 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1883 |
| Headquarters | Ballymore Stadium Brisbane, Queensland |
| Patron | Paul de Jersey |
| Chairman | Brett Clark |
| President | Roger Gould |
| Website | https://qld.rugby |
The Queensland Rugby Union, or QRU, is the governing body for the sport of Rugby union in Queensland in Australia. It is a member and founding union of Rugby Australia.
The QRU was founded in Brisbane in 1883 as the Northern Rugby Union, [1] after breaking away from the Queensland Football Association before being formally constituted in 1893 when the name was changed to the Queensland Rugby Football Union. [2]
The first 1883 season began with two clubs: Fireflies and Wanderers. Early intercolonials were played at Eagle Farm Racecourse. The competition boomed after the collapse of the QFA in 1890 with the majority of the remaining Australian rules players making the switch to rugby.
A combination of the introduction of rugby league and the impact of World War I saw the organisation disbanded in 1919, however it reformed after a decade in 1928.
| Club | Founded | Years active in union | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fireflies | 1884 | 1884-? | [3] |
| Wanderers | 1884 | 1884-? | [3] |
| Wasps | 1884 | 1884-? | |
| Gracemere | 1886 | 1890-? | Central Queensland association |
| Wallaroo | 1880 | 1885- | Formed under Australian rules [4] |
| Beenleigh | 1887 | ||
| Oxley | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Past Grammar | 1887 | ?1891- | |
| Aubigny | 1889 | [5] | |
| Warwick | 1889 | 1889 | Warwick Rugby Football Union in 1890 [6] |
| Caxton | 1889 | 1889 | Warwick Rugby Football Union in 1890 |
| South-Eastern | 1889 | 1889 | Warwick Rugby Football Union in 1890 |
| Toowoomba Grammar School | 1889 | 1889 | Formed under Australian rules [7] |
| Arformas | ?1890 | 1890-? | |
| Boomerangs | ?1890 | 1890-? | |
| Moonlight | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Young Athenian | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Pittsworth | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Greenmount | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Paddington | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Bunya | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Oriental | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Rockhampton | 1890 | 1890-? | Central Queensland association |
| Wallaroo | 1890 | 1890-? | Central Queensland association |
| Mount Morgan | 1890 | 1890-? | Central Queensland association |
| Zingari | 1890 | 1890-? | Central Queensland association |
| Charters Towers | 1890 | 1892-? | |
| Oxford | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Emu | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Toowong Ranger | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Townsville | 1890 | 1890-? | |
| Ipswich | 1892 | 1893-? | |
| Beserkers | 1892 | 1892-? | Capricornia District |
| Wanderers | 1892 | 1892-? | Capricornia District |
| Waratahs | 1892 | 1892-? | Capricornia District |
| Gordon | 1893 | 1893-? | |
| Longreach | 1893 | 1893-? | |
| Mountaineer | 1893 | 1893-? |
Toowoomba, nicknamed 'The Garden City’, ‘Hammertown’ and 'T-Bar', is a city in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. It is located 132 km (82 mi) west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 census was 142,163, having grown at an average annual rate of 1.45% over the previous two decades. Toowoomba is the second-most-populous inland city in Australia after the nation's capital, Canberra. It is also the second-largest regional centre in Queensland, and is often referred to as the capital of the Darling Downs. The city serves as the council seat of the Toowoomba Region.
Warwick is a rural town and locality in southeast Queensland, Australia, lying 130 kilometres (81 mi) south-west of Brisbane. It is the administrative centre of the Southern Downs Region local government area. The surrounding Darling Downs have fostered a strong agricultural industry for which Warwick, together with the larger city of Toowoomba, serve as convenient service centres. In the 2021 census, the locality of Warwick had a population of 12,294 people.
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The Brisbane Football Club is a defunct football club, formed in May 1866 in the colonial capital of Brisbane. Brisbane FC was the first known football club of any code in the Colony of Queensland. It was the first club outside Victoria to adopt what was then known as the 'Victorian rules' football from 1866. It is also the first recorded club to have played multiple football codes in Queensland, including soccer (1867–1875) and rugby (1876–1879).
Rugby union in Queensland has traditionally been one of the most popular professional and recreational team sports in the state. Rugby union was introduced in the British colony's capital Brisbane in 1876. Initially it struggled to gain a foothold due to the popularity of Australian rules there until it got its break in 1882 with the first inter-colonial matches against New South Wales, and the formation of the Northern Rugby Union. Between 1885 and 1887 it became the dominant code after the leading schools association decided to play it exclusively and after 1890 spread virtually unopposed throughout the colony.
Thomas Henry Smith was an Australian cricketer. He was a left-handed batman who played for Queensland. He was born in Talgai and died in Warwick.
Toowoomba Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding grammar school for boys, in East Toowoomba, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia.
The Reverend Benjamin Glennie was a pioneer Anglican clergyman in the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia.
Queensland Brewery Ltd was a company that operated a brewery in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Perseverance is a rural locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Perseverance had a population of 72 people.
The Logan Witness was a weekly English-language newspaper published in Beenleigh, Queensland, Australia from 9 February 1878 to 10 June 1893. The paper was four pages, double demy in size and issued on a Saturday.
William Allan (1840—1901) was a pastoralist and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly and a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.
Jacob Horwitz was a politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.
The Glennie School is a girls' school in Newtown, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. It caters for primary and secondary schooling from K–12. It has boarding house facilities and is owned and operated by the Anglican Church.
The Queensland Football Association (QFA) was the first club-independent governing body for football in the Colony of Queensland founded on 30 April 1880. Its role was primarily to facilitate club and representative matches primarily in Australian rules football but also in Rugby union and ocassionally soccer.
