The first rugby club to represent the district was Burwood, which competed in the Sydney Metropolitan Competition until the introduction of district rugby. The club was formed in 1900 but had to change its name to Western Suburbs District Rugby Union Football Club to satisfy municipal aldermen when it sought a lease on St Luke’s Oval, later Concord Oval. The club won the Premiership in 1902, at its third attempt. The club’s first captain and Wallaby representative was Stan Wickham, he was joined by Ward and Wheat Prentice.
A second premiership was won in 1929, spearheaded by another international, Sid King. This remains the club’s last premiership in top flight rugby. In 1951 the club was demoted from 1st Division and it was not until 1966 that they were reinstated. The club saw success in the 1970s, with a 17 match winning streak leading to a Club Championship and a grand final berth in which they were defeated by Randwick.
The club was relegated to 2nd Division once more in 1980 only to be reinstated the following year. In the 1980s the club’s home ground, Concord Oval, was redeveloped with assistance from the NSWRU and State Government. The newly named Waratah Stadium became the home base of the Waratahs as well as the venue for the classic semi-final in 1987 between Australia and France in the Inaugural Rugby World Cup, when 25,000 people attended.
The club changed its name to West Harbour Rugby Football Club in 1995 to more truly reflect the club’s location in the inner west. The club is one of 13 sides competing in the NSW Rugby Union Premier competition – The Tooheys New Cup.
The West Harbour women’s team was formed in 1999 and has dominated the Sydney competition, winning their 5th premiership in 2004. The club’s juniors now field twelve teams alongside the five senior and four colts teams.
Overall 22 players have been chosen directly from Wests to represent the Wallabies.
Their Licensed Club (The Pit) amalgamated with Burwood RSL in 2002. Their home ground, Waratah Rugby Stadium (Concord Oval), home of the first Rugby World Cup in 1987 is currently scheduled for redevelopment.
In the 1840’s the most select residences in Sydney were a row of five houses in Liverpool Street called Lyons Terrace, facing the south end of Hyde Park. Elegantly attractive, they cost builder Samuel Lyons £5,000 each. Their early tenants included the Chief Justice, Sir Alfred Stephen, and the family of Major-General Edward Wynyard, commander…
We were recently approached by someone seeking information on these uniface aluminium, 26mm, tokens. They are obviously connected with Concord Repatriation General Hospital and are post 1966. Does anyone know when they were made, what they were used for, and were there any other denominations? Perhaps, if you have some of these, you would consider…
Daisy May Bates was born Margaret May O’Dwyer, on 16 October 1859 at Roscrea, County Tipperary, Ireland. At the age of twenty-four she travelled on the Almora to Australia. She stayed at the home of the Bishop of North Queensland and later with several family friends who had migrated previously. Because of this she later said ‘Australia…
One hundred years ago, on 9th June, the North Strathfield railway station was officially opened. “For many years – how many cannot be definitely stated – the residents of that part of the Concord Municipality, now known as North Strathfield, had been looking forward expectantly to the establishment of a railway station midway between Strathfield…
Gas was first produced at Mortlake on 23rd May, 1886 – gas was supplied to the public on 28th May, 1886. The last electric train ran in Sydney on 25th February, 1961, ending 100 years of tram service. It ran from Hunter Street in the city to La Perouse. The original Palace Hotel in Mortlake…
The fear and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic may feel new to many of us. But it is strangely familiar to those who lived through the polio epidemic of the last century. Polio – the silent killer In the first half of the 20th century, as smallpox began to disappear, polio (infantile paralysis) was the…
