A lot has happened in the 150 years since the Lancefield Football Club was formed in 1873 – just a short 15 years after the oldest club in Australia, the Melbourne Football Club was established at the instigation of the father of football, Tom Wills.

It was a bit of a lonely existence for Lancefield at first – opponents were hard to find, particularly given that the historical records indicate that our bitter rival Romsey’s team was not established until 1879.

The Lancefield Football Club is marking its sesquicentenary in 2023, with a history book and a range of events culminating in a big reunion function at the Mechanics Hall on April 1.

The Back to Lancefield/Lancefield Football Club 150threunion will be a highlight of the celebrations.There will be a separate release of the book in May, as well as other events during the year.

The foundation of the Lancefield Football Club predated the creation of a league or an organised competition, and games were sporadic and spasmodic. The club also predated the invention of the motor car, so transporting the players to neighboring towns and localities was no simple feat.

The road between Lancefield and Romsey was nothing like today, and a sealed road surface was unheard of. The best that travellers could hope for would be a gravel road, and there would have been plenty of roads in the district that were far less formed than that – virtual goat tracks.

Pre the motor car, travel would have been horse and cart, buggy, horseback or even Shanks’ pony (on foot). The club even predated the opening of the Lancefield railway line, so those pioneers would not have had the option of a trip on the iron rail.

And so the fortitude and determination of the residents to commit to a game of football and the honor of their town was significant, despite all the challenges.

It’s the same fortitude and commitment still being shown by the Lancefield Football Club and the community 150 years on (and 22 premierships later!) leading in to our significant milestone.