The Circular Head Football Association (CHFA) is an Australian rules football competition based in the Circular Head area of north-western Tasmania, Australia. The CHFA currently features four clubs from small communities in the region and is the second oldest regional competition in Tasmania.[1]
History
[edit]The CHFA was formed in 1900 as the West Wellington Football Association.[2] The formation of the Smithton Football Club in 1918 prompted a reorganisation of football in the region, and the name of the competition was changed to the Circular Head Football Association in 1919. The original clubs in the West Wellington FA were Forest, Irishtown and Stanley and these three clubs and Smithton form the CHFA from 1919. During this period Irishtown won 10 premierships in a row, which is a Tasmanian record and the third longest premiership streak across Australia.[3]
The competition remained stable and a two-year break was taken in 1942 and 1943 because of the second World War. Football resumed in 1944 with Irishtown defeating Smithton in the grand final that year.[4] From 1947 to 1948, the CHFA was absorbed by an expansion of the North West Football Union[5] but this ended in 1949. In 1951 Scotchtown and Marrawah joined the senior competition[6] but they only lasted two seasons. However, as a merged entity they returned in 1962.[7] The followed year Forest and Stanley merged to become the Forest/Stanley Football Club.[8] Scotchtown dropped the "Marrawah" from its name after the 1975 season.
The departure of Smithton to the NWFU in 1980 prompted the promotion of Redpa, Trowutta and City from the reserve grade. Trowutta folded after the 1992 season[9] and in 1996 they merged with City to form the Trowutta/City Football Club.[10] The competition has remained more or less stable since then with Trowutta/City going into recess in 2010 for a year and permanently in 2015.
Clubs
[edit]Locations
[edit]
Current
[edit]| Club | Colours | Nickname | Home Ground | Former league | Est. | Years in CHFA | CHFA Premierships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Years | |||||||
| Forest-Stanley |  |
Demons | Stanley Recreation Ground, Stanley | – | 1963 | 1963- | 19 | 1965, 1972, 1973, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2025 |
| Irishtown |  |
Canaries | Irishtown Sports Complex, Irishtown | – | 1896 | 1900-1915, 1919- | 41 | 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930, 1932, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1944, 1953, 1957, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1995, 1996, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2018 |
| Redpa |  |
Redlegs | Redpa Oval, Redpa | – | 1960s | 1965- | 13 | 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| Scotchtown (Scotchtown-Marrawah 1959-75) |  |
Tigers | Circular Head Recreation Ground, Smithton | – | 1950 | 1951-1952, 1959- | 5 | 1977, 1987, 1988, 2004, 2021 |
Former
[edit]| Club | Colours | Nickname | Home Ground | Former league | Est. | Years in CHFA | CHFA Premierships | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Years | ||||||||
| City |  |
Magpies | Circular Head Recreation Ground, Smithton | – | ?-1995 | 1 | 1993 | Merged with Trowutta to form Trowutta-City in 1996 | |
| Forest |  |
Robins | Forest Sports Centre, Forest | – | 1900-1962 | 12 | 1901, 1902, 1904, 1905, 1918, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1939, 1945, 1950, 1951 | Merged with Stanley to form Forest-Stanley in 1963 | |
| Marrawah |  |
Coasters | RFA | 1951-1952 | 0 | - | Entered recess after 1953 season. Merged with Scotchtown to form Scotchtown-Marrawah in 1959. | ||
| Mengha | – | 1910, 1912, 1918-1922 | 0 | - | Recess in 1911 and 1913-1917. Folded after 1922 season. | ||||
| Methodists | – | ?-1953-1954-? | 0 | - | Folded | ||||
| Montagu | Dark with light sash and monogram | – | ?-1953-? | 0 | - | Folded | |||
| North Forest | – | 1908-1909 | 0 | - | Folded after 1909 season | ||||
| Our Boys | – | 1900 | 0 | - | Folded | ||||
| Ramblers | – | 1914 | 0 | - | Folded after 1914 season | ||||
| Smithton | (1931) |
Magpies | Circular Head Recreation Ground, Smithton | – | 1907 | 1907-1979 | 18 | 1925, 1929, 1949, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1978 | Moved to North West FL in 1980 |
| Stanley |  |
Seagulls | Stanley Recreation Ground, Stanley | – | 1900-1913, 1915-1921, 1923-1962 | 8 | 1900, 1903, 1936, 1941, 1948, 1947, 1948, 1961 | Merged with Forest to form Forest-Stanley in 1963 | |
| Trowutta |  |
Roos | Trowutta Oval, Trowutta | – | ?-1992 | 0 | - | Entered recess after 1992 season. Merged with City to form Trowutta-City in 1996 | |
| Trowutta-City | .svg) |
Bulldogs | Trowutta Oval, Trowutta | – | 1996 | 1996-2009, 2011-2014 | 4 | 1997, 1998, 2003, 2007 | Entered recess in 2010, re-formed in 2011, folded after 2014 season |
Premiers
[edit]West Wellington FA
- 1900 Stanley
- 1901 Forest
- 1902 Forest
- 1903 Stanley
- 1904 Forest
- 1905 Forest
- 1906 Irishtown
- 1907 Irishtown
- 1908 Irishtown
- 1909 Irishtown
- 1910 Irishtown
- 1911 Irishtown
- 1912 Irishtown
- 1913 Irishtown
- 1914 Irishtown
- 1915 Irishtown
- 1916 World War 1
- 1917 World War 1
- 1918 Forest
Circular Head FA
- 1919 Irishtown
- 1920 Irishtown
- 1921 Irishtown
- 1922 Irishtown
- 1923 Irishtown
- 1924 Irishtown
- 1925 Smithton
- 1926 Irishtown
- 1927 Irishtown
- 1928 Irishtown
- 1929 Smithton
- 1930 Irishtown
- 1931 Forest
- 1932 Irishtown
- 1933 Forest
- 1934 Forest
- 1935 Irishtown
- 1936 Stanley
- 1937 Irishtown
- 1938 Irishtown
- 1939 Forest
- 1940 Irishtown
- 1941 Stanley
- 1942 World War 2
- 1943 World War 2
- 1944 Irishtown
- 1945 Forest
- 1946 Stanley
- 1947 Stanley*
- 1948 Stanley*
- 1949 Smithton
- 1950 Forest
- 1951 Forest
- 1952 Smithton
- 1953 Irishtown
- 1954 Smithton
- 1955 Smithton
- 1956 Smithton
- 1957 Irishtown
- 1958 Smithton
- 1959 Smithton
- 1960 Smithton
- 1961 Stanley
- 1962 Smithton
- 1963 Smithton
- 1964 Smithton
- 1965 Forest/Stanley
- 1966 Smithton
- 1967 Smithton
- 1968 Smithton
- 1969 Irishtown
- 1970 Irishtown
- 1971 Smithton
- 1972 Forest/Stanley
- 1973 Forest/Stanley
- 1974 Irishtown
- 1975 Irishtown
- 1976 Irishtown
- 1977 Scotchtown
- 1978 Smithton
- 1979 Forest/Stanley
- 1980 Forest/Stanley
- 1981 Forest/Stanley
- 1982 Irishtown
- 1983 Irishtown
- 1984 Forest/Stanley
- 1985 Forest/Stanley
- 1986 Forest/Stanley
- 1987 Scotchtown
- 1988 Scotchtown
- 1989 Redpa
- 1990 Redpa
- 1991 Forest/Stanley
- 1992 Redpa
- 1993 City
- 1994 Redpa
- 1995 Irishtown
- 1996 Irishtown
- 1997 Trowutta/City
- 1998 Trowutta/City
- 1999 Forest/Stanley
- 2000 Redpa
- 2001 Forest/Stanley
- 2002 Forest/Stanley
- 2003 Trowutta/City
- 2004 Scotchtown
- 2005 Forest/Stanley
- 2006 Redpa
- 2007 Trowutta/City
- 2008 Irishtown
- 2009 Irishtown
- 2010 Forest/Stanley
- 2011 Irishtown
- 2012 Redpa
- 2013 Redpa
- 2014 Redpa
- 2015 Forest-Stanley
- 2016 Forest-Stanley
- 2017 Forest-Stanley
- 2018 Irishtown
- 2019 Redpa
- 2020 Competition in Recess Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
- 2021 Scotchtown
- 2022 Redpa
- 2023 Redpa
- 2024 Redpa
- 2025 Forest-Stanley
* - As the Circular Head Division of the North West FU
2017 Ladder
[edit]| Circular Head FA | Wins | Byes | Losses | Draws | For | Against | % | Pts | Final | Team | G | B | Pts | Team | G | B | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irishtown | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1254 | 357 | 351.26% | 44 | Preliminary | Forest/Stanley | 6 | 11 | 47 | Scotchtown | 6 | 7 | 43 | |
| Forest/Stanley | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1043 | 517 | 201.74% | 36 | Grand | Forest/Stanley | 8 | 7 | 55 | Irishtown | 3 | 10 | 28 | |
| Scotchtown | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 629 | 1073 | 58.62% | 16 | ||||||||||
| Redpa | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 276 | 1255 | 21.99% | 0 |
2018 Ladder
[edit]| Circular Head FA | Wins | Byes | Losses | Draws | For | Against | % | Pts | Final | Team | G | B | Pts | Team | G | B | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irishtown | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1310 | 548 | 239.05% | 52 | Semi | Scotchtown | 16 | 17 | 113 | Redpa | 4 | 1 | 25 | |
| Forest/Stanley | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1415 | 736 | 192.26% | 36 | Semi | Irishtown | 9 | 10 | 64 | Forest/Stanley | 3 | 4 | 22 | |
| Scotchtown | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 973 | 951 | 102.31% | 28 | Preliminary | Forest/Stanley | 5 | 8 | 38 | Scotchtown | 3 | 9 | 27 | |
| Redpa | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 336 | 1799 | 18.68% | 4 | Grand | Irishtown | 14 | 7 | 91 | Forest/Stanley | 8 | 6 | 54 |
References
[edit]- ^ Stoward, John. Australian rules football in Tasmania. Digital Print Tasmania, 2002, p. 23. ISBN 0-9577515-7-5
- ^ Stoward, John. Australian rules football in Tasmania. Digital Print Tasmania, 2002, p. 23. ISBN 0-9577515-7-5
- ^ Phil's World Archived 2015-02-08 at archive.today
- ^ Stoward, John. Australian rules football in Tasmania. Digital Print Tasmania, 2002, p. 23. ISBN 0-9577515-7-5
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1947 to 1948
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1951 to 1952
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1962
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1963
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1993
- ^ Burnie Advocate 1996