The first recorded football match played injured Sunbury was in 1881 when Sunbury played Keilor on Munro's Ground which was located on land bordered by Barkly, Shields, Harker and Evans Streets.By 1892 Sunbury Club officially became known as 'The Swifts". A later game was recorded in 1895 but it wasn't until 1897 that it became a recognised football team at a meeting convened by W.A. Eadie in the Royal Hotel. Later football matches were played on railway land in Evans and Macedon Streets. In 1949 the Shire of Bulla Council passed over 26 hectares of Crown land for a new recreation ground, now the Clarke Oval. Since that time that site has been Sunbury's home ground. Sporting clubs have played an important part in the Sunbury's social life from the latter half of the nineteenth century.A non-digital copied black and white photograph of a men's football team standing and seated in two rows in front of a picket fence. sunbury football club, "the swifts', football, sporting clubs

Transportation of goods and material by bullock teams was a common feature of life in nineteenth century Australia. Bullock teams could comprise more than twenty bullocks to haul very large and heavy loads. They were the equivalent of large trucks on the roads of today. Many Australian country towns have very wide main streets to allow for large bullock teams to turn without having to unharness and reharness the animals. The bullock driver in this photo is thought to be of James Densley, aka Charlie (the ) Carter, who lived at Hopetoun, east of the township of Bacchus Marsh. He worked as a carrier with a bullock team in the later years of the nineteenth century. He had a reputation as a sober man who never used bad language. (Williams, W. A History of Bacchus Marsh and its Pioneers. 1836-1936. Reproduced 2015 BMDHS.p. 78.) James Densley died in 1905, supposed to be over the age of ninety.Small sepia unframed photograph on card with gold border framing photograph. Housed in the album, 'Photographs of Bacchus Marsh and District in 1883 by Stevenson and McNicoll'. The image shows a group of seven shorthorn bullocks in a paddock. Their yokes and a chain can be seen. Standing near them is a bearded man holding a bullock team leader's whip. He is dressed neatly and is wearing a very smart hat. On the hilltop stands a large hut, possibly with a bark shingle roof. A chimney is at the end of the dwelling. On the front: Stevenson & McNicoll. Photo. 108 Elizabeth St. Melbourne. COPIES CAN BE OBTAINED AT ANY TIME. On the back: LIGHT & TRUTH inscribed on a banner surmounted by a representation of the rising sun. Copies of this Portrait can be had at any time by sending the Name and Post Office Money Order or Stamps for the amount of order to STEVENSON & McNICOLL LATE BENSON & STEVENSON, Photographers. 108 Elizabeth Street, MELBOURNE. stevenson and mcnicoll 1883 photographs of bacchus marsh and district, bullocks, bullock teams

Th members of the Sunbury Football team were photographed in the former sports ground that was on railway land bounded by Evans and Macedon Streets and the railway land. For many years that site was known as Sunbury's sports ground until 1949, when crown land facing Riddell Road was developed as a recreation and sport's ground and became known as Clarke Oval.Sport has played a prominent role in Sunbury and district's social life since the mid nineteenth century.A non-digital of a copied and enlarged black and white photograph of a team of football players standing and sitting in three rows in a sports ground. sunbury football club, "the swifts', sports clubs, football, australian rules football

This blazer belonged to Gordon Burleigh (1888-1956) who lived at ‘Macken Hill’ in Mepunga. He was the ninth child of James and Janet Burleigh who were early settlers in the Nullawarre area. Gordon Burleigh was a prominent and successful sportsman playing football and cricket in the local area and playing one game in 1914 in the Victorian Football League for Geelong. The blazer indicates that the cricket team he played for was the Premier team for 1934, 1935, and 1936 and the ‘S.W.’ on the blazer pocket may indicate South Warrnambool but it is more likely to be ‘South West’, perhaps the name of the district the team played in. This blazer is of considerable interest as it belonged to Gordon Burleigh, a prominent sportsman in the district in the early decades of the 20th century.This is a maroon-coloured blazer which belonged to Gordon Burleigh of Mepunga. It has gold-coloured edging and piping on the sleeves, pockets and edges (collar etc) of the blazer. It has two material-covered buttons and stitched buttonholes and gold stitching on the pocket. There is a tag on the collar but no writing is visible. Pocket: ‘Premiers, S.W., 1934-35-36’gordon burleigh, local cricket in the 1930s, warrnambool, cricket blazer