Belgrave History

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aussie80s

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Found a 1911 Premiership medallion at a collectables fair in Malvern.

It is inscribed "Belgrave Football Club Premiers 1911 - M.Hayes"

Mick Hayes is mentioned as being a member of the 1911 premiership in an extract from the 1962 MDFA Year Book which is attached with the medal.

He is also pictured in the premiership team.

At 101 years old it must be one of the older surviving mementos of early football in the district.

belgrave.jpg


belgrave2.jpg
 

TeeS

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Awesome get, you've done extremely well. Some household Belly names mentioned in that article as well (Argoon, Fitton etc). At the very bottom of the article (bottom line chopped off partially) it looks like the 2nd word says Olinda, would love to know what was being written !!!

I stumbled across a family in Sth Belly 5 yrs ago. They had a Grandfather (or similar) who captained Woori in the very early YVFL years. Turned out they were sitting on the YVFL premiership cup of 1907 won by Woori. I encouraged them strongly to return it to the club as its the clubs and not the captains. Anyway, the timing was incredible as we teed up a small function at Woori in 2007, 100 yrs since it had been won. Cup was in fair nick still and is now back at its rightful home at the Woori FNC (along with all the other bloody cups). That was a pretty lucky break to be honest but glad we pushed it !!
 

aussie80s

All Australian
Jan 12, 2008
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The Mountain
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Awesome get, you've done extremely well. Some household Belly names mentioned in that article as well (Argoon, Fitton etc). At the very bottom of the article (bottom line chopped off partially) it looks like the 2nd word says Olinda, would love to know what was being written !!!

I stumbled across a family in Sth Belly 5 yrs ago. They had a Grandfather (or similar) who captained Woori in the very early YVFL years. Turned out they were sitting on the YVFL premiership cup of 1907 won by Woori. I encouraged them strongly to return it to the club as its the clubs and not the captains. Anyway, the timing was incredible as we teed up a small function at Woori in 2007, 100 yrs since it had been won. Cup was in fair nick still and is now back at its rightful home at the Woori FNC (along with all the other bloody cups). That was a pretty lucky break to be honest but glad we pushed it !!

The other picture that is cropped off is of the Olinda Rifle Club in 1903 and comes from the History Of The Dandenongs book which was for sale from the Shire offices and may still be available. I am guessing that was taken around where the Rifle Range walking track is located below the Rhododendron Gardens in Olinda State Forest. I walked up that track recently but it's not well maintained these days. Also found a leech there that took a liking to my ankle.

It was actually a common practice for the captain of a club to receive and keep trophies or pennants as clubs in that era did not have club rooms - so the captain just took them home. A lot of history would have been lost that way when later generations would have disposed of deceased estates.

If you are interested, the 1962 MDFA Year Book had an entry from each club - here is the Olinda one:
olinda.jpg
 

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aussie80s

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Belgrave FC claim to have been formed in 1909 and they had a Centenary in 2009 but there are some doubts as to the accuracy of this. Previously the 1908 formation date had been in use by at least 1962 (see above full extract) but it may have come from an old players' recollections and not historical documentation.

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The history of Belgrave township itself is also dubious in its recorded history. Officially it was established as a town in 1870 but that was only the date of the first settlers arriving in what was still part of greater Fern Tree Gully. The town itself didn't start to establish until the train line arrived in 1900 and the local train station was actually known as 'Monbulk' when it opened. As this caused confusion with the locality of the Monbulk township being 7km north-east of the 'Monbulk' station, it was decided to rename the locality Belgrave in 1904. But that is a story for another day.

The first mentions of the Belgrave FC actually appear in 1907, a year or two before the current accepted formation date. In 1907 there were the following mentions in the Lilydale Express (refers to match played on July 27) and Box Hill Reporter (refers to matches played Aug 3, 17 and 31):

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Clearly the Belgrave FC was in existence in 1907 and even had their own ground but it is not known whether there was a competition that year involving Ferntree Gully, Ferny Creek and Belgrave or whether they were just challenge matches against available opponents.

There is no known record of Belgrave playing at all in 1908 or 1909 (the two formation dates previously used) or even in 1910. It is possible that Belgrave may have existed in the years 1908-1910 but if any games were played then they were likely just challenge matches only which were not recorded in newspaper reports.

The club next appeared in 1911 when they won the Mountain District FA competition.

It appears that whoever provided the information that Belgrave had formed in 1908 or 1909 all those years ago had gotten the years confused with the passing of time and the actual formation of the Belgrave FC was 1907. Perhaps history will need to be corrected or perhaps nobody cares, I suspect the latter will be the case. Probably too much information compiled by a trainspotter.
 
Last edited:

Minnesota Wisdom

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Belgrave FC claim to have been formed in 1909 and they had a Centenary in 2009 but there are some doubts as to the accuracy of this. Previously the 1908 formation date had been in use by at least 1962 (see above full extract) but it may have come from an old players' recollections and not historical documentation.

View attachment 324623

View attachment 324625

The history of Belgrave township itself is also dubious in its recorded history. Officially it was established as a town in 1870 but that was only the date of the first settlers arriving in what was still part of greater Fern Tree Gully. The town itself didn't start to establish until the train line arrived in 1900 and the local train station was actually known as 'Monbulk' when it opened. As this caused confusion with the locality of the Monbulk township being 7km east of the 'Monbulk' station, it was decided to rename the locality Belgrave in 1904. But that is a story for another day.

The first mentions of the Belgrave FC actually appear in 1907, a year or two before the current accepted formation date. In 1907 there were the following mentions in the Lilydale Express (refers to match played on July 27) and Box Hill Reporter (refers to matches played Aug 3, 17 and 31):

View attachment 340427

View attachment 324334

Clearly the Belgrave FC was in existence in 1907 and even had their own ground but it is not known whether there was a competition that year involving Ferntree Gully, Ferny Creek and Belgrave or whether they were just challenge matches against available opponents.

There is no known record of Belgrave playing at all in 1908 or 1909 (the two formation dates previously used) or even in 1910. It is possible that Belgrave may have existed in the years 1908-1910 but if any games were played then they were likely just challenge matches only which were not recorded in newspaper reports.

The club next appeared in 1911 when they won the Mountain District FA competition.

It appears that whoever provided the information that Belgrave had formed in 1908 or 1909 all those years ago had gotten the years confused with the passing of time and the actual formation of the Belgrave FC was 1907. Perhaps history will need to be corrected or perhaps nobody cares, I suspect the latter will be the case. Probably too much information compiled by a trainspotter.
Awesome information, the history side of things is fascinating. 1907 would line up with the records which the Belgrave Cricket Club has sourced with their first known game on 19 Oct 1907 v Ferntree Gully.

While there's every chance that the football and cricket clubs started in different years, it wouldn't surprise if they were both formed in 1907 with their original oval located where the Belgrave Pool currently resides.

If anyone tracks more information down on Belgrave history please share.

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May 20, 2008
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Found a 1911 Premiership medallion at a collectables fair in Malvern.

It is inscribed "Belgrave Football Club Premiers 1911 - M.Hayes"

Mick Hayes is mentioned as being a member of the 1911 premiership in an extract from the 1962 MDFA Year Book which is attached with the medal.

He is also pictured in the premiership team.

At 101 years old it must be one of the older surviving mementos of early football in the district.

View attachment 6777

View attachment 6778

This is absolutely unreal, are you involved with the footy club at all. If not they may be interested in purchasing off you.

I played 40 odd games there a while back but am still actively involved with the cricket club
 
May 20, 2008
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Also 1908 foundation date could line up with the towns subdivision and cricket club kicking off in the back end of 1907 for summer. There’s a lot of info on the cricket club on the old website which does have lots of synergies with footy club.

 

aussie80s

All Australian
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This is absolutely unreal, are you involved with the footy club at all. If not they may be interested in purchasing off you.

I played 40 odd games there a while back but am still actively involved with the cricket club
I am not involved with Belgrave but I did show them the medal about 6-7 years ago and they paid me the same amount as I had paid for it originally and the medal is now in the Belgrave FC display cabinet.
 
May 20, 2008
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I am not involved with Belgrave but I did show them the medal about 6-7 years ago and they paid me the same amount as I had paid for it originally and the medal is now in the Belgrave FC display cabinet.

How amazing! Will take a look out for it when I am up there next. I tend to forget about all the history around the place and end up sitting at the bar talking smack with the other cricket blokes haha.

You’re a legend for getting in touch with club and offering that. Those things are priceless to so many.
 
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