then 18-year-old made a life changing decision to join the army.

“I came back to Melbourne in January 1946.  I’d played football in the AIF and captained the Duntroon team, which played in the Canberra League. Five of that team made the VFL.”

Until then Aussie Rules wasn’t even on the agenda at the famous military college.

“Australian Football had been banned at Duntroon initially - it was all rugby until Mr Mulrooney - a famous Canberra official that they named the Mulrooney medal after - arranged for a question to be asked in parliament;

“Is it a fact that the Australian game of football is banned at The Royal Military College Duntroon?”

When he arrived back in Melbourne he had no sooner stepped off the plane than he was confronted by a trio of strangers.

“When I stepped off the plane there were three blokes I had never seen in my life. They were from the Melbourne Football Club. They had a Form Four and they wanted to sign me up to play with Melbourne. I said, no way, I’m a St Kilda supporter. They said that they had someone in the posting section of the army who was a Melbourne supporter who would ensure that I was posted to Melbourne.”

But Stretton was residentially tied to St Kilda and the Melbourne application was knocked back by the VFL. For his part, Stretton was only too happy to be directed to the club he barracked for.

He played just two seasons and 16 senior games with the club before a posting to the War Office in London.

“I played under Alan Hird - James’ grandfather - he was a great bloke.”

Hird’s tenure as coach was not an easy one. The club was struggling, but Stretton doubted that any other coach would have been able to do much better.

“I’ve heard so many speeches from coaches and they were all the same. It was never a matter of saying where the wind was blowing and which angle to come from. It was all just rev them up. The same speech every week.”?
He was not critical of Hird, but was cynical about coaches in general during that era.

He retained his sense of humour and maintained he looked quick on the field because he initially began alongside a couple of veterans.

“When I started Reg Garvin and Roy Fountain were still playing. I wasn’t a speedster but I looked better next to them!”
One thing that didn’t bring a smile to his face was the suggestion a few years ago that he had been the full-back on the end of Fred Fanning’s all time record of 18 goals in a game.??In truth Stretton had not even played that day - Allan Stretton had played against him earlier in the year when he kicked 10 goals.?
“The next time he kicked 18. I reckon that showed what a good backman I was,” he laughed.

“He was a man mountain and you couldn’t get around him.”

All in all, it was a fascinating era.

“It was a lot of fun and it was an important period of my life.

“It was surprising that football continued during the war. That was the re-emergence of it all. Players were coming in, not as young recruits. I was 23 and that was typical.  We were amateurs - some of them got more than three quid. But they would get around that. I actually played as an amateur.”

At first there was resistance from Stretton’s commanding officer about one of his officers playing League football. He told Stretton that he would have to decide whether he was a professional army officer or a professional footballer - “You can’t be both.”

But the attitude changed dramatically when Sir Sydney Rowell visited the barracks and asked to chat with Stretton.

“I played against Richmond the week before and I’m in the mess and (my CO) was talking to Sir Sidney Rowell who was the chief of the army. I’d already taken precautions by telling the club I would play as an amateur and they could give my wife the money. All that had been arranged and I thought that would cover it.

“I went over and stood to attention. He said ‘Alan’, and I thought no general has ever called me Alan. He said ‘Alan I was at the Richmond game and you did pretty well. It’s great to see our young officers getting out and being in the community, don’t you agree Cappy (Stretton’s CO)?’ and he said ‘Yes sir’!”