ARTICLE: "Claremont: A haven for stars and sheep", by J. Townsend, 18/9/2017 (includes Aug. 2012 pics)

ARTICLE: John Hyde’s predicament was typical of the dilemma faced by Claremont throughout much of their early post-World War II history.

A Geelong star who had won two premierships for the Cats and a club champion award, Hyde was Claremont’s gun recruit in 1955 when the Tigers were trying to dig themselves out of a mess on and off the field.

Hyde was put up at the Highway Hotel, a plush watering hole on Stirling Highway often used by visiting celebrities, while he was wooed by the club.

But when he was due to sign a contract with the Tigers during his first visit to his proposed home ground at Claremont Oval, the meeting fell through in the most unusual circumstances. “Sheep had got into the tin shed that served as our change rooms, office and boardroom and had made a complete mess,” Claremont great John O’Connell recalled.

“Here we were trying to sign one of the best players in the country and we were doing it in a building where you wouldn’t keep your dog.”

The soiled premises obviously didn’t dissuade Hyde because he joined the club. O’Connell later went to Geelong, though not as part of any trade, but it was indicative of Claremont’s ground woes in their first four decades.

The sheep were cheap lawnmowers, if prone to awkward side effects, but the tin sheds were a staple for many years after the grandstand burnt down one night in 1944.

Claremont were accepted into the league in 1926, the club evolving from the Cottesloe team that started 20 years earlier, and played their first season at the neighbouring Showground while Claremont Oval was made ready for senior action.

The showpiece was the elegant wooden grandstand which contained a massive concrete bath in the home change room. It was often used by the entire team until it was condemned by health authorities.

Sadly for Claremont, the loss of the grandstand had a marked impact on the club’s fortunes — with distinct parallels to its recent sojourn at the Showground while Claremont Oval was redeveloped.

Numerous theories developed about the cause of the devastating fire, which destroyed most of the club’s records, photos, jumpers, training equipment and even a well-used piano.

The most credible attributed liability to American sailors who often drank at the nearby Claremont Hotel before repairing to the football ground for further refreshments.

After the 1964 Grand Final

It was a cruel blow for a club that had little success in its first decade before becoming a dominant force inspired by coach Johnny Leonard and champion player George Moloney that would play in seven grand finals in as many years and win a hat-trick of premierships.

The stars continued to arrive — Les McClements and Sonny Maffina in the 1940s then Les Mumme, Kevin Clune and Denis Marshall in the 50s — before the establishment of the highly effective junior council in the 1970s. One of the most tangible legacies left by the often controversial but far-sighted Mal Brown saw Claremont develop into one of the powerhouses of the modern game based on the fertile local recruiting zones.

Flags soon came in abundance, players in their dozens were ushered off to the national competition and, after a decade and half of negotiations, the WAFL’s most plush facility was opened on the site of what was once a sheep paddock.

[By John Townsend for The West Australian. This article was first published at the following link: https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/claremont-a-haven-for-stars-and-sheep-ng-b88603445z]

View from above Claremont Oval in 1965

Mort Kuhlman (Claremont) and Ron Evans (West Perth) in June 1965

Maurie Jones getting help for an elbow injury in August 1965

Kieran James (WAFL Golden Era Website) in the centre of Claremont Oval feeling the magic in the air and dreaming that he was Mossy and it was 1981 again. He can see the Krakouers running past and out of the corner of his eye sees Warren Ralph racing into a forward-pocket to take the mark. This picture was taken before the recent re-development of the ground.

The colour pictures were taken in August 2012 before the re-development of the ground and show pretty much how the ground looked like during Claremont's glory years in the early-1980s.

ARTICLE: "The Forgotten Story of Cottesloe Beach Oval", by Chris Egan

Mann Oval today viewed from Lochee Street, Mosman Park

The forgotten story of Cottesloe Beach Oval

Posted by cegan on January 21, 2014

Davis Oval today, adjoining Mann Oval on the eastern side

When I was first trawling Trove and came across Cottesloe Beach Oval, I instantly thought it would be a venue in what is presently known as Cottesloe. I then assumed it would be Cottesloe Oval, and beach had just been dropped off the end over time as the name was too long.

Then when researching I saw that in the 1920s there were two venues that sport was played at: Cottesloe Oval and Cottesloe Beach Oval. The historical record in publications such as Soccer Anzacs said Caledonians played at Mann Oval, there was no note of it being called Cottesloe Beach Oval. I needed more evidence to find out what and where Cottesloe Beach Oval was located.

It wasn’t until a photo on trove titled Cottesloe Beach (now Mosman Park) that I looked further afield and didn’t look for evidence of a soccer pitch on the world famous Cottesloe Promenade. 

In a long forgotten story the town of Mosman Park was called The District of Cottesloe Beach, much to the disdain of the government at the time. It was named after Cottesloe Beach Railway Station, which is now called Mosman Park Station on the Fremantle Line. Mosman Park was called Cottesloe Beach for 21 years from 1909-1930 before eventually being renamed along with the ground.

I used spatial archaeology to confirm that Mann Oval, named after the President of Cottesloe Beach Council, was in fact Cottesloe Beach Oval, a name long forgotten by supporters and historians alike. The field is more square shaped than oval and is quite compact compared to ovals such as Fremantle Oval.

The archaeological spatial boundaries show a ground that held rectangular codes and Australian Rules in the 1920s as Cottesloe Beach Oval did. Williamson noted community acceptance of both codes in the 1930s at the ground. However, the major football code of the region was Association Football.  Australian Rules Football was not hated, but it knew its place, that it was not as popular as the world game in many parts of the western suburbs.

Davis Oval, looking east to Hope St

Caledonians' success in the 1920s relates to the community and local decision makers' passion for the game which carries on for much of the early 20^th century.

On the 31^st March 1933 the council had allocated a Caledonians home game ahead of a WAFA fixture which had to be rescheduled to the following weekend. The opposite occurred in other parts of Perth such as Leederville and Subiaco where soccer would often be kicked out of or denied entrance to sporting fields showing the pre-eminent position held by the code in this part of Perth.

Today Mosman Park’s major football code is Australian Rules Football not soccer.

Preliminary research on how this occurred leads back to the entrance into the WAFL of Claremont Tigers in 1925. Due to the strength of soccer the Tigers were very weak at the same time Caledonians were at their peak.

In John Williamson’s Soccer Anzacs, Williamson argues that local councils defined how Perth interacted with sport. A particular election would change the attitudes, rates and access to a particular ground depending on which councillors had been elected.

The decision by the neighbouring Claremont Council in 1925 to spend 5000 pounds on Claremont Oval and evict Claremont Soccer Club from the ground is evidence of a council decision that changed a community's sporting interest.

So why did the Claremont Tigers get established in a region that was an island of British Soccer hegemony?  

Much like the establishment of Greater Western Sydney Giants, Claremont Tigers came into the WAFL based on being an untapped population, despite other sides based on talent and interest being more applicable to join the top league. It was an Australian Rules Football administration decision to be represented in every district and thus Claremont was the only district which was not represented in the top competition.

This administration decision changed the region from Association Football to Australian Rules Football and thus a ground that used to hold three football codes, with soccer being given priority has only the Australian game being played on it today. The name of Cottesloe Beach Oval, when soccer was at its peak, is long gone.

But grounds such as Cottesloe Beach Oval have stories to tell; its spatial shape shows the legacy and prominence of the rectangular codes in the region.

As in my other articles on my blog, spatial archaeology can be used in sports history to interpret stories not written down in the historical record.

Mosman Park looking westward

The WACA Ground went from an oval suited to Australian Rules Football, to squared off boundaries in its last redevelopment because it wanted to be home to Perth Glory after its contract with the AFL had finished. The growth of soccer in the late 1990s is reflected in the spatial archaeology of the WACA.

Field spaces are simply an expression of a community and sports will adapt venues according to the social demands of the time. Grounds and stadia are often the creation of a surrounding community, whether at a regional or a more city bound level.

  

The lost name of Cottesloe Beach Oval, from both memories and historical interpretations in the region, reflects a community that no longer sees Association Football as its most popular football code. However the archaeological footprint remains to elicit the fact that in this region, in the early part of the 20^th century, the world game reigned supreme. 

By Chris Egan

@perthforever

[This article was first published by Chris Egan at: http://cegan.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/the-forgotten-story-of-cottesloe-beach-oval/. The article is reproduced here with the kind permission of Chris Egan. Jack Frost did some additional minor editing. If you would like to submit an article to this website please send to Jack Frost on Facebook (busukwebzine@y7mail.com)]

Kieran James (left) and Chris Egan, Mandurah, Western Australia, August 2012

Chris Egan and friend Rueben at Dorrien Gardens (Perth Soccer Club), West Perth, August 2012

Chris Egan at Rushton Park, Mandurah (Peel Thunder Football Club), August 2012

Chris Egan at Rushton Park, Mandurah (Peel Thunder Football Club), August 2012

NEWS: 1981 WAFL Grand Final Budget, Claremont vs South Fremantle, sold for AUD43.00 on Ebay, 6/11/2013

NEWS: 1981 WAFL Grand Final Budget, Claremont vs South Fremantle, very good condition, sold for AUD43.00 on Ebay (auction ended 6 November 2013)

Other WAFL-related items won by Ebay auctions recently:

1968 WAFL Second Semi-Final Football Budget, Perth versus West Perth, winning bid AUD20.50 (auction ended 10 November 2013)

1969 WAFL Second Semi-Final Football Budget, West Perth versus East Perth, winning bid AUD20.50 (auction ended 10 November 2013)

WAFL-related items recently sold as normal purchase (not via auction) on Ebay recently:

1990 West Australian Football Register, 28th and last edition, sold for AUD34.00 by gardenvalecollectables

1988 Football's Who's Who, published by Indian Pacific Limited on behalf of West Coast Eagles and WAFL, sold for AUD14.40 by phils_time_booksellers

Mal Brown & Mongrels I've Met, by Mal Brown and Brian Hansen (1994), sold for AUD8.00 by taroona123

The Footballers, by Geoff Christian, 1985 edition, hardcover, sold for AUD45.00 by bobwardell

Set of 4 WAFL Football Budgets from 1990 & 1991, sold for AUD44.00 by gardenvalecollectables

PICTURE GALLERY: Farewell to the old Claremont Oval

Claremont Oval Legends Game, 26 October 2013. In this pic are Darren Kowal (7 Gold), Michael O'Connell (23 Blue), Brendan Green (21 Blue), Colin Barnett (17 Blue), Darrell Panizza (40 gold), and Graham Moss (25 Blue) (photo courtesy Lost WAFL Facebook page)

Graham Moss with the 1981 premiership cup (photo courtesy: Lost WAFL Facebook page)

Field of Dreams: Kieran James at the centre of Claremont Oval on a dreary winter's day dreaming he was Mossy or perhaps Boucher

(all Claremont Oval pictures taken on 16 August 2012)

First semi-final, 1986 - Perth Demons 24.18 (162) d Claremont Tigers 13.11 (89), Subiaco Oval.

Malcolm Gregory (Mal) Brown - a great motivator of men, he was expert at instilling mental and physical toughness into players and causing fringe players to turn into champions because he believed in them. Sadly his great effort in bringing Perth Demons to third in the WAFL in 1986 is largely forgotten today. He is a loveable larrikin and never politically correct - he is a reminder of a simpler time.

First semi-final, 30 August 1986 – Perth v Claremont, Subiaco Oval

Perth vs. Swan Districts, Lathlain Park, 2 July 2011.

Perth Demons have just won its first game of the season at home at Lathlain Park in the 2013 season as I write this. Perth supporters remain somewhat cynical and jaded at this time of year but never without hope. Since the dual premierships of 1976-77, Perth has only played three times in finals – 1986, 1991, and 1997 – with identical results each time. In both 1986 and 1997 a first semi-final win was followed by a preliminary final loss. In 1991 an elimination final win was followed by a first semi-final loss.

If we look at the 1986 season, most people were not at all surprised by the results of the finals series because they followed the league ladder at the end of the home-and-away rounds – Subiaco first, East Fremantle second, then a long way further back Perth and then a long way further back again Claremont. Although (despite the late Geoff Christian’s optimism about Perth’s prospects in his match report after the first semi-final), dedicated WAFL fans that year were convinced that the grand finalists would be Subiaco and East Fremantle because those two teams were a class above all their competitors as win-loss records of 17-4 (S) and 16-5 (EF) indicate. Perth was a long way back with 12-8-1. However, credit where credit is due. Perth had finished last or second-last in each season from 1981-84. Legendary WAFL coach one Malcolm Gregory "Mal" Brown took over as coach for the 1985 season and by season’s end obvious improvements were being noted by discerning critics with the club winning its last two home-and-away games. Mal Brown’s coaching was responsible for developing physical and mental toughness, self-confidence, and teamwork in his charges at Perth as he had done earlier with South Fremantle (1980 premiers and 1979 and 1981 runners-up). Perth drew against 1985 finalists West Perth on the first day of the 1986 season and people were forced to recognize that Perth had rapidly closed the gap between a fourth-placed team such as West Perth and itself. Mal Brown had the ability to turn ordinary fringe players into stars after he had injected them with healthy doses of self-belief. Examples include three former West Perth players John Gavranich in the ruck, Mick Rea at full-forward, and Ray Holden at full-back. Another ex-West Perth player, the late Chris Stasinowsky was also a fine contributor for Perth in 1985-86. (Really it's hard at times to think of Perth and West Perth as separate clubs given the two-way traffic of players between them in the 1970s and 1980s. To use an example from PFC's geographic territory the volume of traffic between the clubs rivaled Albany Highway outside Carousel during shopping hours.) Rea was a revelation, topping the goal kicking list in 1986 with 80 majors and beating the VFL/AFL standard defenders of other high-performing clubs. Rea proved himself again on first semi-final day 1986 when he kicked 6.3 and defeated Claremont’s John Hutton. 

For nearly 40 years Perth has continually had an absorbing but frustrating game-plan of kicking the ball sideways and backwards and generally over-finessing and lairising (to use a somewhat dated word favoured by my late grandfather who although living in PFC territory for his last 50 years never shifted his allegiance from the black-and-whites). This game-plan only worked in years such as 1976-77 and 1986 when Perth had midfielders talented enough to play this type of game. In 1986 these talented midfielders at Perth included such players as Robert Wiley (back from Richmond where he played 95 games from 1979-83), Allan Montgomery (back from Carlton where he played 33 games from 1982-85), Chris Stasinowsky (RIP), Joe Santostefano, Kim Fancote, Mark Watson, Adrian Barich, and Bryan Cousins. This day Perth’s attack was far too good for Claremont with the team kicking 24.18 including 6.3 from Mick Rea, 4.2 from Chris Stasinowsky, 3.2 from Earl Spalding, and 3.1 from Robbie Wiley. With Rea, Whittington, Santostefano, and Stasinowsky all coming back into the team for this match, Perth was at full strength and playing with self-confidence. It was able to put its losses in the last two qualifying games behind it. In my opinion, Santostefano and Stasinowsky were two of the best players of this era never to play VFL/AFL. Allan Montgomery, like Alan Johnson a decade before him, was a player who never drew attention to himself on or off-field but was remarkably talented and consistent and would have been one of the first players picked in any side. He was also one of the best players this day. Furthermore, in the past 40 years whenever Perth has been successful it has had a fast-leading and strong-marking full-forward, namely Murray Couper in 1976-77 and Mick Rea in 1986 (with the future Melbourne and Carlton player Earl Spalding also offering another tall key-position player option in 1986). Without such a full-forward, Perth's style of play means its players get bogged down around the half-forward line and hang on to the ball while running around in circles because they are afraid of losing possession.

The old Victoria Park station (prior to renovations).

If we look at the two named teams, Perth had a group of around ten very strong players with the rest playing above themselves due to Mal Brown’s motivational skills. The Claremont team had more players who either had already or would go on to play VFL/AFL including 17-year-old Chris Lewis in his third WAFL league game and a young Guy McKenna. Other VFL/AFL players included Derek Kickett (strangely named at full-forward where he played poorly), Steve Malaxos, Michael and David O’Connell, Michael Mitchell, Geoff Miles, John Hutton, and Mark Hepburn. By all accounts Perth played extremely well to finish the season with a 12-8-1 win-loss-draw record and to win the first semi-final by such a convincing margin. This was Mal Brown’s last great coaching achievement although it has gone largely unheralded because he failed to bring Perth to a premiership and because by 1987 many football supporters were no longer following the WAFL, having fallen head over heels in love with their new blue-and-gold winged girlfriend called West Coast Eagles FC. Of Perth’s 1986 team an aging but still excellent Robert Wiley was picked up by West Coast along with Adrian Barich. The full-text of the match report by the late Geoff Christian from the following Monday’s West Australian (reproduced below) makes excellent reading but, as mentioned, I think he allowed himself a momentary lapse from his usual restrained and logical analysis when he wrote that Perth would prove a dangerous challenger for Subiaco and East Fremantle. East Fremantle had defeated Perth (24.16 to 7.10) in Round 20 so it is doubtful that East Fremantle was feeling excessively worried about the prospect of meeting Perth.

Overall, Perth played brilliantly this game while Claremont played poorly. Mal Brown and the players deserve the utmost credit for their performances this 1986 season. The team was not as strong as the 1976-77 teams and it was faced with much stronger opposition in the form of Subiaco and East Fremantle sides which were both at VFL/AFL standard and certainly among the best that have ever played in the WAFL. If these two teams had not been so strong the 1986 Perth team might conceivably have made a grand final if not won a premiership. Perth fans had to wait until the 1997 season before the club again reached a preliminary final and by this time the WAFL was nearly unrecognizable to those people whom had known its former glory days.

The old Lathlain station (since demolished) looking south.

FOOTNOTE: By the way, I hope Perth Demons can continue to succeed on the field this 2013 season and bring some sunshine and joy back to the south-eastern suburbs. It has been great to see the Demons' singlets (white with club shield) and polo shirts again being worn with pride on the Armadale train line and in places like Gosnells Town Centre, places the mining boom seems to have overlooked and where every dollar is just about as hard to get as it has always been [by Jack Frost, 17 March 2013, footnote added 28 June 2013].       

Likely line-ups:

(Source: The West Australian, Saturday, 30 August 1986, p. 194)

Perth Demons FC

Backs: Cousins, Holden, Bogaards

Half-backs: Yorgey, Montgomery, Whittington

Centres: Santostefano, Wiley, Barich

Half-forwards: Garbin, Spalding, Ryder

Forwards: Stasinowsky, Rea, Lucas

Ruck: Gavranich, Fancote, Watson

Interchange (from): Newman, C Smyth, Grljusich, McCracken

In; Rea, Whittington, Santostefano, Stasinowsky

Out: Mount (thigh), Zaikos, Moir

Claremont Tigers FC

Backs: L Kickett, Hutton, McKenna

Half-backs: M O’Connell, Miles, Morton

Centres: Panizza, Malaxos, Povey

Half-forwards: Lewis, D O’Connell, Thorne

Forwards: Cook, D Kickett, Dintinosante

Ruck: Hepburn, Goulding, Mitchell

Interchange (from): Shepherd, Hann, Mumme, Tait

In: Malaxos, Mitchell, Goulding, Hutton

Out: Court

Match results – Saturday 30 August, 1986, Subiaco Oval

Perth FC 7.3 13.7 19.12 24.18 (162) d Claremont 3.2 7.4 10.7 13.11 (89)

Scorers: P: Rea 6.3, Stasinowsky 4.2, Spalding 3.2, Wiley 3.1, Ryder 2.5, Lucas 2.0, Barich 1.0, Bogaards 1.0, Fancote 1.0, Yorgey 1.0, Watson 0.2, Newman 0.1, Whittington 0.1.

C: Hutton 3.1, Morton 2.0, Panizza 2.0, Goulding 1.1, Hepburn 1.1, Lewis 1.1, Malaxos 1.1, Dintinosante 1.0, D Kickett 1.0, Thorne 0.4, Shepherd 0.1, Forced 0.1.

Weather: Fine, moderate south-westerly winds.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 1 September 1986, p. 81)

Attendance: 21,037 (from WAFL Online)

Free-kicks: P: 10, 4, 2, 2 – 18.

C: 10, 5, 6, 6 – 27.

Team rankings: GEOFF CHRISTIAN:

P: A Montgomery 1, I Newman 2, B Yorgey 3, R Wiley 4, C Smyth 5, J Lucas 6.

C: C Lewis 1, G Miles 2, M Hepburn 3, J Hutton 4, C Shepherd 5, M O’Connell 6.

KEN CASELLAS:

P: B Yorgey 1, R Wiley 2, J Gavranich 3, A Montgomery 4, M Rea 5, B Cousins 6.

C: C Lewis 1, M O’Connell 2, G Miles 3, M Hepburn 4, C Shepherd 5, J Hutton 6.

GARY STOCKS:

P: B Yorgey 1, A Montgomery 2, R Wiley 3, A Barich 4, I Newman 5, J Gavranich 6.

C: C Lewis 1, G Miles 2, M Hepburn 3, C Shepherd 4, M O’Connell 5, B Cook 6.

DAVID MARSH:

P: B Yorgey 1, A Montgomery 2, I Newman 3, J Gavranich 4, R Wiley 5, M Rea 6.

C: C Lewis 1, M O’Connell 2, G Miles 3, S Goulding 4, C Shepherd 5, D O’Connell 6.

(Source: The West Australian, Monday, 1 September 1986, p. 81)

Complete match report (full text):

By the late GEOFF CHRISTIAN:

“Perth played well enough for long enough against a sub-standard Claremont in the first semi-final on Saturday to sound a genuine warning to the losers of the Subiaco-East Fremantle second semi-final at Subiaco Oval next Saturday.

“Perth emerged from this game in top form, with no serious injury problems and with the prospect of having key defender Stephen Mount and rover Stephen Lally available on Saturday week.

“There was no need to tell Perth yesterday that they will not have things as easy against either Subiaco or East Fremantle as they did on Saturday, when they controlled the action from the start with a minimum of interference.

“But Perth could not have expected to do more in a dress-rehearsal for the preliminary final than to kick 24.18 – their second-highest score in final-round football – and win by 73 points in what was the most one-sided first semi-final since 1959.

“That was when Subiaco beat Perth by 129 points at the start of a final-round trip that ended in a grand-final clash with East Perth.

“Perth now plan to travel the same route in 1986 – win the preliminary final and qualify for their first grand final appearance since 1978 when they lost to East Perth.

“Saturday’s semi-final was a no-contest; an exercise which left all Claremont fans with amnesia.

“But Perth fans enjoyed the after-glow of victory and they had plenty to remember about a match in which their team snapped back into form with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of attacking efficiency.

“These who believed the 1986 premiership battle was a two-way contest between Subiaco and East Fremantle were left pondering whether the Demons have the skill to bridge the big gap between the first semi-final and the grand final.

“Subiaco probably thought a little deeper and longer than East Fremantle because it was only three weeks ago that Perth beat Subiaco 21.10 to 11.18 at Subiaco Oval.

“East Fremantle would not have ignored the fact that Perth handled a meek challenge from Claremont nearly as easily as did the Sharks at Claremont Oval a week earlier, when they won 27.14 to 13.11.

“Perth swept back into form after two weeks on the outer on a healthy winning mixture of dominant play on the ball, excellent forward work and strong defensive play against a Claremont side that was out-of-business by half-time.

“Perth will have to create a similar set of circumstances to advance further in this year’s final round, but the following features of their football were excellent signs:

-          The combined ruck work of Ian Newman, who was superb in the first half, and John Gavranich, who turned on his best 45 minutes of football for the year in the second.

-          The roving of [Robert] Wiley, who absorbed a heavy head-shot late in the second term and gave a second-half display that was testimony to his skill and courage. The support from Mark Watson and Kim Fancote was of the standard required to win in up-tempo football.

-          The capacity of forwards Mick Rea (6.3) and Chris Stasinowsky [RIP] (4.2) to give telling comeback performances that destroyed the stability of the Claremont defence by quarter-time.

-          The versatility of Brett Yorgey, who slipped neatly into the centre in the first quarter to help lift the efficiency of Perth in a performance that guaranteed him a place in the best-player list.

-          The effectiveness of Craig Smyth (opposed by Steve Malaxos) and Jack Lucas (v Michael Mitchell) in their personal duels with two of Claremont’s most capable attacking players.

-          The experience and skill of key defender Allan Montgomery, which went on display in telling fashion throughout. He set a standard that was quickly followed, notably by Mick Garbin, who had a significant win over Derek Kickett.

-          The second-half form of wingman Adrian Barich and centre-half-forward Earl Spalding, both of whom will be required to play that well (and for a little longer) in the [preliminary] final”.

(Source: Geoff Christian (1986), “Devastating Demons deliver warning”, The West Australian, Monday, 1 September 1986, p. 84) [archival research by Jack Frost].