GAWLER

Affiliated: SAFA 1887-90

Formed: 1887

Colours:  Orange and black

Premierships: Nil

In 1877, a Gawler Football Club was a foundation member of the South Australian Football Association, but it only enjoyed junior status at that time.  References to a Gawler Football Club engaging in matches can be traced at least as far back as 1869.  On 29th May that year a fifteen-a-side match took place in Gawler between the home side, captained by J.Sandland, and Adelaide, led by H.Sparks.  The visitors won by 3 goals to nil, with spectators being entertained at various times during the afternoon by the Gawler Band.  Gawler is also known to have played Kapunda on a number of occasions during the club's early years.

Gawler's first fixture under SAFA rules was against Adelaide at the Gawler Parklands on 20th June 1877. 'The SA Advertiser' reported that Adelaide scored after approximately quarter of an hour, with Gawler equalising almost immediately. The match resulted in a one all draw.  Later the same season, according to 'The Register', Gawler played host to another senior SAFA club, Woodville, with the visitors winning on this occasion by the only goal of the match.

Season summaries published in 'The Register' in October 1877 and again twelve months later make it apparent that clubs like Gawler only engaged in matches very sporadically at this time.

In 1880, Gawler separated into two distinct clubs, Athenian and Havelock, which seven years later re-combined, along with a third club, Albion, to form another club bearing the name of Gawler.  This club was admitted to the SAFA, with full senior status, in 1887.  It spent four seasons in the competition, finishing 6th (of 7) in 1887 and 1888, 5th (of 6) in 1889, and 6th and bottom in its final year.  At the end of the 1890 season Gawler withdrew from the SAFA in order to form its own Association.  (See footnote 1)

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Footnotes

1. I am grateful to James Hothersall for supplying me with some of the information used in the above account.  Return to Main Text