Historical information

The first club to have born the name of Kew is known to have been in existence as early as 1879, and to have participated in a number of different competitions, all of junior status, between then and 1891, when it disbanded. Whether the Kew Football Club which emerged at the end of the 1890s should be viewed as a wholly new organisation or a reincarnation of the previous club is a moot matter, and not one that can be satisfactorily resolved here. However, it is at least arguable that the amateur football club which today participates in the VAFA under the name of Kew can trace its origins as far back as 1898. It was during that year that the club was invited by the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (a direct forerunner of the VAFA) to enter its competition as a replacement for St Francis Xavier, which had been forced to withdraw after just a few matches. The idea was that Kew would pick up the departing club’s remaining fixtures, but that these matches would be played with no premiership points at stake. The MJFA appears to have had at least two objectives in mind in doing this: first, to avoid the necessity for a bye in the weekly draw; and secondly, to test Kew’s worthiness for full admission by having it serve a kind of probation. In 1899, having satisfied the MJFA authorities as to its viability, Kew was formally admitted to the MJFA, only to withdraw after two predominantly disappointing seasons. The club later participated in at least three, and possibly more, junior and district competitions, attaining a modest level of success, especially during the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Significance

Extremely rare photo of the club from this period.

Physical description

This photo of a junior Kew football team dates from 1905. While the team is wearing a range of centre-laced guernseys, at least seven players wear a dark guernsey with a pale sash. Players identified in the photo include: the captain, Jack Allen, middle row, third from left; George Allen on the right in the striped jumper; and Lex Allen in the front row. Alva Allen, who donated the photo in 1986 to the Kew Historical Society, noted on the reverse that ‘most of these boys were killed in World War I’.

Inscriptions & markings

Reverse: "Kew Football Club 1905 / Jack Allen, captain, 3rd from left in middle row / George Allen on right striped jumper / Lex Allen grandfather in front row / Most of these boys were killed in the First World War."