Ian Redpath remembered (1941-2024)

Emma Chandler, Publications Coordinator

For generations of Australians, Ian Redpath (OGC 1954) embodied the dogged, unflappable cricketer - a man who made fast bowlers toil and who, with bat in hand, became a symbol of stoicism and selflessness. But long before the baggy green, before he faced down England and the West Indies, and long before a scoreboard would bear his name, Ian Redpath was a Geelong College boy.

College Days

Ian Ritchie Redpath (OGC 1954) joined the College in 1953. Even then, his classmates and teachers recognised a rare talent.

He quickly distinguished himself as a gifted sportsman - equally adept on the cricket pitch, football field, athletics track, and tennis court. By 1956, he was part of the 1st XI

cricket team, a position he held for three years. In his final year, he was awarded the W.H. Hill Memorial Prize for outstanding all-round ability - the College’s highest sporting honour.

The June 1958 Pegasus Coaches’ Report captured his influence:

“I. R. Redpath was elected captain... Redpath showed he had a keen

cricket brain and captained the team very well. In addition, he scored two very fine centuries and was second in the Public School averages.”

Redpath’s own Captain’s Report in Pegasus, June 1958, offers insight into his leadership and values:

“We found that the way to get the most enjoyment out of the cricket season, both on and off the field, is to get plenty of team spirit, practise and train hard then go out in the matches determined to win, no matter how big the reputation of the opposing side.”

Under his captaincy, the 1st XI recorded wins over Geelong Grammar and Melbourne Grammar - only the third time the College had defeated the latter. They also held Xavier to a draw and gave eventual premiers Scotch College a scare, having them 7 for 76 chasing 148.

His batting anchored the team. In one match, he was unbeaten on 112 when the innings closed, praised for his “wide variety of strokes.” In another, he and Lawler batted for 109 minutes in a 97-run stand, Redpath finishing on 50 not out“a very courageous innings which was holding the team together.”

The team thrived on camaraderie and strong fielding. “Few catches were grassed,” Redpath noted. “And Lawler took many fine catches in close.” His emphasis on team culture and discipline would stay with him throughout his career.

In 1958, a match between the Old Boys and 1st XI saw Redpath face cricketing great Lindsay Hassett (OGC 1925), who had retired from Test cricket just four years earlier.

Teammate Ian Scott (OGC 1953) later recalled:

“The Pegasus report shows the scorecard, with the entry ‘Hassett c. Redpath b. Scott 40’ - a moment involving two Collegians: one a Test legend, the other a teenager destined to become one.”

A generational passing of the torchcaptured in a single, remarkable delivery.

Life after College

Redpath’s entry into first-class cricket came by chance. As he told The Age, a South Melbourne committee man invited him to train after seeing him make a halfcentury for The Geelong College. “If he’d seen me in the previous three games, when I didn’t get to 20, I wouldn’t have been invited.”

After time in the second and third elevens - “batting like I had diver’s boots on,” he quipped - he worked his way into the firsts and then the Victoria side.

In his tenth first-class match, he scored 261 against Queensland, leading to his Test debut against South Africa on New Year’s Day 1964 at the MCG. He scored 97 and shared a 219-run opening stand with Bill Lawry.

He went on to play 66 Tests, scoring 4,737 runs at 43.45, with eight centuries. His 159 not out (carrying his bat) against New Zealand in 1974 and 171 against England in Perth remain legendary. He was vicecaptain during the 1974–75 Ashes and the 1975–76 West Indies series.

Redpath began his Test career as an amateur - refusing match payments to maintain amateur footballer statusonly turning professional on the 1964 Ashes tour. His grit and humility earned widespread respect.

He famously shielded a young Greg Chappell from a vicious spell by John Snow in 1970 - facing nearly all deliveries himself. Chappell later called him “one of the hardest men in Australia to get out.”

Redpath retired from Test cricket in 1976 at the height of his powers, returning to Geelong to focus on family and his antiques business, which he built with wife Christine into a beloved community fixture. He later joined World Series Cricket, offering steady hands and experience despite injury setbacks.

He coached the Victorian state side and became the inaugural coach of Geelong Cricket Club’s Premier Cricket teamalways prioritising local talent and laying foundations still felt today.

Appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1975 for services to cricket, he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2023.

In November 2024, despite declining health, Ian attended the unveiling of the Ian Redpath Scoreboard at Kardinia Park - a moment of pride and gratitude among teammates and admirers.

A Collegian, always

Ian remained a Collegian to the end. He returned for reunions, told stories with trademark wit, and stayed deeply connected to the school he credited with shaping him.

His legacy lives not only in cricketing records, but in the lives he touchedon the pitch, in his workshop, or with a quiet word of encouragement.

Ian Redpath was a Collegian in the truest sense: thoughtful, grounded, principled, and generous.

We remember him not with solemnity, but with admiration - for the games he played, the values he upheld, and the way he carried himself, from the ovals of The Geelong College to the world stage and back again.