Jim Abernethy
Australian footballer
Noel James Abernethy (4 November 1902 – 1 October 1974) was an Australian rules footballer who played as a half-back flanker who played for the Melbourne Football Club after being schooled at Wesley College. He played 130 games for Melbourne between 1923–24 and 1926–32. He kicked 61 goals.
Abernethy was originally from Shepparton and attended boarding school at Wesley. Abernethy had a successful junior career for Wesley, being the champion player of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria. As such he attracted interest from many VFL clubs. Because he had been living in St Kilda, the St Kilda claimed that Abernethy was in their zone. The Demons, however, argued that he technically still lived with his parents in Shepparton. The VFL committee ended up siding with Melbourne's point of view and the Demons signed Abernethy.
Abernethy played for Melbourne in 1923 and 1924, but moved back to Shepparton in 1925, to further his law career.
“Jim Abernethy” enters the record as australian footballer. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Abernethy, Australian and footballer can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16073403. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1902, 1974, 1923 and 1926.
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