The Australian Rugby League Week Magazine edition number 12, published in 1987, featured Wally Lewis, a professional rugby player from the 1970’s thru to the 1990’s, alongside John Henderson, the founder and president of the Australian Phantom Fan Club from 1981 thru till 1995. Wally Lewis, a Phantom fan and Club member as early as 1984, proudly wears an early Phantom tank top, whilst John Henderson is dressed-up as the Phantom.
We see Wally Lewis again in his Phantom tank top in Seoul, Korea on the 22nd of September, 1988.
The Australian Rugby League Week Magazine published 35 issues. Fourteen of the 35 issues (numbers 8, 10, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 30, 31 and 32) featured a 1 page advertisement titled, ‘Tooheys Private Lives’. These 1 page advertisements for ‘Tooheys Beer’ included a photograph and a small write-up about the Australian Sports Star or celebrity featured.
‘Tooheys’ is a brewery in the suburb of Lidcombe, Sydney, Australia. It produces beers and ciders under the Tooheys and Hahn Brewery trademarks and is part of the Lion beverages group which was acquired by the Japanese Kirin Company in 2009.
Tooheys dates from 1869, when John Thomas Toohey (an Irish immigrant to Melbourne) obtained his brewing license. Toohey and his brother James Matthew ran pubs in Melbourne (The Limerick Arms and The Great Britain) before moving to Sydney in the 1860s. They commenced brewing Tooheys Black Old Ale in a brewery in the area of present-day Darling Harbor, New South Wales.
By 1875, demand for their beer had soared and they established The Standard Brewery in inner-city Surry Hills, New South Wales. In 1902, the company went public as Tooheys Limited, and commenced brewing lager (the present-day Tooheys New). In 1955, the brewery moved west to Lidcombe.
In 1967, Tooheys bought competitor Miller’s Brewers located in Taverner’s Hill, closing that brewery in 1975. Still today, ‘Tooheys Beer’ is one of Australia’s most recognizable brand.
Thank you Christopher Smith for assisting with images and information.
The Phantom 