Richard Ernest Nowell Twopeny

Richard Ernest Nowell Twopeny (1 August 1857 – 2 September 1915) was an Australian rules footballer, frequently spelled Twopenny or Tuppenny; also journalist and newspaper editor/owner in New Zealand and Australia, in which context he was invariably referred to as R. E. N. Twopeny.

Early life

Twopeny was the son of Archdeacon T. Nowell Twopeny and Mathilde Twopeny of Adelaide. He was born in Little Casterton Rectory, Rutland, England in 1857. Edward Twopeny was a brother. Their father migrated to South Australia in 1860.

In 1872 Richard was a student at St Peter's College, Adelaide, and was captain of the school's football team. Twopeny spent part of his childhood in France and was educated at Marlborough College, England, until 1875 and the Ruprecht-Karl-Universität, Heidelberg, Germany.

Twopeny returned to Australia in 1876. He arrived in Melbourne on the Northumberland on 15 May 1876 and soon moved to Adelaide where he worked on the South Australian Register from 1876 to 1877.

South Australian Football Association (1877)

Richard Twopeny was a key member of organising the South Australian Football Association in 1877. Along with delegates from Adelaide, Port Adelaide, Willunga, South Park, North Adelaide, Kapunda, Bankers, Gawler, South Adelaide, Victorian, Woodville and Prince Alfred College the rules of the game for the year were set.

Adelaide Football Club (1877)

In 1877 Twopeny captained the club for 12 matches. He left the club at the end of 1877 to work in Melbourne.

Town Life in Australia

Twopeny wrote a series of letters that would later be published as Town Life in Australia (1883). It compared the major cities of Australia—at the time Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide—to each other and to those in the United Kingdom.