| Full name | Morwell SC Soccer Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1923 |
| Dissolved | 1958 |
| Ground | Latrobe Road, Jeeraling Rd |
| League | Latrobe Valley Soccer League |
Morwell SC was a soccer club based in Morwell, Victoria, Australia. The earliest documented record of the club is from 1923 and they went on to compete in both the Central Gippsland Soccer Association from 1933 and the Latrobe Valley Soccer League from 1951.
The club is credited with starting football in Morwell and playing a key role in the formation of the Latrobe Valley Soccer League before its dissolution in 1960.
Despite early efforts to bring the game to the Latrobe Valley, largely spearheaded by local pastor Norman Minor, the only confirmed team to have been in the region was that belonging to Yallourn SC, who commenced playing in 1923. Minor was later awarded the very first life membership of the Latrobe Valley Soccer Association in 1953. [1]
Mentions of a "Morwell United" team exist from 1923, but detail remains scant as to their consistency of matches, organisation and affiliation. [2] [3]
Victory to the nearby Wonthaggi Magpies in the 1931 Dockerty Cup – three years after the Magpies lost the final to Navy [4] – spurred great curiosity soccer across Gippsland during the intra-war years.
Morwell Soccer Club began to grown in a more formal capacity from 1933 onwards, as interest in the game began to develop in the region. The club formally convened to enter two teams in the CGSA and also entered the statewide Dockerty Cup. [5]
Ahead of a high-profile friendly match in 1934 against Navy – then one of the leading teams in Australia – Norman Minor (at that stage Morwell SC's treasurer) wrote a lengthy letter to the Morwell Advertiser, explaining the rules of the game to the expected large crowd. [6] Navy had knocked Morwell out of the Dockerty Cup earlier that year with a 6–1 victory at the Crib Point Naval Depot. [7]
The club was well-supported in its early years but suffered from finding suitable facilities, much to the chagrin of Minor, who believed the game was being deliberately excluded from town planning and that a small minority of Councillors do not want us to start
. [8]
However, a rent-free offering from one sympathetic local farmer, Reg Davey, gave the club its first home on Latrobe Rd, Morwell – despite the facility requiring plenty of "spade work" to be ready for matches. [9]
With the development of the local power industry, including the development of the nearby Morwell Coal Mine and the Hazelwood Power Station, football began to grow in popularity as more immigrants arrived in the area, especially from post-war Europe. [10]
Former Australian international Frank McIver moved to Morwell in 1948 and whilst initially playing and coaching at Yallourn SC, he would finish his career with Morwell SC in 1952 at the age of 48. [11]
Arguably the club's most memorable season was 1952, when the senior side won their first Battle of Britain Cup, the Advertiser Shield and the Ingram Cup. [12]
By 1954, 12% of Morwell's population was Dutch (increasing to 15% by 1961), and the club was effectively "taken over" by the local Dutch community [13] , with all office bearers newly-arrived immigrants from the Netherlands [14] and the coach, Kees van der Zalm, a former Dutch Olympian who represented the Netherlands in the 1928 Olympic Games [15] .
The influence of such highly-talented players had an instant impact as Morwell claimed the LVSL championships in 1954 and 1955.
In 1957, the Dutch diaspora formed Werkspoor – a junior-based club – which entered into the LVSL Reserves in 1958 and then ultimately evolved into Fortuna '60 in 1960, leading to the discontinuation of Morwell Soccer Club (formally closed in 1958). [16]
The club decided in 1933 that its colours would be light blue shirts with white knicks
[17] – ironically would be the colour used by the Morwell Falcons (then known as Eastern Pride) in their final NSL season in 2000-1.
The club initially faced an ongoing struggle for a permanent place to play matches, sharing ovals with Australian Rules football teams – whose clubs did so reluctantly [18] – and occasionally having to travel to Yallourn to play on designated soccer facilities. [19]
In 1951, Morwell Councillor Reg Davey donated the use of farmland on his property at Latrobe Road for the clubs first two seasons in the Latrobe Valley Soccer League. [20]
Later in 1951, the Morwell Shire Council also pledged to build a permanent soccer reserve fronting Maryvale Street, which would ultimately become Maryvale Reserve and is still in use by soccer teams today. [21]
In 1953, the club was afforded land for use by the State Electricity Commission, who gave the club ...commission property sufficient for two pitches and situated at the south-west corner of the main railway line on the new Jeeralang West Rd
. [22]
Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne.
The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical district and urban area of the Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. The traditional owners are the Brayakaulung of the Gunai nation. The district lies east of Melbourne and nestled between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Baw Baw Ranges, part of the Great Dividing Range, to the north. Mount St Phillack is the highest peak to the north of the Latrobe Valley, due north of Moe. The highest peak to the south is Mt Tassie, south of Traralgon.
Yallourn, Victoria was a company town in Victoria, Australia built between 1921 and 1961 to house employees of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV), who operated the nearby Yallourn Power Station complex. However, expansion of the adjacent open-cut brown coal mine led to the closure and removal of the town in the 1980s. Whilst the township no longer exists, at the 2006 census, the adjacent region classified as Yallourn had a population of 251.
Falcons 2000 Soccer Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in the regional Victorian city of Morwell in Latrobe Valley, Gippsland. The club currently participates in the Latrobe Valley Soccer League, currently rated as a Tier 9 league.
The Gippsland League is an Australian rules football and netball league in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is considered the only AFL Victoria major league in Gippsland.
The Warragul Football and Netball Club, nicknamed the Gulls, is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the city of the same name in the state of Victoria.
The Moe Football Netball Club, nicknamed the Lions, is an Australian rules football and netball club based at Ted Summerton Reserve in the town of Moe, Victoria. The club teams currently compete in the Gippsland Football League.
The Victorian regional leagues are the ninth level of soccer in Victoria, Australia, and the tenth nationally. The league consists of eight separate regional senior leagues and is administered by the Football Federation Victoria.
The Leongatha Football Club, nicknamed the Parrots, is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the town of Leongatha, Victoria. The club teams currently compete in the Gippsland League.
Kees van der Zalm was a Dutch footballer. He played in three matches for the Netherlands national football team between 1927 and 1929.
Francis Walker McIver was an Australian soccer player, coach and administrator. A prolific forward, he represented Victoria and Australia. He was an inaugural inductee into the Football Federation Australia Hall of Fame in 1999 and inducted into the Football Victoria Hall of Fame in 2016.
Latrobe Valley Soccer League (LVSL) is a soccer league encompassing much of Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley. The association's headquarters are based in the Morwell, Victoria (Victoria), and are affiliated under the auspices of Football Victoria (FV).
Fortuna '60 Soccer Club is a soccer club based in Morwell, Victoria, Australia. The club was founded in 1960, currently competes in Victorian Men's State League Division 5 South and the Latrobe Valley Soccer League and is regularly referred to as Fortuna.
Morwell Pegasus Soccer Club is a soccer club based in Morwell, Victoria, Australia.
Traralgon Olympians SC is a soccer club based in Traralgon, Victoria, Australia. The club was founded in 1980, currently competes in Latrobe Valley Soccer League and is regularly referred to as Olympians.
Newborough-Yallourn United SC is a soccer club based in Newborough, Victoria, Australia. The club was founded in 1923 as Yallourn Soccer Club before relocating in 1980 and subsequently merging with Newborough Soccer Club in 1995. The club currently competes in Latrobe Valley Soccer League and is regularly referred to as NYU or The Combine.
Moe United SC is a soccer club based in Moe, Victoria, Australia. The club was founded in 1952, currently competes in Latrobe Valley Soccer League.
Gippsland United FC is a soccer club based in Warragul, Victoria, Australia. The club was founded in 1963 and currently competes in Victorian State League 1 South-East.
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