VAFA umpiring great recognised in Australia Day honours

Wayne Hinton has devoted his adult life to umpiring footy, and that lifetime of service has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 Australia Day Honours.

Wayne’s father, John, who has just turned 90, umpired in the VAFA for 15 years and served as President of the Umpires’ Association. At age 16, Wayne followed in his footsteps to build and maintain his fitness throughout the winter months, immediately falling in love with the craft.

“I was a keen runner, but I found cross-country boring. So, I tried umpiring and enjoyed it from Day 1,” said Wayne.

“Dad was effectively my coach back then. He’d come along and watch my games, then we’d work through things afterwards. He also had great connections with all the old boys around the comp, which helped me build relationships with all the clubs.”

The 66-year-old officiated around 700 VAFA matches following his debut in 1974, including four Premier Men’s Grand Finals in the early ‘90s, along with four Premier B and four or five Premier C Grand Finals, plus a handful of Big V rep games and he is a life member of the VAFA Umpires Association.

“The Ammos is where my journey started so it will always be special to me. I did plenty of hard yards in the VAFA, given I started under the single umpire system.

“I remember the first game I umpired, and the captain-coach of Old Mentone came in afterwards and told me I did a great job. I had been cramping badly in both hamstrings so those kind words really stuck with me, because I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing!

“My Dad really tuned me up to what the Ammos is all about. He told me to always go in for a drink and a chat with the players and coaches after a game. I made a lot of mates across a lot of teams. The mateship was fantastic and even now I’ll go watch a VAFA game and old-timers will come up and have a chat with you. It’s great.”

Wayne, universally known throughout the umpiring world as ‘Chuck,’ has also umpired in various other leagues, including 5 Senior and 100 Reserve grade VFL/AFL matches.

His VFL/AFL senior debut came at the SCG in 1985 when Sydney hosted Melbourne.

“It was unbelievable. I got a phone from VFL Umpires Coach, the late great Jeff Crouch on the Wednesday night and had four sleepless nights until the game rolled around on the Sunday in Sydney.

“I cherish memories like that and the first finals game I umpired at the MCG. I can remember it so clearly – it was a Hawthorn-Richmond Reserves Final and I just floated around the ground all afternoon. What an experience.”

Wayne he was also on the whistle for the infamous 1985 VFL Reserves match at the Lakeside Oval when his umpiring partner Phil Waight was shoved to the ground by irate Collingwood player John Bourke, which led to Bourke initially receiving a 10-year suspension.

“Yeah, that was one of the more memorable ones!”

A prominent figure in Mornington Peninsula footy, Wayne still contributes to the game by umpiring school footy, where he mentors our next generation of whistle-blowers.

His ongoing involvement is even more remarkable, given he received a kidney transplant in 2016, and a doctor at the time predicted he would never run again. Wayne was back umpiring within four months!

“COVID knocked me around a bit. I got a bit of hypothermia umpiring a senior women’s night game at Peninsula Grammar last year. The conditions were so bad they ended up calling the game off, which was lucky for me because I had nothing left! I was lucky a couple of ambos were there as I had a low heart rate and had to spend a couple of days in hospital. Apparently, I’d picked up a virus I didn’t know I had.”

Wayne now requires a second transplant, undergoes nightly dialysis, and is managing an immune disorder – but none of these challenges will stop him from umpiring.

“My nephrologist says that umpiring is the best cure for me. He didn’t expect the transplanted kidney to last as long as it has. He thinks I’ve got three or four extra years out of it by being out there running around, keeping fit and umpiring games.

“The running really helps physically and mentally. It gives me extra strength and clears my mind. It’s like a day out for me. I’m a different person once I cross the white line.

“I just love being involved with the game, meeting total strangers and putting myself under pressure to make decisions. When you turn up to a game, you never know what’s going to happen. There are always different personalities involved – blokes who want a laugh and a joke through to those who take the game really seriously.”

“There’s a lot to learn and you can’t learn it all from a book – it comes from lived experience. I tell young umpires to learn the basics, build some confidence and stick with it. Build up a good knowledge of the rules and focus on your relationship with the coaches.

“You’ll have to withstand a bit of abuse along the way, but you’ve got to stick to your plan. Just sort of calm the players and coaches down and speak to them how you’d like them to speak to you. Don’t be scared of them.

“There were some ruthless Ammos coaches around back in the day, but I’d always go back and face the fire. Dad taught me to be pretty tolerant. One minute they’re giving you a spray and the next minute they’re buying you a beer! Supporters are the same. They’ll give you hell all day and then share a drink and a joke afterwards.

“So don’t worry about the mistakes. You’ll make your share but don’t dwell on them because a second later you’ve got to make another decision and then another a second or two after that.”

The Order of Australia Medal came as a pleasant shock.

“When I got the phone call, I thought it was a scam! I was driving out of Frankston Hospital and almost drove off the balcony! I couldn’t wait to tell my Dad. This Award is a great reward for all the help he’s given me over the years. He even tried goal umpiring at one stage so we could work together on matches! I’m the only boy in the family, so we’ve always been close.

“And my late Mum was such a great support too. She used to wash all my gear and was always there for us.”

Umpiring is a proud family affair for the Hintons, with Wayne’s daughter Asha a VAFA boundary umpire – the third generation of Hintons to blow the whistle in the Ammos.

As for Wayne, he’s not done yet.

“I’ll keep umpiring as long as I can get the legs fit each season and still be sharp in the mind to pay correct free kicks. I’ll call it a day if I feel I’m losing the edge at some stage. But right now, I still feel sharp enough to call it.”

The VAFA congratulates Wayne Hinton for an incredible contribution to our competition and the game more broadly. There’s no game without our umpires, and selfless, passionate characters like Wayne are the lifeblood of our sport.

The VAFA also congratulates SEAN MELTZER for his Order of Australia Medal for services to the Jewish community across a wide range of activities, including as a Board member and volunteer videographer for AJAX.

Sean has also generously volunteered his time to entities including the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, J-AIR Community Radio, Rotary Club of Melbourne, La Trobe University Union and Screen Producers Australia.