Footy in Queensland

Current Scores: Weekend of August 3/4, 2024
The game in Queensland has an even more unstable history than New South Wales with it's establishment later than that state and also it was concentrated around Brisbane until the 1950's. Whilst the game did begin in 1866 it failed to fire and was only restarted in 1903. The original Queensland Football League struggled along until the formation of the QAFL in late 1927.
It wasn't until 1955 that the game breached the regional areas of Queensland. In 1955 the competition in Townsville began and two years later land was purchased for a footy specific venue in Cairns for competition commencement in 1957. A short lived competition was also played in Mount Isa. In 1961 footy started being played on the Gold Coast and included one of the strongest regional clubs in the state's history - Southport.
The Cairns venue would ultimately become what is known today as Cazalys, and footy took a strong hold on the city with the competition establishing itself as the strongest Queensland competition outside of Brisbane - attracting players from Victoria thanks to strong gambling revenue.
It wasn't until the beginning of the 1970's that the game really took off in regional Queensland. In the space of just a few years, Mount Isa, Toowoomba, Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Mackay would all be hosting competitions. The Sunshine Coast also established a competition. Into the 1980's Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Bowen and Emerald joined in although in the case of Maryborough and Bowen it wouldn't last long.
The establishment of the Brisbane Bears in 1986 added to Queensland's growing strength, although it did have a detrimental effect on footy in suburban Brisbane. Ultimately footy in south east Queensland all merged up with the folding of the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast competitions. Hervey Bay and Maryborough joined up with Bundaberg and Bowen's remnants played in Mackay out of Airlie Beach in the Whitsunday area. The Emerald based competition folded after the 1997 season, with Moranbah also playing in Mackay competition.
Club numbers have remained more or less stable in recent years. The Bundaberg Wide Bay competition couldn't keep going as it couldn't keep clubs who persisted in going to the Brisbane based competition and merged with said competition. The arm of Queensland also extended into northern New South Wales with the acquisition of the Summerland clubs.
But with two clubs in the AFL now (Brisbane and Gold Coast) and Townsville fighting on against the influence of rugby league's North Queensland Cowboys, things are going okay in the Sunshine State. The Wide Bay competition has since returned.
Category:Footy History