Revelling in the Riverina: Episode 17 – Beside the Billabong
REVELLING in the Riverina
The vintage years
Episode 17: Beside the Billabong
Rand, NSW (Rand-Walbundrie-Walla ‘Giants’, Hume FNL)
Unfolding the road map we can see multiple routes between Rennie and Rand. Do we go via Oaklands, or Lowesdale, or the longer drive via Coreen and Daysdale?
In this part of southern NSW the roads and rural lanes tessellate the farming country offering multiple options for travellers. For the opportunity to visit two former Coreen and District Football League villages, the choice is a simple one. It is also a chance to drive along Federation Way which links Corowa with the Newell Highway at Morundah. The community at Rand (led by the Rand Township Improvement Committee) have seized on the potential of the ‘grey nomad’ traffic as a way of boosting the future of their town. But before we reach Rand, let’s wander through Coreen and Daysdale.
Snapshot: Evolutionary timeline of Riverina football leagues
(Source: author)
It is an interesting exercise to trace the evolution of football associations and leagues in country areas like the Riverina. It is not unlike mapping roads or rivers showing their tributaries, name changes and terminations. The image above shows the antecedents of the Farrer Football Netball League and the Hume Football Netball League, as well as the now defunct Coreen League.
Many football clubs have jumped from league to league over their histories and their migrations could be plotted on a timeline chart. For instance, the Rand FC (shown in blue on the map above) was established in 1926 and was a foundation club of the Hume Football Association. Rand joined the Coreen and District FA in 1929, before residing in the Central Hume Association in the early 1930s. In 1935 the club switched back to the Coreen and District FA, and followed that playing the 1939 season in the Albury and District League (forerunner to Farrer League). The club started the 1940 season in that league but decided in the month of June to retire due to the war. After the war Rand played in the Hume League for 40 years before moving to the Coreen and District League in 1984. The club merged with Walbundrie in 2006, which placed them back in familiar company in the Hume FNL.
Today the settlements of Coreen and Daysdale are part of a three way football merger – Coreen Daysdale Hopefield-Buraja United. Quite a mouthful to say, so CDHBU will do. The club, now known as the Power, are based at Coreen and since 2008 have competed in the Hume Football Netball League. Coreen had previously merged with Daysdale in 1996, and in 2006 Hopefield-Buraja joined the party. The Power play home games at the Coreen Recreation Ground located beside the Federation Way.
We now acknowledge a Coreen Football Club player and Coreen League administrator who was recently inducted into the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame. Peter Carroll played 370 games for Coreen in a 24 year career (1954-78) earning multiple club and league best and fairest awards. He also coached the Swans to a premiership. Peter, affectionately known as ‘Candles’, followed that up with long service to his club and the Coreen League as president (1988-2005).
Moving up the road to Daysdale, it is time to acknowledge another inductee into the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame – Lindsay Norman. Lindsay devoted over fifty years service to the Coreen Football League as a player (for Daysdale) and as an administrator, firstly for the ‘Magpies’ and then as league secretary for more than 30 years.
We travel through Hume Football Netball League territory in episodes 17 and 18. The HFNL stands out as a model to other country leagues for its sound administration, stability and the relative evenness of its competition. The HFNL was established in 2017 when the Hume football and netball leagues joined forces under the one umbrella. Its 12 clubs, competing in four grades of footy and six grades of netball, are located between Lavington in the south, Lockhart in the North, Holbrook in the east and Oaklands/Urana (Billabong Crows) in the west. Survival for clubs from some of the smaller settlements in the league has been achieved through a series of mergers, namely: Brocklesby and Burrumbuttock; Rand, Walbundrie and Walla; Oaklands and Urana; and Coreen-Daysdale, Hopefield-Buraja.
Our next waypoint is Rand. Let’s make the first port of call the pub and find a local who can tells us a bit more about Rand’s grand plan. We are certain to get the ‘good oil’ there. After all, the town’s welcome sign does declare that Rand is “the friendliest town on the Billabong Creek.”
For me, it is 50 years since my first visit to the tiny Riverina town. The occasion was the Rand New Years Eve Ball in 1974 when a convoy of Albury guys and gals made the 65 km drive for a night of revelry. And yes, we too were received with open arms, so much so that we backed up in ‘75.
The vision for the town’s future is called ‘Plan Rand’ and involves a coordinated set of projects to boost tourism, whose delivery is timed to coincide with Rand’s centenary in 2026. The local community saw the need to make Rand a destination people come to rather than simply another small place to drive through. More than just another silo art project, the plan seeks to provide facilities and experiences that will attract visitors, encourage them to stop for a while and stay overnight. The banks of Billabong Creek provide an ideal environment for RV campers and picnics. The Rand Hotel, the School of Arts Hall, old shop fronts and historic buildings, the town’s railway heritage and an annual weekend festival, all have a place in the plan.
The Rand Football Club experienced their glory days early in their history, taking out premierships in 1926 (Hume Association), 1933, 1934 (Central Hume Association), 1936, 1937 (Coreen and District Association) and 1945 (Hume League). A post war drought set in for the Pigeons before merging with neighbours Walbundrie in 2006. Eventually the pair of Billabong clubs formed an amalgamated entity with Walla Walla – the Rand-Walbundrie-Walla ‘Giants’, in 2016.
Rand-Walbundrie-Walla reserves team supporters on Hume League grand final day 2018 (photo- author)
Two former Rand players were recently inducted into the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame: Harry Gardiner – Rand’s captain coach 1958-60 (see next week’s episode); and Stan Hague – who played more than 400 games for Rand before moving to the northern Riverina in 1978 (see episode 5).
Another Hume League legend, the late Merv Wegener (from Walla Walla) was also inducted. Upon his induction, Merv’s contribution to football was described in glowing terms:
Merv Wegener was a giant of the Hume League taking to the field in his first senior match at the age of 16. The early start is a clear indication of his talent, which during a senior career spanning more than 350 matches (302 for Walla Walla) saw him win multiple best and fairest awards. Alongside and following his playing days was a fierce commitment to the health of football, with Wegener working hard in key administrative roles for more than five decades. His positions as president and vice president of the Hume League spanned more than 40 years and he was awarded life membership of the league.”
The giving of nicknames is a long standing Australian tradition and footballers, especially in the bush, are among the best at it. Consider a team full of examples from former Coreen and District League clubs listed in name-appropriate playing positions:
‘The Coreen Shovel Handles’
B. Buckets, Spud, Plodder
HB. Scratcher, Knuckles, Fang
C. Woosh, Chooka, Worm
HF. Squealer, Magic (c), Smokey
F. Pygmy, Snake, Fingers
Foll. Rowdy, Spanner, Nifty
19th man Puddles
20th man Mad Dog
We’ve made good time, so why not take a late afternoon run up to Pleasant Hills for a quiet beer and a yarn. The drive will take us a shade under half an hour.
When you take a break on a road trip and call into a little country pub you may be rewarded with a good deal more than a cold beer. Whether it’s a Riverina gem like the Blighty Pub, the Pretty Pine Hotel or scores of other watering holes, you might walk away with your fill of local history as well. Look at their walls. They are galleries of significant moments and times captured on film – a big fish landed, a pioneer farmer at work, a record flood, a street scene from yesteryear, a premiership team. If you’re in luck you may also meet a patron or two who can pass on some local knowledge. One such pub in the eastern Riverina is the Pleasant Hills Hotel found just up the road from Rand on the way to Henty. The community-run pub – the first such one in NSW – is a proud museum of the town’s long-lost football club, whose history spanned 50 years (1905-1955).
Riverina musician and former Griffith footballer Grant Luhrs sings about the pub at Pleasant Hills as he imagines what his grandfather would have experienced within its walls many years ago:
‘The Hills’ pub has also attracted a visit from country sport podcaster Robbie Mackinlay who wanted to learn about the history of the long-gone, but not forgotten, Pleasant Hills Football Club. Listen to the podcast and enjoy wonderfully-told yarns by surviving players from the Pleasant Hills Football Club – almost seventy years on. And learn what the memories of the little town’s former footy club mean to their descendants.
Rand-Walbundrie-Walla Giants in 2024
In round 15 the RWW Giants met opponents from another Billabong Creek town, the Billabong Crows (a merger of Urana and Oaklands). Billabong Crows 10.7 (67) defeated Rand-Walbundrie-Walla 9.8 (62) at Walla. The Giants are clinging on to 6th position with two rounds of the home and away fixtures to be played. A place in the Elimination Final is within their grasp.
Riverina Spotto
The family club closed and there are 2 to go.
| the last post | Irish pub | a slice of pizza |
| faithful canine | sheep and dog | the family club |
| 22 yards | two felines | 31.12.74 |
| truckie’s stop | submarine | a shearing team |
| all among the wool | one pub town | Sherrin |
| three bees | square | footy hub |
Next episode: Stage 18 – to Jindera
Previous episodes of Revelling In The Riverina, and more from Peter Clark can be read Here.
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About Peter Clark
is a lifetime Geelong supporter. Hailing from the Riverina, he is now entrenched on the NSW South Coast. His passion for footy was ignited by attending Ovens and Murray League matches in the 1960's with his father. After years of watching, playing and coaching, now it is time for some serious writing about his favourite subjects… footy, especially country footy, and cricket.
Brilliant song by my old mate Grant Luhrs!
It is so good Peter how you intersect music by local artists with the footy, the history, geography and sociology.
What so impressed me about the most recent merger of Walla – with Rand-Walbundrie was that the prime motivation for it was to give the kids in these districts a chance to play football and football. And its working.
Merv Wegener and Lindsay Norman were fantastic administrators for their respective country leagues. It was a great joy in recent years to go to the Hume league GF at Walbundrie and to be invited up at half-time to press/timekeepers’ box to have a cup of tea and sandwich with Merv and Barry Malone.
It was great to see Lindsay at the recent NSW HoF. Lindsay was a strong advocate for the involvement of the Coreen league in NSW footy (back when the region was part of the VCFL. He used to come to our meetings while his president Dave Lewis the VCFL Councillor wanted nothing to do with us.
But some adroit work at the national level got them fully aboard.
I’m sorry to admit that I’d never heard of Rand – I learn something each week from these pieces, thanks Peter.
Good stuff Peter.
Am I correct Rand was named after Bobby Rand , a mid 19th century squatter. There was apparently an episode when Rand was bailed up Dan Morgan. Morgan made Rand dance, keeping time with his revolvers. After Rand danced Morgan arranged for Rand to provide drinks/food to the workers, swaggies.
I’m again looking at my grandmothers ‘Lowesdale Public School Centenary 1882-1982’ book which also has old photos of some local football teams. Included is a photo of the 1924 Burraja Football Team, premiers that season. Names of family friends such as Forbes, Longmire, Tenney & Waite are in the premiership players ranks. My great uncle, my grandmothers brother, Larry Conrick sits proudly in the front row. Larry too young to go to the ‘Great Trade War’ with five of his brothers, still sadly died young. He apparently accidently shot himself going through a fence when he was out rabbiting. strange, sad.
Peter, I look forward to hitting Jindera next week. There’s a bit of Dan Morgan history there if my memory is still working.
Glen!
Correct Glen, Rand was named after the squatter Robert Rand. The meeting of Bobby Rand and Mad Dan is a great story.
As you point out, it is Dan Morgan country out that way. His lookout, situated on a rocky outcrop between Walbundrie and Culcairn, is an attraction worth visiting for the history and the panoramic view. Have you been there?
I was not aware of the bushranger’s connection to Jindera until I read that he collected his mail from the Jindera PO. I wonder which pseudonym he used?
Thanks for sharing your family connections and your knowledge of the district and its history.
G’day Peter. Yep, I’ve been up Morgan’s Lookout a few times. It gives a great view of all that moves for many miles around. If he was seated up there he’d have had plenty of notice of any hostile parties on the move.
Morgan’s mail @ Jindera? He had a few pseudonyms including John Fuller, Jack Morgan, & Dan Owen. .Which one did he use? That will likely remain a mystery until the end of time.
Glen!