Nick Riewoldt's German background

Nick Riewoldt

The former Australian rules footballer, Nick Riewoldt, published his autobiography in 2017, titled The things that make us. Riewoldt was one of the most successful forwards in the Australian Football League (the sports journalist Glenn McFarlane described him in 2023 as "a superstar key forward and great leader"). He played 336 games for the St Kilda Football Club between 2001-2017 and was the club’s captain in 2005 and from 2007 to 2016. The first chapter of his book is titled ‘Heritage’, and most of the chapter focuses on his German background.

Nick Riewoldt kicking on 16 June 2017 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria.
Photo source: Flickerd, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nick Riewoldt explained in his autobiography ‘The Things That Make Us’ how proud he is of both the German and the Tasmanian sides of his family history. His father Jörg, who was born in Berlin, came to Tasmania with his parents Helga and Heinz in the early 1950s, and would have liked to give Nick a German first name. Nick has fond memories of his childhood Christmas celebrations at the home of his German grandparents, whom he calls Oma and Opa – those Christmas celebrations were done according to the traditions of Germany. In his book he wrote: “Christmas was the time I realised the Riewoldt side of our family is different.” Nick applied for and received a German passport at the German consulate in Punt Road, Melbourne.

Near the end of the first chapter of his autobiography, Nick summed up what he feels about the German side of his identity: “Germany is part of who I am, and I feel special because of it.”

Nick has a cousin, Jack Riewoldt, who played for Richmond FC in the AFL and won three premierships with that team (2017, 2019-2020).

Sources:
Riewoldt, Nick. & Hanlon, Peter. (2017). The things that make us : life, loss and football. Crows Nest, NSW : Allen & Unwin. p.6, 24
McFarlane, Glenn. (2023, March 31). Sensational Saints. Herald-Sun. pp.78-79

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