Staying in Hervey Bay last week I thought that i'd search trove for some history of the game in the sleepy seaside town. Unfortunately, I didn't find much deep history specifically located in the town. I found this (I think) exhibition game https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/150524973 from 1951 but not much else. There's a thriving competition now but the history seems not to be long.
However, drawing a breath, the game in the surrounding district (Maryborough and to the north) is of an entirely different matter. The townships of Howard and Torbanlea, now remnants of older times, were soccer hubs. Torbanlea 1894; and Howard soccer goes back to 1888. At one stage they played regular games with the bushrats and Rockhampton and were stronger than the Brisbane metro team. Absurdly, Howard played against the touring NSW team in the 1898 and were hammered 9-0. Yet they had assumed that right by beating the Brisbane team 2-0.
This was a phase when the Qld team (in some anti-centralist political fantasy) was made up of players from around the state: Brisbane; Ipswich; Howard; Rockhampton; Charters Towers were all represented.
What is the common thread here: mining (both kinds) provides the basis for the creation of soccer teams all around country Queensland as well as other regions in Australia.
More to come ...
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