Article courtesy of NSW Australian Football Football History Society I
Australian football was first played in the NSW Hunter region in 1881 when a team was formed at West Maitland.
Rugby (Rugby Union) was then the only football code played in the area and an interesting comment was tagged onto the report of the new team’s formation: “The adoption of the Victorian rules by the newly-formed club will be regarded as a step in the right direction, as the Rugby game which is rendered so objectionable from its roughness and frequency of scrimmages, is gradually dying out in the metropolis and other places.” [1]
A month later the Northumberland (Maitland) Club was formed [2] and in the same year, clubs at Lambton, Wallsend/Plattsburg and Newcastle City were established. [3]
In 1883 the South Melbourne Club visited Maitland on Tuesday 17 July where they played a combined team of Newcastle and Maitland Clubs. This was the only day in their schedule that they could visit the area and a public subscription raised ample funds to enable the team play the match at the Albion Ground. An estimated 500 attended the game which was won by South 6-9 to 5-10 (behinds were not counted in the score in those days). The home side were permitted to play three extra players on the ground against the visitors. [4]
In July 1885 the first recorded schoolboys game was played in the Newcastle District between Wickham and Wallsend Superior Schools resulting in a win for Wickham 2-10 to 0-5. [5]
In late July 1886 the Northern District players met a Queensland twenty on the Newcastle Cricket Ground before a crowd of 1500. This match was played while on their way to Sydney for an inter-colonial match. [6] By August 30 there was enough momentum to form an association or league and on Monday 30 August 1886, before representatives of from Wallsend, Northumberland, Carlton, Newcastle City, Stockton, Summerhill and Mount Zion clubs, with five apologies, the Northern District Football Association was formed. [7]
In mid-1887 Newcastle City reported that they had a renowned VFA player, Joey Tankard in their lineup when they were scheduled to play a match against Northumberland at Maitland Park. [8]
The Association indicated they could raise the astronomical amount of £150 (one hundred and fifty pounds) as an inducement for a VFA team to play in Newcastle. [9]
This possibly resulted in the visit of the Fitzroy Club the following year where they were schedule to play four games: May 26, v. Maitland District, Albion Ground, May 29, v. Maitland Juniors (23 players) on the Albion Ground and May 31 v. Newcastle District and June 2, v. Combined North, both on the Newcastle Ground.[10]
By this time Summer Hill had joined the Association and there were also junior teams (although the ‘junior’ age was probably under 21) in Carltons, Warwicks and Centennials. It was noted around this time that the Newcastle City Club were prone to forfeit games, particularly against those teams where the outcome would have likely been in the opposition’s favour. [11]
On Monday 22 April 1889 (Easter) an exhibition game was played at Dungog, north of Maitland [12] then later in the year a representative side from the Northern District Football Association travelled to Victoria where they played games against the VFA, Carlton, St Kilda, Ballarat and Fitzroy Clubs. [13] Another club competing in 1889 competition was Merewether.
In 1890 the Newcastle Herald published the Hamilton Football Club’s annual report which provided in fine detail, the activities of the club since 1887.[14]
By 1895 it was all over. There was no trace of any club participating in either Newcastle or the Maitland area. A similar phenomenon had occurred in Sydney however there issue was put down to poor management; there was no such inference to the north with the only suggestions that some players, particularly juniors, had no idea what they were doing. [15]
The 1890s also brought economic depression to the country. Did this impact on football? It did not appear to on Rugby or Association Football (soccer).
So no football until 1898 when a supporter wrote to a local newspaper advocating a meeting to re-start the game. The response was positive. [16]
Clubs were reformed in Wallsend and Maitland and they played a few games but then it again fell away only to be revived in 1903, the same year that football in Sydney was resuscitated. [17]
Since then however, football has been an on-again, off-again affair and it wasn’t until 1948 that Australian Football gained a permanent footing in the district thanks in many ways to the number of service personnel being transferred to the area.
Then in 2000 when the Black Diamond Football League was formed football came to assume a very solid position within the community and the play is now of a very good standard.
PARTICIPATING CLUBS IN THE HUNTER 1881-94 |
YEAR COMMENCED |
CLUB |
AREAS |
1881 |
Northumberland |
West Maitland |
1883 |
Lambton, Newcastle City, Wallsend/Plattsbury |
|
1885 |
West Maitland Half Holiday Club |
|
1886 |
Stockon 2nds, Carlton 2nds, Summerhill, Mount Zion, Rix’s Creek, Morpheth |
|
1887 |
Our Boys 2nds, Hamilton, Northumberland 2nds, Oakhampton 2nds, Lochinvar |
Oakhampton is north of Rutherford |
1888 |
Wallsend Juniors, Merewether, Burwood United, |
|
1890 |
Tighes Hill, Broadmeadows juniors, Charlestown, Rovers, Hamilton Juniors, Vulcans. |
|
[1] Maitland Mercury 9 July 1881 p.8
[2] Newcastle Morning Herald 13 August p.3
[3] Newcastle Morning Herald 7 August 1885 p.2
[4] Maitland Mercury 219 July 1883 p.4
[5] Newcastle Morning Herald 28 July 1885 p.8
[6] Newcastle Morning Herald 25 June 1886 p.5
[7] Newcastle Morning Herald 31 August 1886 p. 8
[8] Maitland Mercury 25 June 1887 p.12
[9] Maitland Mercury 28 June 1887 p.3
[10] Maitland Mercury 24 May 1888 p.5
[11] Newcastle Morning Herald 25 June 1888 p.6
[12] Maitland Mercury 18 April 1889 p.4
[13] Newcastle Morning Herald 5 August 1889 p.8
[14] Newcastle Morning Herald 11 March 1890 p.5
[15] Newcastle Morning Herald 4 June 1894 p.3
[16] Newcastle Morning Herald 16 June 1898 p.7
[17] Maitland Daily Mercury 22 June 1898 p.2
Photo: Northumberland Team Photo 1887.
For more information on the history of football in NSW click here
Last Modified on 13/02/2017 17:37