1879 SAFA season

1879 SAFA premiership season
1879 SAFA premiership season
	Norwood premiership team
Teams	7
Premiers	Norwood ; 2nd premiership
Leading goalkicker	William Dedman ; Norwood (7 Goals)
Matches played	34
Highest	3,000 (Round 11, Norwood vs. Port Adelaide)
	← 1878 1880 →

Last updated July 14, 2025

The 1879 South Australian Football Association season was the 3rd season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.

The Norwood Football Club went on to record its 2nd consecutive premiership, going through the season undefeated. The Kensington Football Club received its second consecutive wooden spoon, failing to win a game, and extending its winless streak to 27. Several disputes between South Adelaide and the other clubs arose during the season.^[1]

Pre season


	South Australians vs. Allcomers
Day, 10 May (3:30 pm)	South Australians 0	drew with	Allcomers 0	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,200)	^[2]

Premiership season

Round 1


	Round 1
Saturday, 17 May (3:00 pm)	Norwood 1	def.	South Adelaide 0	East Park Lands (crowd: 2,000)	^[3]
Saturday, 17 May (3:00 pm)	Kensington 3	def. by	Adelaide 5	Kensington Oval	^[3]
Saturday, 17 May (3:00 pm)	Port Adelaide 2	def.	South Park 0	Adelaide Oval	^[4]
During the Norwood vs. South Adelaide game when A. Terrell kicked Norwood's second goal much disagreement and disorder ensued.

Round 2


	Round 2
Saturday, 24 May (3:00 pm)	Norwood 1	def.	Victorian 0	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,500)	^[5]

Round 3


	Round 3
Saturday, 31 May (3:30 pm)	South Adelaide 1	drew with	Port Adelaide 1	South Park Lands (crowd: 1,500)	^[6]
Saturday, 31 May (3:15 pm)	Adelaide 0	drew with	Victorian 0	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 550)	^[6]
Saturday, 31 May (3:00 pm)	Kensington 0	def. by	South Park 1	Kensington Oval	^[6]

Round 4


	Round 4
Saturday, 14 June (3:15 pm)	Port Adelaide 1	def. by	Norwood 3	Glanville Estate (crowd: 1,000)	^[7]
Saturday, 14 June (3:00 pm)	Victorian 0	drew with	South Park 0	Montefiore Hill (crowd: 500)	^[7]

Round 5


	Round 5
Saturday, 21 June (3:30 pm)	Adelaide 1	drew with	Port Adelaide 1	Adelaide Oval	^[8]
Saturday, 21 June (3:00 pm)	Victorian 3	def.	Kensington 0	Montefiore Hill	^[9]

Round 6


	Round 6
Saturday, 12 July (3:15 pm)	South Park 1	drew with	Adelaide 1	South Park Lands (crowd: 300)	^[10]

Round 7


	Round 7
Saturday, 26 July (3:30 pm)	Kensington 0	def. by	Norwood 7	Kensington Oval	^[11]
Saturday, 26 July	South Park 1	drew with	South Adelaide 0	South Park Lands	^[12]
Saturday, 26 July	Port Adelaide 2	def.	Adelaide 0	Glanville Estate	^[13]

Round 8


	Round 8
Saturday, 2 August (3:00 pm)	Port Adelaide 2	def.	South Park 0	Glanville Estate	^[14]
Saturday, 2 August (Time pm)	Kensington 0	def. by	Victorian 6	Kensington Oval	^[14]

Round 9


	Round 9
Saturday, 9 August (3:15 pm)	Norwood 4.15 (4)	def.	Adelaide 0.1 (0)	East Park Lands (crowd: 400)	^[15]
Saturday, 9 August	Victorian 0.2 (2)	def. by	Port Adelaide 1.2 (1)	Montefiore Hill (crowd: 750)	^[15]

Round 10


	Round 10
Saturday, 16 August (3:20 pm)	Norwood 2.18 (2)	drew with	South Park 2.2 (2)	East Park Lands	^[16]
Saturday, 16 August (3:30 pm)	Victorian 1	def.	Adelaide 0	Montefiore Hill (crowd: 300)	^[16]
Saturday, 16 August (3:40 pm)	Kensington 0.6 (6)	def. by	South Adelaide 1.7 (1)	Kensington Oval	^[17]

Round 11


	Round 11
Saturday, 23 August (3:15 pm)	Norwood 1.7 (1)	def.	Port Adelaide 0	East Park Lands (crowd: 3,000)	^[18]
Saturday, 23 August (3:00 pm)	South Adelaide 2	def.	Victorian 0	South Park Lands	^[18]

Round 12


	Round 12
Saturday, 30 August (3:20 pm)	Victorian 0.3 (3)	def. by	Norwood 3.4 (3)	Montefiore Hill	^[19]^[20]
Saturday, 30 August (3:20 pm)	Adelaide 0.4 (4)	def. by	South Park 4.8 (4)	Adelaide Oval	^[21]
A game scheduled at Glanville Estate on Saturday, 30 August between Port Adelaide and South Adelaide was abandoned due to disagreement regarding the umpires selected.^[21]

Round 13


	Round 13
Saturday, 6 September (3:15 pm)	South Park 0.2 (2)	def. by	Victorian 1.4 (1)	South Park Lands (crowd: 550)	^[22]
A game scheduled at Glanville Estate on Saturday, 6 September between Port Adelaide and Kensington was postponed due to illness amongst the Kensington players and the fact it was mail day.^[23]

Round 14


	Round 14
Saturday, 13 September (3:00 pm)	South Park 0.0 (0)	def. by	Norwood 3.13 (3)	East Park Lands (crowd: 2,000)	^[24]^[25]
The rescheduled match between Port Adelaide and Kensington for Saturday, 13 September was forfeited in the priors favour due to the latter club unable to field a team.^[24]

Round 15


	Round 15
Saturday, 20 September	South Park 0.17 (0)	def.	Kensington 0.1 (0)	South Park Lands	^[26]

Ladder

1879 SAFA Ladder

TEAM

P

W

L

D

GF

GA

Pts

Adj Pts

1

Norwood

10

9

0

1

30

3

19

22.80

2

Port Adelaide

9

5

2

11

6

12

16.00

3

South Adelaide

7

4

2

1

6

4

9

15.42

4

Victorian

11

4

5

2

11

8

10

10.91

5

South Park

12

3

5

4

8

11

10

10.00

6

Adelaide

10

2

5

3

9

20

7

8.40

7

Kensington

9

0

8

1

4

27

1

1.33

Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, Adj Pts = Points adjusted for match ratio, (P) = Premiers

^[27]

Notes:

Following disputes between South Adelaide and other clubs, Adelaide (twice), Norwood, Port Adelaide, and Victorian (once each) all refused to play them: these five cancelled matches are not included in the above ladder.
Kensington only played Norwood once, with their only scheduled match against Port Adelaide being forfeited due to a lack of players.
Port Adelaide were ranked above South Adelaide on match ratio (only match was drawn), while Victorian were ranked above South Park (1-0-1) and South Park were ranked above Adelaide (1-0-1) on head-to-head record.

Intercolonial matches

During 1879, a team representing the South Australian Football Association) toured Victoria, and played two intercolonial matches against an Association representative team; the first on a public holiday Tuesday, and the other on the following Saturday. The games were the first ever intercolonial matches between colony representative teams.


	1879 Intercolonial Matches
Tuesday, 1 July	Victoria 7	def.	South Australia 0	East Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 10,000)	^[28]
Saturday, 5 July	Victoria 4	def.	South Australia 1	East Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 6,000)	^[29]

References

↑ 18 Oct 1879 - football. - Trove
↑ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 12 May 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
1 2 "football". South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 May 1879. p. 18. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
↑ "football". South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 May 1879. p. 18. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 May 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
1 2 3 "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 2 June 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
1 2 "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 16 June 1879. p. 4 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 June 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 June 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 15 July 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 28 July 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 28 July 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 29 July 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
1 2 "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 4 August 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
1 2 "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 11 August 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
1 2 "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 18 August 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 August 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
1 2 "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 25 August 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 1 September 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 September 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
1 2 "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 1 September 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 September 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 September 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
1 2 "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 15 September 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 15 September 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
↑ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 22 September 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
↑ "Football: Review of the Season 1879". Adelaide Observer . National Library of Australia. 18 October 1879. p. 10. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
↑ "Intercolonial Football Match". The Argus. Melbourne. 2 July 1879. p. 5.
↑ "Intercolonial Football Match". The Argus. Melbourne. 7 July 1879. p. 6.

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[1] 18 Oct 1879 - football. - Trove

[2] "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 12 May 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 28 December 2014.

[autogenerated1-3] 1 2 "football". South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 May 1879. p. 18. Retrieved 28 December 2014.

[4] "football". South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 May 1879. p. 18. Retrieved 12 January 2015.

[5] "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 May 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 12 January 2015.

[autogenerated9-6] 1 2 3 "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 2 June 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2015.

[autogenerated2-7] 1 2 "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 16 June 1879. p. 4 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. Retrieved 12 January 2015.

[8] "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 June 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 12 January 2015.

[9] "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 June 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 12 January 2015.

[10] "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 15 July 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[11] "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 28 July 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[12] "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 28 July 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[13] "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 29 July 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[autogenerated3-14] 1 2 "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 4 August 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[autogenerated6-15] 1 2 "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 11 August 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[autogenerated8-16] 1 2 "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 18 August 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[17] "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 August 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[autogenerated5-18] 1 2 "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 25 August 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[19] "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 1 September 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[20] "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 September 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[autogenerated7-21] 1 2 "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 1 September 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[22] "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 September 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[23] "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 September 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[autogenerated4-24] 1 2 "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 15 September 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[25] "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 15 September 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[26] "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 22 September 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

[27] "Football: Review of the Season 1879". Adelaide Observer . National Library of Australia. 18 October 1879. p. 10. Retrieved 18 December 2014.

[28] "Intercolonial Football Match". The Argus. Melbourne. 2 July 1879. p. 5.

[29] "Intercolonial Football Match". The Argus. Melbourne. 7 July 1879. p. 6.

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v t e SANFL seasons
Pre SAFA	1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876
SAFA seasons	1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906
SAFL seasons	1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915
Patriotic League (unsanctioned)	1916 1917 1918
SAFL seasons	1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926
SANFL seasons	1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941
SANFL war-merger seasons	1942 1943 1944
SANFL seasons	1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025