AFL Tasmania has announced a ‘Special Category’ induction into the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame in 2012 at the season launch for the King Island Football Association (KIFA).
AFL Tasmania Chief Executive, Scott Wade announced that football on King Island will be recognised with the induction of the KIFA.
The formidable and remote King Island is located at the western entrance to Bass Strait approximately 80 km northwest of Tasmania and about 90 km southeast of Cape Otway on the Victorian coast. King Island, with a population of around 1,500 is wildly rugged, windswept and idyllic.
King Island is 64 km long and 26 km wide and is renowned for producing some of Australia's finest natural foods including beef, cheese, crayfish and abalone. The Island boasts over 145 km of untouched coastline and is also rich in maritime and natural history. With an estimated 57 shipwrecks and many lighthouses and jagged reefs it also has bountiful, long stretching sandy beaches and lush green pasture and a wide and unusual variety of seabirds and wildlife.
Another longstanding tradition of King Island is the playing of Australian Football. In many ways football is the epitome of the strength, toughness and resilience of this famous island.
The local teams, and there were up to 5 at the height of the ‘great depression’ in the 1930s, and then 4 during the scheelite mining operations at Grassy in the 1950s, have played football for more than 100 years. Currently, the 3 remaining clubs, Currie, Grassy and North, have an annual roster of games and a finals series involving all 3 clubs for their senior and junior players.
The KIFA conducts a 3 team finals series with the 1st ranked team at the end of the roster progressing directly to the Grand Final. The preliminary final is played between 2nd and 3rd placed teams with the winner having the chance to challenge the 1st placed team in the Grand Final. The Currie FC were the last team to successfully win the premiership after finishing 3rd (or last) in the roster series in the mid 1980s.
The KIFA conducts its roster and finals series predominately on the Currie Oval. All 3 clubs also train at this venue due to the quality of the surface. There is a secondary playing venue at Grassy which is used around 5 times a year ‘if weather permits’.
The KIFA is the smallest football competition in Australia, but continues to provide an annual opportunity for players of all ages to participate in Australian Football in one of the most remote locations in Australia.
The KIFA has benefited from having many locals participate in the games and has also attracted the contribution of some high calibre players / coaches from the Tasmanian mainland, including: Noel Atkins, David Lewis, Terry McCarthy and Peter Roozendaal. However, in recent years the achievement of local players in Barry Brooks and current Richmond listed player, Angus Graham, being drafted to the AFL national competition has been a highlight of the contribution of many to the continuation of the KIFA.
The uniqueness of the KIFA is reflected in the knowledge that it is one of only 3 major off-shore competitions in Australia, including the Tiwi Islands Football League in the Northern Territory and the Kangaroo Island Football League in South Australia.
The age and size of the KIFA makes it relatively unique in Australia as follows:
League |
State/Territory |
Games commenced |
Clubs in 2012 |
King Island FA |
Tasmania |
Around 1906 |
3 |
Kangaroo Island FL |
South Australia |
Around 1908 |
5 |
Tiwi Islands FL |
Northern Territory
|
Around 1941 |
5 |
In making the announcement AFL Tasmania’s Chief Executive, Scott Wade, said:
Australian Football on King Island strongly reflects the ultimate strength of our national game in helping communities remain strong through the toughest of times, environments and locations. King Island Football Association (KIFA) is unique in Tasmanian football and on a national scale is the oldest and smallest island based competition in Australia. The KIFA has provided an opportunity for thousands of players over more than a century to play our great game. As well as the many participants the KIFA has also produced some players who have gone on to play at the highest level of the game, with Angus Graham and Barry Brooks playing in the AFL in recent years.
The Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame is the project whereby AFL Tasmania not only appropriately enshrines the many great individuals who have significantly contributed to Tasmanian football, it is the project that enables us to "tell the story of Tasmanian football".
This year AFL Tasmania has decided to induct a further "Special Category" induction for the fourth time. What better way to recognise the unique and long-standing contribution of the King Island football community to Tasmanian football than by inducting the King Island Football Association; and the very first football competition in Tasmania to be inducted.
The King Island Football Association joins the following Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame Special Category inductions:
2007 – The iconic Queenstown ‘Gravel’ Oval.
2008 – The ‘Best of Country’ teams, including: Ulverstone, Longford, New Norfolk.
2009 – The ‘Giant Killers’ teams, including: East Launceston, Hobart, Penguin.
Last Modified on 12/06/2012 16:54