Newcastle Australian Football League
The Newcastle Australian Football League was an
.The first clubs (Northumberland, Lambton, Newcastle City, Singleton and Wallsend & Plattsburg) began playing against each other in 1883. Originally known as the Northern District Football Association, the first premiers, Newcastle City, were declared in 1886. However the competition proper began in 1888 with teams contesting for the Black Diamond Cup, now Australia's oldest sporting trophy and was contested in the
In 1894, popularity of Australian rules waned. In 1948, after World War II, a 4 team competition was reborn - the first properly constituted competition in the region. The competing clubs were Waratah, Mayfield, Newcastle City and Broadmeadow.
After the 1999 season, the NAFL merged with the
History
1890s
The history of Australian rules football in the Hunter Region dates back to 1881 when a club named Northumberland was founded. Rugby union was the only other football code played in the region at that same era, which had been introduced since 1876. During the 1880s over 14,000 people were enticed to the Newcastle district due to the coal mining industry that was rapidly expanding. Three brothers, George, Jim and John Duguid introduced the sport in 1883 and had previously played football on the goldfields of Ballarat. That same year was when the game was being played formally with the first clubs being formed. The foundation clubs were Newcastle City, Northumberland (Maitland), Singleton, Lambton and Wallsend & Plattsburg. Games in 1883 were played in the form of scratch matches and were hastily organised by the five clubs, each of these games seeing a large crowd attendance.
The same year of 1883 saw the South Melbourne Football Club visit Maitland on July 17, 1883, to play against a team combined of clubs from Newcastle and Maitland, with South winning the game 6.9.47 to 5.10.40 at the Albion Ground in front of a crowd of approximately 500. The game was part of an onslaught by Victorian administrators to grow the game Australia wide, with the Victorian Football Association believing that the long-term future of the game was for it to be accepted in all six states.
The first recorded schoolboys game took place in 1885 between the Wickham and Wallsend Superior schools, Wickham winning 2.10.22 to 0.5.5. Sydney schools took well to the game but it didn't receive the same amount of support within Newcastle schools, the publicity being rare and only four schools in Newcastle playing competitively. The Northern District Football Association was established the following year in 1886 on August 30 when the momentum grew to start a competition for the sport in the district. Representatives from Wallsend, Newcastle City and Northumberland, as well as representatives from the Mount Zion, Carlton, Stockton, Summer Hill clubs. The month before in late July 1886, the Northern District side played host to a Queensland side at the Newcastle Cricket Ground in front of 1,500 people. The game was played while the Northern District side was on the way to an inter-colonial match in Sydney.
The Fitzroy Football Club visited Newcastle in 1888, followed by Port Melbourne the following year in 1889. Fitzroy were set to play a set of four matches during their Newcastle tour: May 26 vs Maitland District at the Albion Ground, May 29 vs Maitland Juniors at the Albion Ground, May 31 vs Newcastle District and June 2 vs Combined North, both in Newcastle. These tours provoked latent celebrations and festivities, and created an unrivalled interest in Australian rules. Both Fitzroy and Port Melbourne were defeated by the Northern District side during their visits, with the Northern District side emerging victorious over Queensland in 1886, again in 1888 over Lillywhite's Rugby Union team and finally a New Zealand Māori side in 1889. By this time, Summer Hill had joined the NDFA and junior teams in Centennials, Carltons and Warwicks. An exhibition game was played in Easter of 1889 in the town of Dungog, north of Maitland, with Merewether joining the NDFA that same year. Exhilaration in Australian rules intensified around the same time as the Black Diamond Challenge Cup was introduced by the Northern District FA. The Black Diamond Challenge Cup created a strong feeling of elation and interest, with association games and representative games being played in front of many numbers of spectators, making Australian rules football the premier sport in the district. A game between Wallsend and Northumberland drew a crowd of almost 4,000 people. Fitzroy returned to Newcastle in 1889 and faced Wallsend, with the game attracting over 5,000 spectators. Special trains, buses and ferries were undertaken for followers to attend the games. Later in 1889 a combined Northern District side travelled to Victoria to play a series of matches against the VFA, Ballarat, Carlton, St Kilda and Fitzroy.
The Wallsend club saw a big advantage with the town's two large mines attracting a large number of migrants, many of which were from goldfields in
The Northern District Football Association introduced a junior competition in 1888 and was looking at protecting clubs with less experience from heavy losses by the Wallsenders, in conjunction with the senior association to counter the wider standards in standards of playing. However the association had to use a handicapping system for Duncanson Cup matches as there wasn't enough teams to form two grades. This turned out to be unsuccessful, with Wallsend again emerging victorious and the extra men reported to be more of an impediment.
Depression
In the 1890s the sport began to diminish by the combined effects of the depression at the time, as well as the decline of mines in Newcastle and unsound administration, just as it has established itself as the premier sport in the region and had prospered from the spike in population during the mining boom of the 1880s. Over 7,000 people left the Hunter region, many of those being followers of Australian football. Interest in the game plummeted as cubs were struggling to field teams. By 1895, there was not more Australian rules in Newcastle. Many former players converted to rugby union.
Clubs in the Northern District Football Association from 1881–94
A number of clubs had competed in the NDFA from 1881 to 1894 due to the popularity of football, but many had folded within a year, often due to lack of experience
1881: Northumberland
1883: Lambton, Singleton, Newcastle City, Wallsend & Plattsburg
1885: West Maitland Half Holiday Club
1886: Stockton 2nds, Carlton 2nds, Summer Hill, Mount Zion, Rix's Creek, Morpeth
1887: Our Boys 2nds, Hamilton, Northumberland 2nds, Oakhampton 2nds, Lochinvar
1888: Wallsend Juniors, Merewether, Burwood United
1890: Tighes Hill, Broadmeadow Juniors, Charlestown, Vulcans, Rovers, Hamilton Juniors[1]
1900s
Some unsuccessful attempts were made to restore Australian rules in Newcastle in 1903, 1919 and 1935. An earlier attempt was made in 1898 which saw the reformation of clubs in Maitland and Wallsend before falling away again in 1903. By 1903, the economy had recovered from the depression of the 1890s. The New South Wales Australian National Football League (NSWANFL) encouraged the now-named Northern District Football League to expand the number of clubs to 18 and number of grades of 3 in 1904. Further support for football was expected to go back up when the Melbourne Football Club visited Newcastle later in 1904. However, only three clubs were skilful enough to play in the senior competition, in which the league asked clubs to develop juniors in an ill-fated attempt to create more senior teams in 1906. By this time many mines in Newcastle were shut down with miners forced to seek employment elsewhere. That same year saw the number of teams reduced to 11 with only one club, Hamilton, remaining in 1907 and the NDFL disbanding before the season had started.
It wasn't until 1919 when the game was played again in Newcastle when miners from
Post-World War II
The Second World War saw the start of a large industrial development in Newcastle, enticing a large number of workers to the city. From 1943 until 1945, Newcastle industrial worker Alan Gilpin organised social matches of Australian rules between army camps in
Bill Elliott, a former Australian wrestling champion from Victoria, undertook the role of President of the NANFL to salvage the struggling competition. However the disregarding of the game by the Newcastle public and the uncertainty of the sport's future within the region caused the fortunes of football within schools to fluctuate.
By 1970, three new clubs had joined the senior league with the sport gaining momentum when a representative team from Newcastle won the New South Wales Country Championships in 1971. Public awareness of the code had increased, game attendances were starting to be recorded with record crowds witnessing the Finals series of 1974. It seemed Australian rules was finally accepted in Newcastle. VFL clubs North Melbourne and Geelong were invited to play a promotional game in Newcastle in 1975, organised by the NAFL to '. . . promulgate Australia's National game in Newcastle', the league ensuring as much success as possible by distributing free entry to schoolchildren and having the media publicise the game and also proposing to pay for the expense of both teams, a rather costly mistake. The league was advised to offer the clubs 80% of the gate takings and if they didn't accept, to forget the game. The league relied on sponsorship generated by raffles which failed, resulting in the league losing $7,000 and $5,000 being owed to Ansett for transporting the Victorian clubs. However the NAFL was unable to pay the company, which resulted in rumours spreading that the league could fold. The NAFL, after requesting more time to pay Ansett, imposed a series of levies on its clubs, which were to be paid in five instalments over the course of twelve months. Many clubs were disconcerted with the match's organisation, some even disagreeing with the levies system the league imposed. Waratah-Mayfield and RAAF refused to pay the levies. The matter capitulated although RAAF persisted and didn't compete in the 1976 NAFL season. Gosford, who had joined in 1971, left and became one of the inaugural clubs of the CCAFL.
Later 1900s
By 1976 the league's future however, looked promising. There was an extend of support for Australian rules football in Newcastle, which saw the inauguration of the Lions' Cup, a school competition for Newcastle schools. At first there were sixteen schools in Newcastle competing for the Lions' Cup before expanding into Sydney, the Central Coast and the South Coast. 45 schools competed in 1980 and by 1983, a total of 69 schools competed in the Lions' Cup; 15 from Newcastle, 6 from the Central Coast, 6 from the South Coast and 42 from Sydney. Many clubs in the league such as Warners Bay have benefited from the Lions' Cup.[2]
At the end of the 1999 season, it was decided to merge the Newcastle league with the Central Coast league to create a more stable competition, as only 7 clubs and 6 clubs had competed in the Newcastle and Central Coast competitions respectively. This league was known as the Black Diamond Australian Football League from 2000 to 2018. From 2019 onward, it has been known as AFL Hunter Central Coast.
Clubs
The clubs that have played in the Newcastle AFL since it was reformed in 1948 and merged with the CCAFL after the 1999 season.
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Newcastle Australian Football League Premiers[3]
The competition from 1886 to 1894 was known as the Northern Districts Football Association.
Year | Premiers |
---|---|
1886 | Newcastle City |
1887 | Northumberland |
1888 | Wallsend |
1889 | Wallsend |
1890 | Wallsend |
1891 | Wallsend |
1892 | Wallsend |
1893 | Wallsend |
1894 | Burwood |
The premiers from 1948 to 1999 when the Newcastle Australian National Football League was re-established.
Year | Premiers |
---|---|
1948 | Waratah 10.10.70 def Mayfield 6.8.44 |
1949 | Waratah 11.16.82 def Newcastle City 8.18.66 |
1950 | Newcastle City 15.11.101 def Waratah 8.9.57 |
1951 | Mayfield 14.15.99 def Newcastle City 8.15.63 |
1952 | Mayfield 14.8.92 def Western Suburbs 8.16.64 |
1953 | Newcastle City 10.15.75 def Western Suburbs 11.1 |
1954 | Western Suburbs 13.7.85 def Maitland 6.10.46 |
1955 | Hamilton 12.12.84 def Mayfield 7.12.54 |
1956 | Maitland 15.12.102 def Western Suburbs 8.10.58 |
1957 | Western Suburbs 14.14.98 def Maitland 6.11.47 |
1958 | Western Suburbs 10.23.83 def Waratah 3.6.24 |
1959 | Western Suburbs 8.12.60 def Hamilton 7.5.47 |
1960 | Western Suburbs 13.8.86 def Hamilton 3.12.30 |
1961 | Newcastle City 8.8.56 def Hamilton 7.6.48 |
1962 | Western Suburbs 11.18.84 def Hamilton 7.19.61 |
1963 | Newcastle City 13.12.90 def Hamilton 11.15.81 |
1964 | Newcastle City 16.15.111 def Mayfield 4.1.25 |
1965 | Newcastle City 19.16.130 def RAAF 17.12.114 |
1966 | Newcastle City 11.17.83 def RAAF 11.10.76 |
1967 | RAAF 16.22.118 def Newcastle City 6.10.46 |
1968 | Newcastle City 16.18.114 def RAAF 12.13.85 |
1969 | RAAF 9.14.68 def Western Suburbs 5.17.47 |
1970 | Newcastle City 14.19.103 def RAAF 8.13.61 |
1971 | Newcastle City 15.10.100 def RAAF 6.12.48 |
1972 | Army 20.22.142 def Newcastle City 12.4.76 |
1973 | Newcastle City 17.20.122 def Gosford 2.6.18 |
1974 | RAAF 14.14.98 def Cardiff 5.17.47 |
1975 | Newcastle City 16.13.109 def Western Suburbs 12.7.79 |
1976 | Newcastle City 17.17.119 def Western Suburbs 10.8.68 |
1977 | Western Suburbs 12.11.83 def Newcastle City 6.7.43 |
1978 | Western Suburbs 13.14.92 def Newcastle City 13.13.91 |
1979 | Cardiff 7.15.57 def Newcastle City 6.11.47 |
1980 | Cardiff 18.17.125 def Newcastle City 12.6.78 |
1981 | Newcastle City 8.15.63 def Cardiff 8.12.60 |
1982 | Western Suburbs 20.16.136 def Cardiff 11.12.78 |
1983 | Western Suburbs 28.18.186 def Warners Bay 11.10.76 |
1984 | Warners Bay 19.20.134 def Singleton 8.11.59 |
1985 | Singleton 22.14.146 def Warners Bay 9.9.63 |
1986 | Western Suburbs 14.13.97 def Warners Bay 10.14.74 |
1987 | Williamtown 25.22.172 def Nelson Bay 14.13.97 |
1988 | Warners Bay 10.23.83 def Nelson Bay 10.12.72 |
1989 | Wallsend 10.13.73 def Warners Bay 7.11.53 |
1990 | Warners Bay 16.8.104 def Nelson Bay 9.9.63 |
1991 | Warners Bay 17.13.115 def Wallsend 7.9.51 |
1992 | Warners Bay 19.21.135 def Wallsend 6.15.51 |
1993 | Warners Bay 17.18.120 def Western Suburbs 13.10.88 |
1994 | Nelson Bay 21.27.153 def Cardiff 14.9.93 |
1995 | Newcastle City 8.12.60 def Warners Bay 6.8.44 |
1996 | Nelson Bay 15.11.101 def Warners Bay 10.15.75 |
1997 | Nelson Bay 12.12.84 def Cardiff 11.16.82 |
1998 | Cardiff 15.3.103 def Nelson Bay 9.4.58 |
1999 | Nelson Bay 8.5.53 def Cardiff 6.15.51 |
From 2000 onward the Premiers are listed under the
References
- ^ "Aussie Rules in Newcastle". NSW Australian Football History Society. 6 January 2017.
- ^ Paul, Stewart (1983). Up There, Newcastle; The development of Australian Rules in Newcastle, 1883-1983.
- ^ Newcastle Australian Football League Inc. Annual Report and Financial Statement 1999. 1999. p. 13.
See also
- AFL NSW/ACT
- Australian rules football in New South Wales
- Black Diamond Australian Football League