North Eastern Football Union

The North Eastern Football Union (NEFU) was an Australian Rules football competition in North-Eastern Tasmania, Australia.

Competition football began in North-Eastern Tasmania in the early 1900s during the region's tin mining boom. There were many small associations existing in the area from Scottsdale to Goulds Country. The volatility of the mining and logging industries in the region had a resultant effect on the football scene, with the number of active clubs and associations varying greatly from year to year in the years leading up to World War II.

The NEFU had its origins in the North East Coast Football Association, formed in 1907 by the Derby, Branxholm, Pioneer and Moorina clubs.^[1] The fledgling competition would change its name to the North Eastern Football Association a year later.^[2] The early years of the Association featured only sporadic competition. World War I forced football in the region into recess between 1915 and 1918. Additionally, some years the Association did not form at all, with football between clubs in the Scottsdale and Dorset region taking place in the form of competition for the Blundstone Cup - a challenge competition in which clubs could challenge the holder of the cup, donated by the Hobart-based Blundstone company, in order to win the right to hold it. Between 1910-1911 and 1919-1921 Blundstone Cup competition was the only form of organised football in the area.^[3][4]

The North-Eastern Association was re-established in 1922 with four clubs - Branxholm, Derby, Derby Militia and Ringarooma.^[5] By 1924 the competition had expanded to 6 clubs with the addition of Legerwood and Winnaleah. The increased standard of football created a desire in the region for an all-encompassing "Union" of football in the Scottsdale-Dorset area, culminating in the admission of Scottsdale in 1925, on the condition that they split into two teams to ensure a fair competition, which was accepted. The name of the competition was changed to "North Eastern Football Union" to reflect this new addition.^[6] Branxholm and Legerwood chose to amalgamate prior to the 1925 season to ensure they would be able to field a competitive side from players in their selection radius. The combined club became known as Wanderers.^[6]

Although the new Union was initially successful, a shortage of players forced Wanderers and Winnaleah into recess in 1927, leaving the Union with only 4 clubs.^[7] This prompted Scottsdale to leave and re-form their own association in 1929.^[8] The North Eastern Football Association name was re-adopted in 1930 to reflect Scottsdale's departure.^[9]

The Great Depression brought about a fall in the fortunes of the NEFA in the early 1930s, with the 1932 season featuring just three clubs after Derby left to form its own association. However by 1936 they had returned and the number of clubs had rebounded to six. An attempt to establish an 8-team competition featuring clubs between Scottsdale and Pioneer did not succeed, however the competition was reconstituted as the North Eastern Football Union, with six clubs - Alberton, Derby, Legerwood, Pioneer, Warrentinna and Winnaleah - participating.^[10] Scottsdale re-joined a year later, while Warrentinna and Legerwood merged to re-form the Wanderers club.^[11] The Union went into recess due to World War II in 1941.

Following the re-establishment of football in 1945, the NEFU entered a period of relative stability, with the only major change for the next two decades being the departure of Scottsdale to the NTFA in 1948.^[12] Legerwood replaced them the following year.^[13] During this period the Wanderers club became known primarily as Branxholm owing to playing its games there, with the Wanderers name becoming the club's nickname.

Legerwood folded after the 1964 season, followed by Derby in 1972 and Pioneer-Gladstone in 1978. The re-formed Bridport club joined in 1967, followed by Scottsdale Crows in 1982, Lilydale from the Tamar Football Association in 1985 and St Helens from the Fingal District Football Association in 1993. The addition of Fingal from recess in 1997 saw the NEFU's number of clubs peak at 8 in the early 2000s.^[14] This would not last, however. Fingal folded again after the 2001 season and Lilydale departed for the NTFA in 2011. The lack of population in the area caused the historic Ringarooma and Branxholm clubs to fold after the 2011 and 2015 seasons respectively, sounding the death knell for the NEFU. After Bridport and St Helens left for the NTFA in 2017, the only remaining clubs were Winnaleah and the Scottsdale Crows. In a farcical situation, Winnaleah defeated the Crows in all 12 home and away matches and the grand final. The Crows folded soon after. Winnaleah applied to join the NTFA but were rejected, so the club were forced to fold at the season's end, bringing an end to over 100 years of competition.^[15]

• Australian rules football in Tasmania, John Stoward, 2002, ISBN 0-9577515-7-5
• More on football, B.T. (Buck) Anderton. , Central Coast Courier, 2002, ISBN 0-9581306-0-4

• Official NEFU website