Katanning Sport
Sport, as in most country towns, has played an important role in the social fabric and the well being of the Katanning community virtually since the town’s inception.
In those early days travel was restricted to basically as far as you could travel on horseback or horse and cart and return in one day. This meant that sport, team sport in particular, was played in Katanning and small surrounding towns a short distance away. Many of those small towns have since disappeared.
After the arrival of the Great Southern Railway people were able to travel further to play their sport including travelling to the city. As each of the major towns along the railway had their own sporting associations, regional competitions developed. These towns included Narrogin, Wagin, Katanning, Broomehill, Tambellup, Cranbrook, Mt Barker and, of course, Albany.
Those early playing fields were little more than cleared scrub, often with tree stumps level with the surface, relying on winter rains to provide a grass surface. There were no fancy change-rooms and, if you were hurt or injured, you looked after yourself as best you could.
Our sporting facilities have often been outgrown by ever-increasing membership and have often had to be relocated to cope with the growth. Over time, sporting facilities in Katanning have improved to the point of being world-class, attracting events from state and national teams.
There was less variety of sporting activities in those early days than there is today. Early sporting activities included Australian Rules Football (or Victorian Football), cricket, tennis, croquet, and various equestrian events including horse racing. However, as there was little else available in the way of social outings, sport became an important social event for the whole family.
Volunteers have also played an integral part of the country sporting scene. Without these volunteers sport would not have grown and flourished as it has done in Katanning. In the early days, it was mainly the women-folk who did the volunteering by washing sporting gear, making clothing, cooking for social events, patching up injured players, and assisting with any fund-raising events that were required.
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HONOUR BOARDS
Does your club, sporting association or community organisation have Honour Boards? So many people contribute to the success of sport and community groups in our region – successful players, coaches, and volunteers. Often, their contributions or successes go unnoticed. However, many groups recognise those contributions through Honour Boards’
If you club or group has Honour Boards please consider sending the information to me for inclusion on this website. You can provide the information by email (admin@lostkatanning.au) or by submitting it via the form BELOW
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LEISURE CENTRE
The Katanning Leisure Centre was a community driven project as the town’s facilities started to deteriorate and become unfit for purpose. Sporting facilities were scattered round town adding to the cost of trying to maintain them.
In 1982, the Katanning Shire Council formed a Recreational Needs Advisory Committee, under the leadership of Peter Jolly, to investigate and advise Council on the adequacy of recreation and sporting facilities within the Shire. The planning study, released in June 1985, introduced the concept of an Indoor Recreation Centre. Read more
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FOOTBALL – Aussie Rules
KATANNING DISTRICT FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
The Katanning District Football Association was formed at a meeting at McLeod’s Katanning Hotel on Saturday, 20 June, 1903, with four clubs participating; Katanning, Woodanilling, Marracoonda, and Moojebing. The association’s first round of matches for the inaugural season commenced on Saturday, 4 July, 1903, and were between Katanning and Moojebing at Moojebing, and Woodanilling and Marracoonda at Marracoonda. Continue reading
GREAT SOUTHERN CARNIVAL
The first Great Southern Football Carnival was held at Albany in 1922, after being first suggested in 1920, under the organisation of the Albany Football Association. Continue reading
COUNTRY WEEK
The first Country Week competition took place in 1912 after the Goomalling Football Association proposed the idea of a Country Week competition to the WAFL, most likely as a result of the success of the Country Week Cricket competition which began in 1907.
Unfortunately, Goomalling could not raise a side, leaving Avon, Bunbury, Geraldton, Moora and Nelson as the first teams to participate in this competition from July 22 to 26 that year. Continue reading
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FOOTBALL – Soccer
Soccer has been played in Katanning since the early 1920’s however its fortunes have fluctuated over the years. Although the most popular football code in the world it has taken a back seat in AFL mad states such as Western Australia. Since the turn of this century, soccer has waned in the district and there is currently no competition in the area.
Continue reading
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GOLF
KATANNING COUNTRY CLUB
The Katanning Country Club started life as the Katanning Golf Club and was established on Saturday, 20 June, 1903. It’s first season commenced at what is now O’Callaghan Park on Saturday 4 July, 1903. Continue reading
RICHARD HOOPER – FORREST HILL GOLF CLUB
The Forrest Hills Golf Club closed its doors in 2018 after the club failed to gain new members following the reticulation of the Katanning Country Club. The Forrest Hill Golf Club was formed in 1948 by members of the Richard Hooper Golf Club which, until then, had played on a nine-hole course originally laid out by the Katanning Golf Club in at what is now O’Callaghan Park. Continue reading
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HOCKEY
Hockey has been played in Katanning, by both men and women, for over one hundred years. During those years the strength of the game has had its ups and downs. From the end of World War 11 and during the 1950’s and 60’s the women’s game was at its peak with women being named in both the state and national teams. Continue reading
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HORSE RACING
TURF CLUB
The Katanning Turf Club appears to have started in the late 1890’s although I have been unable to find any records prior to its first meeting in 1901. I believe it has always been held at what is now O’Callaghan Park. If anyone has any information on the Club’s formation I would love to hear from you at admin@lostkatanning.au
The information on the page has been sourced from the files of the Great Southern Herald and the Southern Districts Advocate on the National Library’s Trove website. Continue reading
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HORSE RACING
TROTTING CLUB
The Katanning Trotting Club raced at the Katanning Showgrounds from 1930 until 1988, racing under lights on its 576m track from the 4 February, 1939. Katanning Jubilee Celebrations on Saturday 29 April 1939 hosted a jubilee dance in the Lyric Theatre and the Katanning Trotting Club’s meeting under electric light at the Katanning Show Grounds. Kalgoorlie was the first town with a trotting club – The Golden Mile Trotting Club formed in 1903 and hosted its final meeting on 15 December 2017., and thereafter racing at Kalgoorlie’s historic Golden Mile Trotting Club finished. The Western Australian Trotting Association started with a meeting at Bohemia Hall on 22 September 1910.
Prior to the installation of electric lighting around the Katanning trotting track, events were held in the afternoons. Several other trotting clubs had installed lighting and moved successfully to holding night events. The Katanning club decided to do the same and planning started in late 1938. After on;y three months the work had been completed and the club held its first meeting under lights in front of more than 1.200 people on 4th February 1939. Read more
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LAWN BOWLS
The Katanning Bowling Club officially started on 11 December, 1920 as part of the Katanning Croquet Club. The newly formed club requested a reduction in its water rates from the Katanning Road Board however water shortage was a huge problem so it was knocked back. It was also suggested that a tank be excavated in the creek adjacent to the new greens to hold water during the summer months. Continue reading
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TENNIS
The oldest of the four sporting clubs which form part of the Katanning Country Club is the Katanning Tennis Club, which came into existence in August 1897, only eight years after the establishment of the town of Katanning. The new club was called the Katanning Lawn Tennis Club, although it was to be sixty-seven years before the club actually played on its own lawn-surfaced courts. Continue reading
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SHOOTING
WURGABUP RIFLE CLUB
The Wurgabup Rifle Club was first formed in 1910 and in the years between 1910 and 1921 some forty-odd members attended the club. However other sports such as football and cricket became more attractive, and it had to close in 1922.
Thirty years elapsed before moves were made to re-form the club and start shooting again. The intervening years had seen the range revert to bush, hardly distinguishable from its surrounds. Walter Blackall, who had some target shooting experience, aroused district interest and on 2 April 1952, he and Eric Smith convened a meeting in the supper room of the old Badgebup Hall. Together with eight others, they re-formed the Wurgabup Rifle Club, electing a Captain, Eric Smith, Secretary, Walter Blackall, and Treasurer Alan Beeck. Continue reading
Do you have any information or photographs relating to the history of these shooting clubs in Katanning?
KATANNING RIFLE CLUB
KATANNING PISTOL CLUB
KATANNING CLAY TARGET CLUB
INFORMATION NEEDED
I have nothing on the following clubs.. Do you have any information or photographs relating to the history of these clubs in Katanning? If so, I would love to hear from you. You can go HERE or I can be contacted via email at admin@lostkatanning.au
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BASKETBALL
Do you have any historical information or photos?
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NETBALL
Do you have any historical information or photos?
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GYMNASTICS
Do you have any historical information or photos?
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CRICKET
Do you have any historical information or photos?
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EQUESTRIAN
Do you have any historical information or photos?
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CLUB HONOUR BOARDS
Would you like to have the names on your Club Honour Boards included here? Then simply complete and submit the form below.
HONOUR BOARD SUBMISSION FORM
CAN YOU HELP?
This page will be constantly added to so please check back regularly.
If you have any historic information or photos on local sport, especially those above, I would love to hear from you.
Email me HERE or use the form below:
Katanning Sport. Katanning Sport. Katanning Sport Katanning Sport