Brisbane Hockey Association
1921 - 1982

The Brisbane Hockey Association was not constituted until 1932, however the history of Hockey in Brisbane commenced on the 31st March 1921, when a number of enthusiasts called a special meeting with the idea of commencing Hockey in Brisbane.

From this meeting several clubs were formed and when fixtures commenced there were five clubs in existence:
City, Valley, Albion Cadets, Enoggera and Toowong.

The Committee was fortunate in obtaining fields at the Nundah Pound and while they were not of a high standard they were to remain the headquarters of Brisbane Hockey for many years. The first premiership final was played on the 15th October 1921 and resulted in Valley defeating Albion Cadets 5 goals to 4.

In 1922 a strong move was initiated to introduce Summer Hockey to Brisbane, after considerable discussion at a special meeting called solely for that purpose the move was narrowly defeated. This appears to be the only time summer Hockey has been considered.

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1923 saw the formation of the St. Andrews Club, one of the few very early clubs still in existence. Trojans and the Commercial Club were also formed in the same year, the latter only lasting two seasons.

By now Hockey was well established and with the formation of Merthyr, Hemmant, Bulimba, Toombul and University Clubs, players were drawn from all parts of Brisbane. Naturally with the upsurge in teams it was necessary to procure additional fields and while three were in use at Nundah they were not sufficient. It was only by the efforts of the Hemmant Club in obtaining their own fields that the situation was solved.

Three new clubs were formed in 1925, High School Old Boys, Windsor and Cannon Hill. With the formation of Cannon Hill the Bulimba Club folded up.

By 1926 there were sixteen clubs taking part in the fixtures, additional clubs being Kurilpa, South Brisbane, Rosemount and Salisbury.

In the early days of Hockey, the life of some clubs was very limited. It was nothing for a club to fold up after one or two seasons and new clubs formed . At the completion of the season the following clubs were in existence:
Valley, St. Andrews, Merthyr, Enoggera, Toombul, University, Metropolitan, Rosemount, Kedron, Cannon Hill, High School Old Boys, South Brisbane, City and Hemmant.

In 1930 the Association obtained a ten year lease of Victoria Park and with its six playing fields it became the Hockey centre of Brisbane, a position it held for many years.

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1931 the general opinion was that the time had arrived for Hockey in Brisbane to be controlled by a Brisbane Association and a meeting was held on the 24th February 1932 when the present Brisbane Hockey Association was constituted. The following were elected as the first officials of the new Association: President Mr. F. Bailev, Hon. Secretary Mr. E. Coulter. Hon.Treasurer Mr. J. Faulkner.

When the Brisbane Hockey Association commenced in 1932 there were 26 senior teams and 20 junior teams drawn from the following clubs: Valley, St. Andrews, Metropolitan, University, Enoggera, Clayfield, Taringa, Rosemount, City, Cannon Hill, Graduates, 9/15 Battalion. Past Collegians, and Ashgrove.

In 1932 umpires were paid by the Association for their services. The records do not show whether this move was successful but it only lasted a few years.

With the commencement of hostilities in 1939 the number of hockey players decreased until finally in 1942 the Association went into recess and Hockey did not recommence until the 1945 season; while the Association was in recess teams were always available to play matches against the services. By 1946 Hockey was once again well established and it was necessary to obtain additional fields at Kianawah Park, Tingalpa and Coorparoo.

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It is interesting to note the changes in clubs during the period 1932 to 1946, Metropolitan, Enoggera, Clayfield, Taringa, Rosemount, City. Cannon Hill, Graduates, 9/15 Battalion and Past Collegians folded up and their places had been taken by Boys Brigade, Mayne, Y.M.C.A., Coorparoo, Hamilton, Kelvin Grove, Mitchelton, Wilston, Stafford, Darrima, Lutwyche Methodist, Ashgrove Methodist and Commercial, in all a total of seventeen clubs; by 1950 the number of clubs had increased to twenty-one by the addition of Army, Industrial High, Newmarket and Redcliffe.

Prior to 1946 it was not necessary for the Brisbane Association to adopt official playing colours, however with the introduction of Intercity Hockey the Association adopted as their official uniform a white shirt with a red poinsettia on the pocket, this was satisfactory until a photo of a Brisbane Hockey player appeared in the paper and the Association was threatened with legal action by the Brisbane Rugby League as they had already registered the above uniform. It was then necessary for the Association to adopt a complete change of` colours.

In 1954 a strong move was made by several clubs for the introduction of district Hockey. As a result of this move a Committee was formed to thoroughly investigate the subject. The report when received from the Committee did not favour the introduction of district Hockey and their recommendation was adopted by the Clubs.

It is interesting to report that soon after the release of the report several clubs adopted district names.

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1955 saw for the first time the introduction of Sunday Hockey and also all grand finals were played at the one venue, Victoria Park.

For several years the Association had been endeavouring to have Hockey accepted in the Secondary Schools, and in 1958 the Secondary Schools Hockey Association was formed.

By 1963 the major clubs had acquired their own grounds and club facilities, and the basis for home and away matches was introduced.

In 1967 a milestone in Brisbane Hockey was reached when the number of senior and junior teams registered with the Association reached the 100 mark. With the formation in 1976 of the South-West United Club, Hockey once again returned to the Graceville Oval, the scene of many grand finals in previous years.

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The Brisbane Association has retained a steady progress over the years and although statistics will show that there are less number of clubs playing today, the existing clubs are much larger and at present cater for 73 senior teams and 66 junior teams. (1982)

Brisbane has produced many great players since inception including numerous State players as well as over forty Australian players. In 1948 Brisbane supplied eight players to the Australian Team that toured New Zealand. In addition, five Brisbane players have captained Australia in Test Matches and one of the above five was Australian Coach for four years.

The Brisbane Representative Teams have dominated the South Queensland intercity competitions and State Championships over the years. Brisbane has won the Queensland Senior Championship on thirty-two occasions and have only lost the Queensland Colts Championship on two occasions.

The great progress made over the years is a fitting testimonial to the popularity of the game and to the untiring efforts of all those Administrators and Club officials who have laboured throughout the years of Hockey in Brisbane.

To be continued . . . . . ??

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