THE FIRST MATCH AND FIXTURES

The first match on the Sunshine Coast was between Palmwoods and Buderim on Saturday 31 July 1920. The match was covered in the Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser who recorded that Palmwoods won 2-nil with Eddie Daniels and E Renouf scoring the goals. 

The two teams faced off again later that year. This time Buderim took the win (5-4). The Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser noted at the time that these friendly matches should spark interest in the game amongst the Sunshine Coast public.

Just as the paper had suggested, the region became increasingly interested in football and the following year the North Coast Football Association (NCFA) was formed (on the 9th April 1921). Affiliated clubs were Buderim, Mapleton, North Arm and Palmwoods, and the first fixtures were played on Saturday 14 May.

By 1923, the season comprised of 8 clubs and 169 registered players (Beerburrum, Nambour, Kenilworth, Mapleton, Kidaman, North Arm, Obi Obi and Buderim). However, by 1928 the number of clubs had dropped to just 5.

Read Mark Pringle’s more detailed description of the 1920s seasons.

THE FIRST REPRESENTATIVE TEAM

In 1921, a North Coast representative team played a Brisbane Division 2 representative side at the Brisbane Cricket Ground as part of the Country Carnival. While Brisbane won (7-2), The Telegraph noted the North Coast’s first match was a “exceedingly creditable performance.”

Brisbane sports historian, Mark Pringle, notes “Many of the North Coast players were from a dairying background so after the morning milking had to rush to the nearest railway station to get to Brisbane for the game, and leave straight after the game to get home, hopefully in time for the evening milking. One player rode many miles on horseback to get to nearest railway station and didn’t arrive home until 6:00 am the morning after the game.” The North Coast representative teams would continue to play throughout the 1920s. Notably, in June 1923 they played New Zealand at the Nambour Showgrounds. New Zealand won the game 2–0.

These notes are drawn from those written by Mark Pringle. Read more about the 1920s matches.