SYDNEY DISTRICT RUGBY CLUBS JERSEY COLOURS (1900-14)

written by Sean Fagan

The idea of sacrificing one huge crowd and so enable each district [of Sydney] to see first-grade football at its own door each Saturday is an excellent one. The rivalry of the districts is increased, the grounds are sure of a permanent fund for improvement purposes, and the cost of seeing the game, by reducing the transport expenses, is kept at the lowest possible limit.

— The Australasian

In 1900 the NSWRU (via the Metropolitan RU) did away with all the existing clubs in Sydney, apart from the University, replacing them with a “district scheme” that divided the city and suburbs following electoral boundaries.

The 1899 first grade social-based member clubs like Wallaroo FC, Pirate, Buccaneer, Paddington, Parramatta and Randwick were out.

Players were only permitted to play with the club which covered the area within which they were resident. The new division gave us the district clubs for 1900: Balmain, Norths, Wests, Easts, Souths, Newtown and Glebe.

Following boundary changes new first grade districts were subsequently created to provide entry for Sydney (1905-10), Manly and St. George (both 1906-14), and Randwick (1914).

The Sydney club premiership competition is today known as the Shute Shield.

Manly District Rugby Football Club card 1906

SYDNEY FIRST GRADE

DISTRICT CLUB COLOURS 1900-14

[photographs below from season 1906]

BALMAIN

Black & Gold 1900-14

NORTH SYDNEY

(now Northern Sub.s)

Cardinal & Navy Blue 1900-04

Red & Black 1905-06, 13-14

Red, Green & Gold 1907-12

WESTERN SUBURBS

(now West Harbour)

Maroon & White 1900

Blue & White 1901-08

Bottle Green 1909-14

(Black & White from 1920)

EASTERN SUBURBS

Black 1900-01

Red, White & Blue 1901-14

SOUTH SYDNEY

‘Myrtle Green & Cardinal’ 1900-14

NEWTOWN
Royal Blue 1900-14
(with a white-coloured newt shaped crest 1912-14)

GLEBE

Maroon 1900-14

SYDNEY UNIVERSITY

Blue & Gold 1900-14

(All White 1930-33)

SYDNEY

Black 1905-10

MANLY
White with Deep Red collar/neck/cuffs 1906
Navy Blue, Light Blue & red 1907-14
(‘Navy blue with inch bands of red round breast and arms’ 1910)

ST GEORGE

(now part of Southern Districts)

‘Scarlet & White’ 1906-14

RANDWICK

Indigo & Gold 1914

(Red & White 1923-27 & Bottle/Myrtle Green from 1928)

“We all long for just one more game with the Royal Blue on our backs and the ‘Newt’ on our chests.”

The ‘Newt’ was the idea of Dr. G. Hall Bohrsmann, but it [the Newtown club] was more often called a “blue bag”. The genial doctor had hopes that each district club would take up the idea of getting a similar sign for itself, and that all would be known by nick-names, as is the case with the Leicester ‘Tigers’ (called so by reason of their stripes) and other English teams. However, the idea did not catch on as expected.

—  Saturday Referee and the Arrow, 29 May 1915

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 Compilation & text © Sean Fagan – 2013.

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