H I S T O R Y

Few know that the history of football in Robe stretches backmore than 125 years. No one is certain when the club was formed; however, in August 1886, the Border Watch reported Robe playing Kingston at the latter’s ground.

During the First World War, there were no organised senior sports in Robe, but Harry Hudson started a football team for players under 18. Fresh out of boarding school in Adelaide, he took part in some tough away games, playing in two or three feet of water at Beachport. Sometimes the biggest challenge was running onto the field after the exertions of the trip, with players having to get up very early to get to Kingston and take turns running behind the buggy, which wasn’t big enough to take the whole team.

In 1929, Robe became part of a new Southern Ports Football Association, which brought together teams from the Kingston, Beachport and Robe areas, and at one stage included Lucindale.

In those days, the club’s home ground was Lea Park, also the showground and the school oval. There were few facilities to speak of at most grounds in the league. At Reedy Creek, players had to chase kangaroos off the oval. “That was your warm-up,, recalls Ian ‘Candles’ Nunan, who lives just down the road at Greenways.

The 1966 season saw the club transfer to the Mid South East Football League, where it remains to this day.