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Sport | Australian rules football |
---|---|
Founded | 1987 |
President | Mick Brien |
No. of teams | 9 |
Country | Australia |
Most recent champion(s) | Willaston |
Most titles | Tanunda Nuriootpa (8 premierships) |
Sponsor(s) | Grant Burge Wines |
Related competitions | SANFL |
Official website | blgfa.com.au |
The Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association, more commonly referred to as the BL&GFA, is an Australian rules football competition based in the Barossa Valley, Gawler Region and Light Region of South Australia, Australia. [1] Just 42 kilometres north of the state capital of Adelaide, the BL&GFA is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League. In 2024, the Willaston Donnybrooks secured their twenty-fifth premiership overall and their third in the BLGFA. The current president of the League is Mick Brien and the major sponsor of the league is the Grant Burge Winery.
Club | Colours | Nickname | Home Ground | Former League | Est. | Years in BLGFA | BLGFA Senior Premierships | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Years | |||||||
Angaston | Panthers | Angas Recreation Park, Angaston | BLFA | 1879 | 1987- | 1 | 2003 | |
Barossa District | Bulldogs | Williamstown Oval, Williamstown | HFL | 1979 | 1991- | 6 | 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 | |
Freeling | Redlegs | Freeling Football Oval, Freeling | BLFA | 1890 | 1987- | 1 | 1994 | |
Gawler Central | Tigers | Gawler Oval, Gawler | GDFL | 1889 | 1987- | 4 | 1991, 2001, 2014, 2020 | |
Kapunda | Bombers | Dutton Park, Kapunda | BLFA | 1866 | 1987- | 2 | 2004, 2005 | |
Nuriootpa Rover | Tigers | Centennial Park Oval, Nuriootpa | BLFA | Late 19th century [2] | 1987- | 8 | 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2015, 2018, 2022 | |
South Gawler | Lions | South Gawler Oval, Gawler South | GDFL | 1889 | 1987- | 5 | 1990, 1992, 1993, 2021, 2023 | |
Tanunda | Magpies | Tanunda Recreation Park, Tanunda | BLFA | 1908 | 1987- | 8 | 1987, 1989, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2019 | |
Willaston | Donnybrooks | Elliot Goodger Memorial Reserve, Willaston | GDFL | 1889 | 1987- | 3 | 1988, 1999, 2024 |
Club | Colours | Nickname | Home Ground | Former League | Est. | Years in BLGFA | BLGFA Senior Premierships | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Years | ||||||||
Light | Wheaties | Dutton Park, Kapunda and Freeling Football Oval, Freeling | – | 2022 | 2022- | 0 | - | Merged women's team of Freeling and Kapunda |
Club | Colours | Nickname | Home Ground | Former League | Est. | Years in BLGFA | BLGFA Senior Premierships | Fate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Years | ||||||||
Eudunda | Roosters | Truro Oval, Eudunda | BLFA | 1893 | 1987-1992 | 0 | - | Moved to North Eastern FL in 1993 | |
Riverton Saddleworth Marrabel United | Hawks | Riverton Oval, Riverton | BLFA | 1976 | 1987-1998 | 0 | - | Moved to North Eastern FL in 1999 |
The Kapunda Football Club is one of the oldest football clubs in the world to enjoy an uninterrupted identity. It was first originated by copper miners in 1866, while nearby the Gawler Football Club soon formed in 1868. These two clubs sent delegates to a meeting of 13 clubs which formed the South Australia Football Association in 1877. Even though they didn't compete in the SAFA competition at first, they played invitational fixtures against visiting senior clubs from Adelaide.
In 1894, Kapunda formed an informal association with Angaston, Kapunda North, Greenock and Truro, most likely a precursor to the Barossa and Light Football Association which Kapunda later helped establish.
The first football club in Gawler was formed in 1868. In 1877 it was a foundation club of the South Australian Football Association (later renamed SANFL).
In 1880, a number of distinct new junior clubs were also formed in Gawler – Albion, Athenian and Havelock. Seven years later, the original senior Gawler and junior Albion clubs merged to form a senior club bearing the name of Gawler Albion. This club was admitted with full senior status to the South Australian Football Association for the 1887 Season. In 1890, after four seasons in the SAFA, the Gawler Football Club left what is now the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) – but a 'junior' club competition created in 1889 in the Gawler area to feed this main 'senior' club remained, to become the Gawler Football Association which initially consisted of 3 clubs - Gawler Centrals, Gawler South and Willaston.
The Gawler Junior Football Association was formed on 23 April 1889 [3] by founding clubs Gawler Central, Gawler South and Willaston. Teams from Church Hill, Gawler South and Willaston had actually been playing each other in scratch matches around Gawler as early as 1885, 1886 and 1887 – long before the GJFA. Church Hill was most likely the genesis of Gawler Central. And at times Willaston and South would even combine to play the main Gawler side who participated in the city.
In 1890 the Gawler Junior Football Association changed its name to Gawler Football Association in which later early member clubs would include Roseworthy College, Salisbury and Hamley Bridge. Throughout the twentieth century a number of transient clubs from within the town - such as Shamrocks, Rivals, Imperials, North Gawler, Rovers and Gawler Colts, along with others outside of Gawler - including Greenock, Sandy Creek, Wasleys, Roseworthy, Rurals (a unification of Roseworthy and Wasleys), One Tree Hill, Kangaroo Flat and Angle Vale, would also spasmodically compete in the GFA first and second grades.
By 1955 the GFA reached its greatest extent, becoming the giant Gawler and Districts Football League, with clubs competing in three senior divisions - Elizabeth, Elizabeth North, Gawler Central, Hamley Bridge, Lyndoch, Roseworthy, Roseworthy College, Salisbury, Salisbury North, Smithfield, Gawler South (who changed their name to South Gawler in 1957), Two Wells, Virginia, Willaston and Williamstown. Although over the next few decades, several of the more rural clubs departed for the neighbouring Adelaide Plains Football League, and following the inception of the Central District Bulldogs into the SANFL, the formation of the (now defunct) Central District Football Association saw the metropolitan clubs also eventually leave the GDFL. [4]
The Barossa & Light Football Association was inaugurated in 1908 with founding clubs comprising Angaston, Freeling, Kapunda, Nuriootpa and Tanunda, followed by Eudunda in 1910. Clubs such as Hamley Bridge, Greenock, Truro and Eden Valley would also later field sides intermittently at various times over the years in the first and second competitions. During the 1950s Eudunda returned, and by the 1980s the BLFA at its greatest extent also had annexed Robertstown and Riverton-Saddleworth Marrabel United (RSMU).
In 1987 the Barossa And Light Football Association merged with the Gawler & District Football League, to form a new "super-league", the Barossa Light And Gawler Football Association - the formation clubs being Angaston, Eudunda, Freeling, Gawler Central, Kapunda, Nuriootpa, RSMU, South Gawler, Tanunda and Willaston. After participating in the Hills Football League as an interim since the demise of the GDFL, Barossa District (a merger of the original Lyndoch and Williamstown clubs of the GDFL in 1980) finally entered the BLGFA in 1991, while in 1992 Eudunda, and later RSMU in 1998, left to the North Eastern Football League.
The current BLGFA comprises nine clubs from the Gawler Town, Light Plains and Barossa Valley region considered to be the heartland of the SANFL Central District Bulldogs.
Club | Premiers |
---|---|
Tanunda | 8 |
Nuriootpa | 8 |
Barossa District | 6 |
South Gawler | 5 |
Gawler Central | 4 |
Willaston | 3 |
Kapunda | 2 |
Angaston | 1 |
Freeling | 1 |
The Barossa, Light and Gawler Football Association has produced a number of AFL players since its inception. Some of these players include Shannon Hurn (West Coast Eagles) of Angaston Football Club, Sam Butler (West Coast Eagles) of South Gawler Football Club, Justin Westhoff (Port Adelaide Power) of the Tanunda Football Club, Jonathan Giles (West Coast Eagles) of Kapunda.
The Barossa, Light and Gawler Umpires Association (official website), commonly abbreviated to the BL&GUA, formed in 1987 when the Barossa & Light and Gawler Football Associations amalgamated, and now provides umpires for all matches within the Barossa, Light and Gawler Football Association. The Barossa, Light and Gawler Umpires Panel is based at Princes Park, Gawler. The Barossa, Light and Gawler Umpires were one of the last groups of umpires in South Australia to wear the traditional white shirts until 2022. The current coordinator of the panel is Matt Patterson, the development coach is Ryan Prentice, the fitness coach is Hudson Noack, and the current president is Adam Butcher. [5]
The BL&G Football Association is covered each week by various local newspapers - The Herald, which circulates in all of the towns represented in the league; The Bunyip, from Gawler; and The Leader, from Angaston. An annual Football Book is produced by The Leader and is available free from various outlets in the region. It features the season's draw, officials, rules, constitutions and a history of the league's premiers and medal winners from all grades. The Barracker is the official match-day magazine and is sold at the entrance of all games.
The Barossa Valley is a valley in South Australia located 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destination.
Light Regional Council is a local government area north of Adelaide in South Australia. It is based in the town of Kapunda, and includes the towns of Freeling, Greenock, Hansborough, Hewett, Roseworthy and Wasleys.
The Division of Angas was an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. The division was created in 1903 and abolished in 1934. It was named for George Fife Angas, a South Australian pioneer politician, banker and pastoralist who played a significant part in the formation and establishment of the Province of South Australia.
Schubert is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly covering an area of 2,017.8 km2. It is named after Max Schubert, the winemaker of Penfolds Grange Hermitage. The Barossa Valley area was first represented by the seat of Barossa. The seat of Custance was abolished and recreated as Schubert in the 1994 redistribution and first contested at the 1997 election. Schubert incorporates all of the Barossa Council, and is made up of portions of the Adelaide Hills Council, City of Playford, City of Tea Tree Gully, Light Regional Council, and Mid Murray Council. Areas covered include Eden Valley, Kersbrook, Nuriootpa, Lyndoch, Springton, Tanunda, and Williamstown.
Kapunda Football Club, nicknamed The Lachbombers, is an Australian rules football club, based in Kapunda, South Australia, that competes in the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association.
The Barossa Valley railway line is a closed railway line in South Australia. It was first opened in 1911, extending from the Gawler line to Angaston with later branches being built to Penrice and Truro. Much of the line from Gawler to Penrice remained open up until June 2014. The section of line from Nuriootpa to Truro was removed in the 1990s. The section of line from Nuriootpa to Angaston was taken up in 2010 and replaced with a rail trail.
Jack Hannath is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He mainly played as a ruckman, and is currently playing in the SANFL.
Barossa zone is a wine zone located in central South Australia west of the Murray River and which occupies the Barossa Valley, the Eden Valley and some adjoining land. The zone which is enclosed by the Mount Lofty Ranges zone on three sides and by the Lower Murray zone to its east, contains two wine regions which have received appellation as Australian Geographical Indications (AGI). These are the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley regions. The Barossa zone also includes a broader area around these two defined regions. The zone received AGI in 1996.
The Barossa Trail is a 40 kilometres (25 mi) cycling and walking path through the Barossa Valley in South Australia, opened in May 2014. Much of the Barossa Trail follows the Barossa Valley railway line, but is not a rail trail as part of the railway was still operating at the time it was built. As it is not on the railway formation, it has more undulations than a true rail trail would have. The part near Rowland Flat is away from both the railway and main road. It has much sharper corners than would be expected on a rail trail.
The Gawler Football Club was an Australian rules football club that was founded in June 1868 based at Gawler in the Township of Gawler about 39 km to the north-north east of Adelaide, South Australia.
The District Council of Light was a local government area in South Australia from 1977 to 1996, seated at Freeling.
The County of Light is one of the 49 cadastral counties of South Australia. It was proclaimed by Governor George Grey in 1842 and named for the River Light, the river being named after Colonel William Light, the first Surveyor-General of South Australia. It covers the modern region of the Barossa Valley and a portion of the northern Mt Lofty Ranges. It is bounded by the upper Wakefield River in the north, the approximate path of Horrocks Highway in the west, and the North Para River in the south, and is bisected east to west by the River Light.
The Leader is a weekly newspaper that was first published in Angaston, South Australia on 24 July 1918, and continues being published to the present day in the Barossa Valley. It was the first English-language newspaper covering any part of the Barossa Valley, apart from the Kapunda Herald.
The 1933 Barossa state by-election was a by-election held on 8 July 1933 for the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Barossa. The by-election was caused by the death on 4 June 1933 of independent MP Dr Herbert Basedow, who had regained the seat at the 1933 election less than two months prior. He had previously held the seat from 1927 to 1930.
The Hundred of Nuriootpa is a cadastral unit of hundred in the County of Light, South Australia split between in the eastern Adelaide Plains and western Barossa Valley. Named in 1847 for an indigenous term officially thought to mean "bartering place" and traditionally used as neutral ground for trading between various indigenous tribes, it is bounded on the south and east by the North Para River.
A by-election was held on 22 November 1924 for one of the seats of the three-member electoral district of Barossa, South Australia. The cause for the by-election was the death of William Hague on 9 October 1924. Despite a field of seven candidates from three parties for three seats at the general election in March, only two candidates stood for the by-election in November. The result was that Henry Crosby for the Liberal Federation with 3732 votes defeated Michael Joseph Murphy for the Labor Party with 3063 votes.
The Angaston Football Club, nicknamed the Panthers, is an Australian rules football club located in Angaston, a town on the eastern side of the Barossa Valley in South Australia.
The Barossa District Football & Netball Club is an Australian sports club based in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia. The club is nicknamed the Bulldogs, and represents the towns of Lyndoch and Williamstown. The sports that Barossa District participate in are, Australian Rules Football in the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association and Netball in the Barossa light and Gawler netball association.
The Tanunda Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies, is an Australian rules football club based in the Barossa Valley town of Tanunda, South Australia, and competes in the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association.