The Clunes Football Netball Club is an Australian rules football and Netball club that are based in the former goldrush town of Clunes, Victoria. The footballers play in the Central Highlands Football League and the netballers play in the Central Highlands Netball League, while both leagues are separate entities they are synchronise with each other for the fixtures and finals.
History The first published Australian Rules football match of "the newly formed" Clunes Football Club took place in Clunes against the Albion Football Club of Ballarat, on Saturday, 24 June 1876. Mr. Finn captained Clunes and the match resulted in a win to Albion.
In September 1879, Carlton's Second Twenty played a match against the Clunes FC in Clunes.
In 1882, Mr. Thomas Anketell was elected President at the Annual Meeting which was held in the Free Library.
In May 1884, Essendon's Second Twenty played a match in against Clunes, which resulted in a win to Essendon.
"After lying dormant for a number of years" (two), Clunes Football Club was reformed in 1913 with Mr. D. McLean as President.
At the club's 1915 meeting, Mr. W J Champion was elected as president.
The club played in various friendly local games from 1876 to 1909. Clunes played in the Creswick & Allendale FA in 1910.
Games were often played midweek in the early days with many players being employed in the mines. Football in the town were often formed from the labour of mining companies and commercial merchants. Teams were formed and a local identity would donate a cup or trophy for competition.
Surprisingly for a club of its age it never was in a structured association until 1910. In 1919, Clunes joined the Creswick District Football Association when it was reformed after World War One. Clunes was unsettled as it twice left the local competition to play in the Maryborough District Football Association.
In 1931 the Clunes Football Association was formed and Clunes was a founding club. The three other clubs were Smeaton, Newstead and Campbelltown. Runners up in the inaugural year it took a few more years before Clunes won its first Premiership in 1934.
Just after the war, a local lad by the name of Bob Davis caught a train and attended preseason training with , but was told he wasn't wanted. As the lad was boarding and attended at Ballarat College. He played locally with Golden Point where he was spotted by Geelong recruiters and he was invited to try out with .
Clunes was a dominating force during the fifties and sixties, as they played in thirteen CDFL grand finals, for five premiership wins. Clunes won the 1963 CDFL premiership, but then lost four CDFL grand finals in a row to Springbank from 1964 to 1967.
Clunes remained in the Clunes Football League until it merged with the Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh Football League to form the Central Highlands Football League in 1979, with Clunes among the new competition's fifteen founder members.
In the last season of the Clunes Football District League in 1978, it was one of the most climatic in its history as Clunes and Newlyn played out the competition's only ever grand final draw with the scores - Clunes 9.15.69 to Newlyn 10.9.69. A week later, Clunes won the grand final replay, 20.5.125 to Newlyn 7.11.53.
Success again the following year in the new competition with Clunes defeating Ballan 11.13.79 to 11.10.76.
Their two other premierships were in 1993 when they again defeated Ballan 14.14.98 to 12.12.84 and in 1997 when they defeated Dunnstown 13.17.95 to 12.16.88.
Current Essendon player Nick Hind grew up in Clunes and played 49 Senior games for the Clunes Football Netball Club and won the 2014 club Best and Fairest. Nick is currently with the Essendon where he was drafted to in 2021, after playing 21 games for the St. Kilda in 2019–2020.
Football Club Timeline 1876 - 1899: Club formed & active playing friendly matches against other local teams. 1900 - 1909: Club appears active, but very little published content in newspapers. 1910 - Creswick & Allendale District Association 1911 - 1912: Club in recess 1913 - 1915: Club active, playing some games against other local teams 1916 - 1918: Club in recess, due to World War One 1919 - 1921: Clunes & Creswick District Football Association 1922 - 1924: Maryborough District Football Association 1925 - 1926: Creswick District Football Association 1927 - 1930: Maryborough District Football Association 1931 - 1940: Clunes Football Association 1941 - 1944: Club in recess due to World War Two 1945 - Maryborough District Football Association 1946 - 1978: Clunes Football League 1979 - 2024: Central Highlands Football League
Football premierships Seniors Clunes Football League 1934, 1951, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1963, 1978, Central Highlands Football League 1979 - Clunes: 11.13 - 79 d Ballan: 11.10 - 76 1993 - Clunes: 14.14 - 98 d Ballan: 12.12 - 84 1997 - Clunes: 13.17 - 95 d Dunnstown: 12.16 - 88
Reserves Central Highlands Football League 1998
Juniors Creswick District Football Association 1932 - Clunes Juniors: 5.10 - 40 d Creswick Juniors: 2.9 - 21
Football Runners Up Seniors Creswick District Football Association 1926 Maryborough & District Football Association 1930 - Dunnolly: 11.8 - 74 d Clunes (minor premiers): 6.8 - 44 Clunes District Football Association 1931, 1932, 1936, 1950, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, Maryborough District Football Association 1945: Patience & Nicholson: 13.18 - 96 d Clunes: 6.14 - 50
Clunes Imperial FC Creswick District Football Association Creswick Rovers: 5.4 - 34 d Clunes Imperial: 1.11 - 17
VFL / AFL players 1948 - Bob Davis - 1955 - Graham Donaldson - 2019 - Nick Hind - /
Club jumper history 1919: the club adopted the Collingwood colours of black and white vertical stripes. 1931: the stripe was changed to black with a white stripe down the middle. 1933: this was reversed back to white with a black stripe down the middle. 1945: saw the club sporting a black jumper with white collar and cuffs with a CFC monogram. 1973: the club reverted to the Collingwood stripes. 1979: the club switched to white with a black stripe down the middle. 1982: the club switched to black with a white V yolk. 1987: the club again switched back to the Collingwood stripes.
Clunes District Football Association The Clunes District Football Association was formed in 1931.
Reg Coles from Daylesford won the 1937 league best and fairest award and H Dwan won it in 1938.
In 1940, the Clunes Football League was made up with eight teams. Clunes DFA: Senior Football - Grand Final ScoresYear Premiers Score Runner up Score Venue Gate / Comments Clunes District Football Association 1931Smeaton 12.8 - 80 Clunes 11.11 - 77 Newstead 1932Newlyn 6.7 - 43 Clunes 5.8 - 38 Clunes District Football League1933Newstead 7.10 - 52 Bungaree 1.13 - 19 Smeaton Clunes: 3rd 1934Clunes 6.15 - 51 Newlyn 5.6 - 36 Daylesford£59 1935Newlyn 15.16 - 106Daylesford5.4 - 34 1936Newlyn 9.19 - 73 Clunes 5.4 - 34 1937Smeaton 11.8 - 74 Newlyn 6.10 - 46 1938Newlyn 15.9 - 99 Smeaton 11.10 - 76 1939Sebastopol12.18 - 90 Creswick 12.8 - 80 1940Creswick 11.11 - 77 Smeaton 10.15 - 75 1941-45 In recess > WW2 1946Smeaton10.12 - 72Creswick Forestry8.13 - 61 1947 Smeaton 12.12 - 84 Creswick Forestry 9.10 - 64 Clunes: 3rd 1948 Smeaton 9.12 - 66 Newlyn 6.8 - 44 1949Newlyn 13.17 - 95 Hepburn 8.8 - 56 1950Creswick 10.3 - 63 Clunes 4.10 - 34 1951Clunes 7.9 - 51 Bungaree 5.6 - 36 1952Learmonth 8.9 - 57 Bungaree 4.7 - 31 1953Clunes 11.6 - 72 Bungaree 7.14 - 56 1954Bungaree 9.12 - 66 Clunes 5.14 - 44 1955Learmonth 13.9 - 87 Bungaree 11.13 - 79 1956Bungaree 5.7 - 37 Clunes 4.2 - 26 1957Bungaree 12.7 - 79 Clunes 6.8 - 54 1958Clunes 6.11 - 47 Bungaree 3.11 - 29 1959Bungaree 16.7 - 103 Creswick 6.6 - 42 1960Clunes 16.9 - 105 Creswick 11.4 - 70 1961Creswick 9.11 - 65 Newlyn 5.7 - 37 1962Newlyn 7.10 - 52 Creswick 4.7 - 31 1963Clunes10.17 - 77Koreweinguboora7.8 - 50 1964Springbank 12.7 - 79 Clunes 7.9 - 51 1965Springbank 10.12 - 72Clunes 10.9 - 69 1966Springbank 10.10 - 70Clunes 7.7 - 49 1967Springbank 15.9 - 99 Clunes 6.10 - 46 1968Springbank 10.13 - 73Creswick 10.9 - 69 1969Newlyn 13.5 - 83 Creswick 11.12 - 78 1970Newlyn 18.11 - 119 Bungaree 8.10 - 58 1971Bungaree 12.7 - 79 Creswick 6.6 - 42 1972Springbank 13.15 - 93 Bungaree 12.17 - 89 1973Bungaree 18.14 - 122 Wendouree 7.12 - 54 1974Creswick 11.15 - 81 Bungaree 4.3 - 27 1975Newlyn 18.23 - 131 Bungaree 9.10 - 64 1976Bungaree 17.14 - 116 Springbank 16.12 - 108 1977Wendouree 10.19 - 79 Learmonth 11.9 - 75 1978Clunes 9.15 - 69 Newlyn 10.9 - 69 Drawn G Final Clunes 20.5 - 125 Newlyn 7.11 - 53 G Final Reply 1979: Clunes DFL & Ballarat / Bacchus Marsh DFL merged to form the Central Highlands FNLYearPremiersScoreRunner UpScoreVenueGate/Comments
Reserves 1977 - Bungaree: 8.5 - 53 d Hepburn: 6.10 - 46 Juniors 1963 - Newlyn: 7.9 - 51 d Creswick: 4.6 - 30 1964 - Creswick: 7.5 - 47 d Learmonth: 1.3 - 9 Under 18's 1968 - Creswick: 5.12 - 42 d Bungaree: 5.6 - 36
Book History of Football in the Ballarat District by John Stoward -
References
External links Club profile on Clunes website
A large collection of Clunes FC team photos via Victorian Collections 1927 - Clunes Knitting Mill FC team photo