Australian Rules football had been played in the Bacchus Marsh area from at least the 1870s. The first meeting to form a club was held in Bacchus Marsh in 1874 but it was not until the 1880s that regular matches were played in the district. In 1912 it was decided by representatives from a number of football clubs in the district to form a football association to better organize and promote the development of the game in the district. Hence by 25 May 1912 the Bacchus Marsh District Football Association was formed comprising the following clubs: Bacchus Marsh, Deer Park, Melton, Parwan, and Maddingley. This image shows the delegates from the various clubs to the newly formed association. The individual people in the image have been specifically identified but the clubs they represented have not. The unnamed umpires in the image have been identified by the honorary historian and statistician of the Australian Football League Umpires Association, David Flegg. Left, Fred Lucas (Goal Umpire), centre, Evan James (Field Umpire), and right, James Smith (Goal Umpire). The date of this image is 9th August 1913. Newspaper reports in the Bacchus Marsh Express on 9th August confirm the participation of these umpires in a Bacchus Marsh versus Melton match on this date. The match took place at Maddingley Park, which appears to be the location where the picture was taken.This item has historic and social significance as an image of one of the early sporting administrators of Bacchus Marsh and District. It is a typical example of group photographs of this era. It is evidence of the transition of football from a social informal setting to an organised activity and signals the growth of importance of sport, in this case Australian Rules football, as a cultural and social activity central to the Australian ethos. It reflects the pride local districts invested in their local sporting clubs. A sepia photograph mounted on a cardboard mat, showing a group of sixteen men arranged in three rows in a park setting. Twelve men are dressed in suits, collars and ties, a thirteenth man is wearing a uniform coat with epaulettes. Several of the men are wearing ribbons which may indicate their membership of the Association, and/or their status as delegates. In the front row, three men are crouched, two wearing white coats over their suits, and holding white flags, denoting their role as goal umpires. The middle man, the field umpire, is wearing long-sleeved top, shorts, socks and laced-up athletic shoes. On the front, under the photo, hand-written, the words: Delegates 1913. Bacchus Marsh District Football Association. Beneath the title: Top Frank Winderlich. H Connors (s deleted). G.Coburn. P. McDonald. McKenzie? Grant Morton. Edgar Smith. Mid: Roy Edwards. J.J.Barry Snr. Ross. Robert Dugdale. Cunningham. J.B. Doherty. Bottom Row. Not inscribed but have been identified as VFL accredited umpires. Left, Goal Umpire Fred Lucas, centre Field Umpire Evan James, right Goal Umpire James Smith. On the back: Hand-written: Executive members of the First Football League (formed 1912). Given by E.Kight. E. Kight Grant Street Bacchus Marsh. On a white label: Miss Gwynne Moore. australian rules football, bacchus marsh district football association

Darley Football club contested the 1954 Bacchus Marsh District Football Association Grand Final against Maddingley Football Club. This photograph is thought to have been taken in 1954. It is cited in some sources as the Premiership winning team of 1954. This is incorrect as Maddingley Football club were the premiers in this year. It is possibly a photo taken at the time of the Grand Final of 1954 and subsequently misidentified. Or, it may be a photo from another year in the 1950s.A black and white photograph print on a mounting board in a display folder, showing a group 30 men, 3 boys and one younger child seated on the knee of a man probably his father. The group is arranged in three rows, 10 in civilian clothes, the rest in vertically-striped guernseys and white shorts. In the front row, seated in the middle, are three boys, club mascots , dressed in uniform guernseys and shorts. Two of the men have towels slung over their shoulder, indicating that they were club trainers. The photo is taken in an outdoor setting, probably Maddingley Park. There are no names on the mounting board, but from information taken from "Bacchus Marsh. A Pictorial Chronicle", 1986, by Gwyn Moore and Jean Oomes. This source incorrectly identifies this team as Premiers 1954. Bacchus Marsh Express of Saturday 18 September 1954 reported "Decisive Win by Maddingley." The score was recorded as Maddingley 17.11 Darley 12.15. The names given in Moore and Oomes are: Back Row: l-r: M.Cook, B.Skinner, J.Cook, C.Reddrop, L.Holt, J.Cook, M.Carr, J.Carr, M. Younger, B.Carr, R.Stevens, W.Richardson, B.Giani. Middle Row: C.Casey, N.Thomson, N.Holt, G.Tudball, J.Ashby, L.Carr, L.Carr jnr., M.Younger, J.Moore, T.Densley, L.McKenzie Front Row: H.Cairns, P.Shea, L.Kight, M.Shea, R.Closter, A.Franklin, with mascots.darley football club, australian rules football

Darley football club was formed in 1919. Darley lies on the northern side of the township of Bacchus Marsh. It is part of the overall township of Bacchus Marsh but forms a distinct community within Bacchus Marsh especially in the early period of its history. The area is known as a football breeding ground and has produced many champion players at VFL and AFL level and the club has had sustained success over many decades in various competitions. For many years it played in the Bacchus Marsh District Football Association. From the mid 1990s it has competed in the Ballarat Football League.A black and white photograph print mounted on mounting board, showing a group of 19 players, 3 non playing officials and one child acting as the mascot arranged in three rows. A player in the centre holds a football with D.F.C. Premiers 1939 written upon it. Nineteen men are in football Guernseys, 3 are in civilian clothes. Two of these have towels over their shoulders and are probably trainers. In the centre is the third non-player who is presumably the coach. The photo is taken in an outdoor setting. The child is a young boy dressed in the clubs uniform and sits in the front row between the legs of another player. At the foot of the photo is, "Darley F. B. C. Premiers 1938-39". On the reverse are written some of the players names. Back row: 1. C. Lillburn, 2. ? Cook. 3 Skinner. 4 -----------. 5 Jimmy Younger. 6. Barry. 7. Albie Jones: Middle Row: 1. ----------. 2. McMahon. 3. Ray Closter. 4. Pop Closter. 5 ----------. 6. Mickey Dix. 7 ---------. 8. Densley. Front Row: 1. -----------. 2. Hartley Younger. 3. Whelan. Darley Football Club 1938-39. At to of reverse: 'Donated by the Wittick Family 12 - 1 - 2004. Marie Wittick'.darley football club, australian rules football

Edgar Gordon Morris was a prominent sportsman in Bacchus Marsh from around 1909 to 1918. He was regarded as the best all-round cricketer in the district and was also Secretary of the Bacchus Marsh Cricket Association. He was also a playing member of local football and tennis clubs. From about 1919 to 1921 Morris had been living in Swan Hill. His death at the age of 35 was reported in the Bacchus Marsh Express on the 5th March 1921 and was received with great sadness in sporting circles in Bacchus Marsh and district. To perpetuate his memory a shield to be presented to the premiership team each season in the Bacchus Marsh Cricket Association. The E.G. MOrris Shield was first presented for the 1921-1922 season.This item is of historical significance because it is associated with a particular person, Edgar Morris, a prominent sportsman and sports administrator in the Bacchus Marsh area. It is of comparative significance because it is representative of a shield design for a perpetual sporting trophy. The Shield also provides some research value by preserving and commemorating the memory of a prominent individual sports person in the Bacchus Marsh area.A silver plated shield created to perpetuate the memory of E. G. Morris. Enclosed inside a timber frame and sealed with a glass top. The shield is ringed by smaller shields with inscriptions identifying the premiership winning teams in the Bacchus Marsh Cricket Association between 1921 and 1930.The E. G. Morris Shield presented by G. H. Anderson to the Bacchus Marsh Cricket Association as a tribute to the memory of Edgar Gordon Morris 1921cricket bacchus marsh, bacchus marsh cricket association, edgar gordon morris cricketer

This photo is a very early example of an action image from an Australian Rules football match in a rural area in Victoria. The identity of the two teams is not confirmed. The team with the dark colored uniform is probably the Bacchus Marsh football team. The other team is possibly Parwan. The style of uniforms suggest the date of the photo is from around 1910 or possibly a few years earlier. This item has particular historic and social significance as an action image of two of the early sporting teams of Bacchus Marsh and district. These type of images are very rare for teams outside of the major metropolitan competitions such as the Victorian Football League of Victorian Football Association. It therefore provides a rare and fascinating depiction of an early football game as it was played and the ground conditions in which footballers played in the early 1900s.A black and white photograph produced from a digitized glass negative held by the State Library of Victoria titled, ‘Men and boys playing football on an oval set among trees and fields’ ca. 1910, Pictures Collection, State Library Victoria, H92.433/20. The description for the image held by the State Library of Victoria does not identify the location where the image was taken. By close comparison with other images of Maddingley Park held by the Bacchus Marsh and District Historical Society the location has been identified as Maddingley Park, Bacchus Marsh. A significant identifier for this image is the presence of the Evans Pavilion in the background which was built in 1896. Trees and statues in the background on the left side of the image also match other images of Maddingley Park from this time.australian rules football, bacchus marsh football club, australian rules football action images

Toolern Vale and Coimadai are small communities near Bacchus Marsh and Melton. The two small communities combined to form an Australian Rules football club around the early 1920s. The club name appears in the Bacchus Marsh and Melton local newspapers during football seasons between 1924 and 1930. In 1928 the club were premiers in the Junior division of the local football association. The Junior division was not an under age competition but a lower level competition than the main or senior level local competition. Toolern Vale-Coimadai defeated Darley by nine points in the 1928 Grand Final. A very detailed report of the premiership game was published in Bacchus Marsh Express on 1st September 1928, page 4. This image appears to be a rare example of a photograph of a football team representing the Toolern Vale-Coimadai district. It is an import documentary record of football in a small community. A black and white photograph print mounted on mounting board, showing a group of 24 men arranged in three rows along side a grandstand. Eighteen men are in football guernseys, six in civilian clothes. Board and print are split top to bottom, and a small part of the image is missing due to a tear. At bottom of photo: 'Toolern Vale J.F.B Club' and written in dark ink and barely legible is '& Coimadai' On the reverse in pencil: 'Premiers; A. Cairns'australian rules football, toolern vale - coimadai football club, darley football club