One Hundred Years of Football in our Community “A brief history”
(All information gathered from local knowledge, books & newspaper clippings)
Since 1909, football has been played within our district. It has taken many amalgamations, club name and home ground changes to arrive at the United Yeelanna Football Club. Following is a brief history of each of the clubs that have formed the back bone of United Yeelanna Football Club.
In 1909 the Shannon/Yeelanna Football Club was formed with the home ground being at Yeelanna. 1909 to 1925 it was known as Shannon and1926 saw it called Yeelanna Football Club. In 1946 Yeelanna and Karkoo combined to become Shannon Football Club. In 1953 the club split to form the Yeelanna and Karkoo teams. Throughout they remained strong in the club colours of blue and gold and won eleven premierships. In 1964 Yeelanna combined with United (Karkoo Football Club and United – which was Murdinga) to become the United Yeelanna Football Club.
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In 1931 the Karkoo Football Club was formed and Karkoo was used as the home ground. They began with a guernsey of chocolate with a wide blue band around the girth. In 1938 they played in the B Grade competition and wore a blue guernsey with a white V front. They were successful in winning the B Grade premiership in 1939. 1946 saw Yeelanna and Karkoo come together to from the Shannon Football Club. In 1953 the two clubs (Yeelanna and Karkoo) went their separate ways. Karkoo changed colours once again to green with a gold sash. In 1957 the Karkoo football club and United (Murdinga) amalgamated to become the United Football Club with club colours remaining green and gold.
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1946 to 1952 saw the amalgamation of the Yeelanna and Karkoo Football Clubs to become the Shannon Football Club. The guernsey they wpre was blue with a gold “V” and their home ground was at Yeelanna. No premierships were forthcoming during this period. 1953 saw the two clubs form separate identities.
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1946 saw the formation of the United (Murdinga) Football Club, with Murdinga as the home ground. The Murdinga club colours were maroon with a white collar and some with a white V. This club was named United as it incorporated the Tooligie, Tooligie Hill, Murdinga and Warrachie districts, playing in the Central Areas Football Association, and in 1947 United won the premiership. 1956 saw Lock join the Le Hunte Association which left three teams to compete in the Central Areas Football Association, therefore in 1957 it was decided to disband this association. During 1957 two clubs joined the Cleve association and United (Murdinga) combined with the Karkoo Football Club to become the United Football Club, playing in the Great Flinders Football League. As a part of this amalgamation the name United was retained along with the Karkoo guernsey – green with a gold sash.
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1957 saw the newly formed United Football Club (Murdinga and Karkoo) introduced into the league. They wore the Karkoo guernsey and the home ground was shared between Murdinga and Karkoo. Throughout seven years of playing they did not win a premiership, then in 1964 United and Yeelanna amalgamated to become the United Yeelanna Football Club.
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Finally, in 1964, the United Yeelanna Football Club was formed. The home grounds have been shared over the years with Murdinga, Karkoo and Yeelanna being utilised until Karkoo became the home ground. Club colours have remained blue and gold since the formation of United Yeelanna Football Club, with various changes over the years, and our current guernsey is still blue and gold, with the inclusion of an eagle on the front. Premierships have included four A Grade, four B Grade/Reserves, nine Colts and three Mini Colts.
Our club has come a long way since 1909. The community remains as dedicated to the game as our forebearers were. Each season we have a dedicated committee and hard working volunteers who are all passionate about our club and community. In 2009 we saw the opening of our new community building (commonly known as the Kooplex) which is now used as our new state of the art clubrooms. This building is testament to our community's strength and belief.
May the United Yeelanna Football Club be around for another hundred years, heart beating as strong as it is today!
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