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. This image is likely to have been taken shortly after the formation of the association and was probably taken in Maddingley Park.
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. Melbourne Umpires.
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
