The centenary of football in Kogarah was celebrated with a gala dinner at the Novotel International Sydney on May 18 attended by NSW Premier Chris Minns and hosted by the Kogarah Waratahs FC.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was a milestone month for the Kogarah Waratahs which also celebrated its 70th anniversary and was presented with a Community Citation by Bayside Mayor Bill Saravinovski who praised the club for its role in providing not only talented athletes but good citizens.
Speaking at the Centenary of Football in Kogarah dinner, Kogarah Waratah President Raff Dardano outlined the history of the sport in the region over the past century:
"Kogarah has a very rich footballing history with over 15 different clubs being active over the past 120 years.
"The Kogarah District British Association Football Club was active from 1912-1917. They wore black and white vertical stripes and played out of Moorefield ground. They played teams from in the area such as St Johns C of E (Rockdale), St George Juniors and the fearsome Mortdale Brick-bats.
"They also played many teams out of area and it is for this reason that in 1914 they were at the forefront of a motion to form a St George District competition to save the inconvenience of travel - the first whispers of a St George Association.
"Although not a very successful Club in terms of results, this Club is famed for hosting Fancy Dress Carnivals at seasons end to raise money for the hospital.
"The Kogarah Amateur Athletic Football Club (formerly Kogarah Rechabites) was active from 1918 - 1936. Along with Arncliffe Corinthians, they were the main drive behind the formation of the St George Football Association (now FSG) in 1922.
"KAAFC was a juggernaut of local football winning the Dye Cup in the first year of FSG competitions in 1923 and again in 1924 and 1936.
"They also won the Tanner Cup (1927), the Biddolph Shield (1927), the Dennis Cook Cup (1928, 1932), the Challenge Cup (1929), the Royal Carlton Cup (1932), the Worrall Cup (1934, 1935). In this they were the first Club to win every Cup on offer. KAAFC boasted some famous committee members including J Wilson, J Wheeler (Mayor) and P Tanner.
"The Kogarah Rovers were active from 1936 to 1947 and were formed by a group of Scottish immigrants. They played out of Scarborough Park and were, like KAAFC very successful winning the Dye Cup (1940, 1944) Denny Cook Cup (1940, 1941), the Worrall Cup (1942) and the Murphy Cup(1943).
"The mighty Kogarah Waratah Football Club were formed in 1952. Part of the inaugural squad were best mates George Heydon and Ray Newcombe.
"George and his wife Bev are life members of KWFC. Their son Scott played for the club from 1968-1977. Their daughter Cindy, one of the first Matildas sadly did not play for KWFC due to the fact there were no girls teams but we will claim her as one of our own. Ray is still with us but in his mid-nineties.
"Don and June Pearce joined KWFC in 1969. June retired in 1999. During the mid 1980's the opportunity arose to purchase a small caravan from Beverly Hills Soccer Club for a mobile canteen in Scarborough Park. After gaining permission of the Association and Rockdale Council the canteen was set up.
"With falling numbers supporting the various money raising ventures organised by the Ladies Auxiliary, the decision was made that the Ladies Auxiliary was to organise and run the Canteen with help from the Club as needed. The canteen became the main money raiser instead of the usual socials. This proved very successful and was a meeting place for players.
"A larger caravan was donated by Thos Clark Air-conditioning arranged by Joe Usalj. Besides the usual running cost of the Club: association costs, playing shirts, balls and equipment to dress three fields, trophies etc, the money raised over the years has upgraded training lights, from 1 to 3 poles, together with a grant from the Department Sport and Recreation and help from the Association, ground improvements on Scarborough 7.
"The club set up a building fund from the Canteen profits to build toilets and canteen facility. Permission from Rockdale Council was finally granted after some time of constant negotiation, with help from the Association Executive.
"Thanks to David McCarthy and Neville Greatorex and their tireless and sometimes thankless hard work this amenities block was on the drawing board, overcoming many obstacles along the way. Armed with a $20,000 grant from Sport and Rec, $20,000 from the building fund and help from the Association the amenities block was under way.
"Many thanks to Maria Long from Sport and Rec, who was able to extend the grant way beyond the time limit, otherwise the grant would have been lost due to council's constant delays. With working bees, some Premier League players, late Don Pearce, Ricky and Sam Sellitto, Vic Borg, Barry Sharpe, Tony Cuscherie, David, Neville and many more, with various donations along the way 1999 saw the official opening of these facilities."
