The Huon Football Association was an Australian rules football competition based in the Huon Valley region of southern Tasmania. The competition ran, with some brief interruptions, from 1895 until the end of the 1997 season.
History The earliest iteration of the Huon Football Association was formed in 1895, with Franklin, Kermandie and Huonville participating. Franklin won the inaugural premiership. The Association appears to have lapsed after the 1895 season and did not re-form for the next 6 years.
1903 saw the Huon FA resurrected by the same three clubs. The early seasons of the competition saw the premier determined to be the club with the most wins from official roster matches, with no official grand final played. It was common for Huon FA clubs to play matches against other clubs from outside the association, and there were frequent visits from Hobart and Melbourne-based clubs to play a combined Huon side. The Association lapsed again in 1908, with clubs choosing to play in the Dalton Cup competition or in their own town-based competitions instead.
It was decided to re-form the Huon FA again in 1912. Lovett (later known as Cygnet) and Glen Huon joined for the first time. Kermandie were excluded from the 1912 season under strange circumstances, as it was determined that they had submitted their application to join at too late of a date. The club was forced to form their own local association instead. They would re-join the HFA in 1913. Nicholls Rivulet joined in 1914 to form a six-team competition, however the Association decided not to complete the season out of patriotism in support of the war effort.
Competition restarted in 1919 with 3 clubs - Franklin, Cygnet and Kermandie. Kermandie defeated Franklin by 7 points in the 1921 grand final, however the win was later granted to Franklin on appeal after it was determined that two Kermandie behinds were incorrectly scored as goals. Huonville re-joined in 1922, however left the competition again a year later. The club applied for admission again in 1924 however were controversially denied as it was felt that their application was too informal. The Cygnet club also felt that Huonville had shown contempt to the association by only applying to join when they were able to field a team strong enough to win the premiership. Despite these concerns, Huonville were granted readmission a year later in 1925.
The 1934 grand final was decided in controversial circumstances. Huonville defeated Kermandie in the grand final, but Kermandie lodged a protest on the grounds that Huonville listed an ineligible player as 19th man. This was upheld and Kermandie were awarded the premiership.
The 1940 season saw significant upheaval in the roster of clubs due to WWII enlistments. Huonville and Franklin combined to form Huon, while a combined team from the Kingborough Football Association was also admitted. The HFA season was abandoned in July.
Competition began again in 1945 with Cygnet, Huon and Kermandie competing. Huon would split into Huonville and Franklin again a year later. The 1958 grand final between Franklin and Kermandie saw an unprecedented 3 matches required to determine a premier, after both the original grand final and the replay a week later were drawn. Franklin defeated Kermandie in the second replay to secure the premiership.
The long-time four club roster of the HFA was expanded to 6 in 1967 with the addition of Kingston and the newly-formed Channel club, who both joined from the recently-defunct Kingborough FA. Channel was a merger of Snug, Woodbridge, Kettering and Margate, formed after the 1967 Tasmanian bushfires crippled the small communities south of Kingston. This six-club roster lasted until the end of the 1994 season, when Franklin went into recess. Channel and Kingston departed for the newly-formed Southern Football League after the 1995 season, leaving the competition with only 3 clubs until Franklin re-formed. The long-term future of the competition was agreed not to be secure, which saw the remaining four clubs wind up the HFA after more than 100 years after the 1997 season. Huonville and Franklin merged and joined the Southern FL along with Cygnet and Kermandie.
Clubs
Final ClubColoursNicknameHome GroundFormer LeagueEst.Years in HFAHFA Senior PremiershipsFateTotalYearsCygnet (1930s)(1960s)(?-1997)Magpies Cygnet–19121912-1914, 1919-199531Joined Southern FL in 1998Franklin(1950s-60s)(1960s-74)(1975-97)Lions FranklinFFA18871895, 1903-1907, 1912-1914, 1919-1939, 1946-1994, 1996-199718Played merged with Huonville as Huon in 1939-45. Recess in 1995. Merged with Huonville to form Huonville Lions in Southern FL in 1998Huonville(?-1934)(1935-60s)(60s-1997)Bulldogs Huonville–18881895, 1903-1907, 1912-1914, 1922, 1935-1939, 1946-199771904, 1933, 1953, 1971, 1973, 1989, 1992Played merged with Franklin as Huon in 1939-45. Merged with Franklin to form Huonville Lions in Southern FL in 1998Kermandie (1895-?)(?-1997)RobinsKermandie Football Oval, GeevestonKFA18871895, 1903-1907, 1913-1914, 1919-199722Joined Southern FL in 1998
Former ClubColoursNicknameHome GroundFormer LeagueEst.Years in HFAHFA Senior PremiershipsFateTotalYearsChannelSaints Snug–19671967-199581975, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1990Formed Southern FL in 1996Glen HuonRosellasGlen Huon Football Oval, Glen Huon–19121912-19140 -Moved to Huon Junior FA in 1915HuonFranklin Oval, Franklin and Huonville Recreation Ground, Huonville–19401940, 19450 -De-merged into Huonville and Franklin in 1946KingboroughSandfly Football Ground, Sandfly–194019400 -Did not re-form after WWIIKingstonTigersKingston Beach Sports Ground, Kingston BeachKFA19031967-199531980, 1991, 1995Formed Southern FL in 1996Nicholls RivuletRobert Harvey's Paddock, Lovett–191419140 -Folded after 1914 season
Premierships YearPremierScoreRunners-upNotes1895FranklinLiverpoolNo grand final1896HFA in recess1897189818991900190119021903FranklinNo grand final1904HuonvilleNo grand final1905KermandieNo grand final1906FranklinNo grand final1907FranklinNo grand final1908HFA in recess1909191019111912Lovett6.14 (50) - 1.2 (8)Huonville1913Lovett7.7 (49) - 4.7 (31)Franklin1914Season abandoned1915-18HFA in recess (WWI)1919KermandieFranklin1920Kermandie9.12 (66) - 6.7 (43)Cygnet1921Franklin8.12 (60) - 7.22 (53)KermandieWon by Franklin on protest1922Cygnet7.9 (51) - 7.8 (50)Huonville1923Cygnet6.16 (52) - 6.9 (45)Franklin1924Kermandie18.22 (130) - 5.2 (32)Cygnet1925Cygnet14.14 (98) - 6.6 (42)Franklin1926Cygnet15.15 (105) - 8.13 (61)Huonville1927Kermandie8.18 (66) - 6.9 (45)Huonville1928Cygnet8.10 (58) - 7.12 (54)Kermandie1929Kermandie11.20 (86) - 6.9 (45)Cygnet1930Kermandie7.12 (54) - 7.5 (47)Cygnet1931Cygnet11.12 (78) - 5.11 (41)Franklin1932Franklin9.10 (64) - 7.15 (57)Huonville1933Huonville13.5 (83) - 10.10 (70)Franklin1934Kermandie5.8 (38) - 7.14 (56)HuonvilleKermandie awarded premiership after Huonville played unregistered player1935Cygnet8.15 (63) - 5.16 (46)Huonville1936Kermandie11.10 (76) - 9.9 (63)Franklin1937Kermandie9.10 (64) - 6.12 (48)Franklin1938Cygnet10.12 (72) - 9.14 (68)Kermandie1939Kermandie8.9 (57) - 5.15 (45)Cygnet1940Season abandoned1941-44HFA in recess (WWII)1945Cygnet12.15 (87) - 8.11 (59)Huonville1946Kermandie13.12 (90) - 8.9 (57)Cygnet1947Cygnet15.22 (112) - 4.8 (32)Huonville1948Cygnet11.15 (81) - 9.8 (62)Kermandie1949Kermandie12.8 (80) - 10.18 (78)Cygnet1950Cygnet16.14 (110) - 11.9 (75)Huonville1951Cygnet13.20 (98) - 8.11 (59)Huonville1952Kermandie13.7 (85) - 9.9 (63)Cygnet1953Huonville9.9 (63) - 8.13 (61)Kermandie1954Kermandie16.22 (118) - 12.6 (78)Cygnet1955Cygnet17.14 (116) - 10.16 (76)Huonville1956Kermandie10.13 (73) - 8.16 (64)Cygnet1957Cygnet4.10 (34) - 3.11 (29)Franklin1958Franklin9.17 (71) - 9.17 (71)KermandieDrawFranklin9.14 (68) - 10.8 (68)KermandieFirst replay (drawn)Franklin15.10 (100) - 11.8 (74)KermandieSecond replay1959Franklin9.17 (71) - 5.11 (41)Cygnet1960Cygnet11.4 (70) - 6.7 (43)Franklin1961Kermandie18.22 (130) - 9.6 (60)Huonville1962Cygnet12.15 (87) - 6.2 (38)Kermandie1963Franklin11.11 (77) - 9.14 (68)Huonville1964Cygnet8.14 (62) - 6.10 (46)Franklin1965Kermandie12.9 (81) - 9.5 (59)Huonville1966Cygnet11.12 (78) - 6.6 (42)Franklin1967Cygnet11.11 (77) - 7.10 (52)Huonville1968Cygnet10.12 (72) - 7.4 (46)Channel1969Kermandie13.16 (94) - 13.14 (92)Cygnet1970Cygnet11.4 (70) - 7.10 (52)Kermandie1971Huonville16.16 (112) - 10.10 (70)Kingston1972Cygnet14.19 (103) - 9.21 (75)Kingston1973Huonville11.18 (84) - 10.15 (75)Channel1974Cygnet12.14 (86) - 9.10 (64)Channel1975Channel9.20 (74) - 9.10 (64)Cygnet1976Cygnet14.6 (90) - 12.13 (85)Channel1977Channel10.9 (69) - 9.11 (65)Kermandie1978Channel20.14 (134) - 12.12 (84)Kingston1979Cygnet17.16 (118) - 13.10 (88)Huonville1980Kingston20.17 (137) - 17.9 (111)Cygnet1981Channel20.16 (136) - 18.11 (119)Huonville1982Franklin23.17 (155) - 13.17 (95)Channel1983Channel23.23 (161) - 12.6 (78)Cygnet1984Cygnet23.10 (148) - 11.12 (78)Franklin1985Franklin20.19 (139) - 17.16 (118)Kingston1986Channel17.8 (110) - 13.14 (92)13.14 (92)1987Franklin11.19 (85) - 11.9 (75)Channel1988Channel22.16 (148) - 11.15 (81)Kermandie1989Huonville17.12 (114) - 15.14 (104)Channel1990Channel22.18 (150) - 20.7 (127)Huonville1991Kingston28.16 (184) - 21.10 (136)Channel1992Huonville8.7 (55) - 4.7 (31)Kingston1993Kermandie16.10 (106) - 12.6 (78)Kingston1994Cygnet14.11 (95) - 7.9 (51)Kingston1995Kingston11.18 (84) - 8.15 (63)Kermandie1996Kermandie13.14 (92) - 12.13 (85)Franklin1997Franklin15.14 (104) - 12.8 (80)Cygnet
References