Warragul's first team

The Warragul Football club is one of rich history and dates back to railway workers who helped establish the township, as they progressed the train line towards Sale in the late 1870s.

A new exhibition by the Warragul and District Historical Society, on display in the old Shire Hall in Queen St, is tracing the town's love affair with Australian Rules football earlier than many would even know.

Running until the end of the month, the display shows how the first iteration of the team began before the rules of the game were entirely formulated, from rough paddocks dotted with tree stumps - leading to modern-day starts exported to the AFL.

Society exhibition co-ordinator Helen Wallace curated the display using material provided by Warragul Football Club.

"The club first started in 1879, and the gentleman responsible was William Paul", Mrs Wallace said. "He was a guard on the railway line and actually played for Carlton in the same decade.
Early matches were a far cry from today's manicured ovals. According to the society's research, games were played in a paddock behind the old Orange Hotel, now a physio clinic on Queen St. Volunteers joke there were "more stumps than players" on the ground after trees were felled to make way for football. The club that became the infamous Gulls originally played against similar grassroots clubs representing the townships of Drouin, Buln Buln, Morwell, Traralgon and Berwick.
The display includes historic team photographs dating from the late 1890s and early 1900s, along with action shots from key matches such as a 1967 clash between Warragul and Essendon. One particularly sharp early team photograph stands out among the collection, offering a rare, crisp glimpse of the club's early years.
The exhibition also touches on the evolution of the club's identity. Before becoming known as the Gulls, Warragul teams were at one stage referred to as the 'Warragulites'. Over time, the club's colours, guernsey designs and home ground have all shifted, reflecting changes in both the game and the town itself.
A key focus of the display is celebrating local players who progressed to the VFL/AFL. Among them are Lachlan Smith, Jai Serong, Caleb Serong, and earlier-era figures such as Alan Noonan and Gary Ayres, all of whom have links back to Warragul's grassroots football scene.
Mrs Wallace said the society hoped the timing would encourage supporters heading into town for footy to step inside the Shire Hall and see how the game, and the club, had evolved over nearly a century and a half.