Lambton Thistle Football Club 1885

Lambton Thistle Football Club, Lambton, Newcastle, NSW

The first football club in Northern NSW

Lambton Thistles was formed in 1885. The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser reported on Saturday, 13 June, 1885 that a club under British Association rules had started at Lambton. 

The report of the 1886 Annual General meeting of the British Association in the Globe(Sydney) provides evidence of the date of the formation of clubs. The first clubs in NSW, in 1885, in order of formation were, Caledonians, Canterbury, Friendly Society (Parramatta), Granville, Thistle (Lambton), Pyrmont Rangers, Katoomba College, Wanderers and Arcadians. The secretary advised the meeting that he had received correspondence from Hamilton Rangers and Minmi Rangers to join the association (in 1886). (The Globe(Sydney) 16 April,1886, page 8.) The order of the formation of clubs is the same as reported by W. McIlroy in his letter to the editor. McIlroy, who played Lambton and Minmi asserts the first club was Lambton followed by Minmi and Hamilton. (Newcastle Herald, 1 September 1893).

In an article in the Newcastle Sun in 1922 (Newcastle Sun, 3 August, 1922, page 2) Mr. A. Gray, of West Wallsend gave details of early Soccer in the district. The club was formed by several Scotchmen from, Lanemark Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland. They held a meeting, over which Mr. Gray presided, in John Brown's house at Lambton. There were present John Brown, 'Soldier' David Curry, William McCoughey, Dick Osborne, Dan Thomas and Peter Reed." The club joined the Sydney association to play in a cup competition.

The club played its first game on that Saturday against Caledonians from Sydney on Lambton Reserve on Saturday 13 June 1885. An announcement in the Newcastle Morning Herald by secretary H. Houston advised that the game would commence at 3.00 pm on the recreational reserve at Lambton. The game was announced in the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate as the 'Introduction of the British Association Rules'. Another article reported that the game was 'played under the British Association rules, in which the ball is played with the feet only'. (Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, 17 Jun 1885, page 4)

Another newspaper article from 1911 (Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, 15 July 1911 Page 16 NEWCASTLE RECORDS) told the same story. "The British Association football game was introduced at Lambton on Saturday 13 June, when Lambton Thistles met the Sidney Caledonians."

The plaque on Lambton Park Rotunda refers to another game that could have been played a month earlier than this one. However, the date given for this match is 21 May, 1885. This was a Thursday, and it is highly unlikely that a game would have been played after work on an unlit park. Furthermore, there are no newspaper reports of the game taking place. The description of the Lambton/Caledonian game as the 'Introduction of the British' game means that this was the first game of British Football in the area. Therefore, the Lambton game against Caledonians is the first recorded, organised game of football in the north. 

The game was won 3 - 1 by Lambton though other reports indicate a 3-2  or a 3-0 win for Lambton. The Lambton team according to the Newcastle Morning Herald report on 17 June, 1885, was:

D Reed, J. Willson, A. Bryden, W. McIllroy, P. Reed, M. Scobie, R. Osborne, D. Currie, W. McCrorrie, J. Conley, B. Doyle.

On Friday, 19 June, 1885, The Southern British Football Association meet and decided that cup tie matches should begin without delay. Teams which were expected to participate were: Lambton Thistles Football Club, Wanderers Football Club, Caledonians Football Club, Canterbury Football Club, Arcadians Football Club, Katoomba High Football Club and Parramatta Football Club (Australian Town and Country Journal, Sydney, Sat 27 Jun 1885, Page 37).

Lambton Thistle played Granville at Granville on Saturday 15 August 1885 in the first round of the cup and lost 5 nil.

The club was short lived. It only played in 1885, and it only played two games. This was probably because some miners from Lambton moved to Minmi looking for work because of the ongoing dispute at Lambton Colliery. (Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, 21 Nov 1885, page 4, THE LAMBTON COLLIERY DISPUTE & Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, 28 Nov 1885, page 7, CORRESPONDENCE) Some these miners played for Lambton Thistle in 1885. In 1886, Lambton players Wilson, Bryden, McCrorie and McIlroy were part of the Minmi Rangers team. In 1888, D. Currie played for Hamilton Athletic. McIlroy was the secretary of the Minmi Rangers when the formation of the Minmi club was announced on 9 March 1886 in the Daily Telegraph.

Lambton Soccer Club 1924

In 1924, a new club, Lambton Soccer club, fielded a C Grade team which finished 5th in a 6 team competition and also a U/16 A Grade team. In 1925 the club had a team in the 4th Grade. It finished 8th out of 12 teams. The club played on Lambton Reserve, near the lower end of the park. (Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), Wednesday 6 February 1924, page 3) So this would probably be near the current site of Lambton Swimming Pool.

East Lambton Rangers 1933

In 1933, East Lambton Rangers Soccer Football Club was formed and played at Johnson Park on Wyong Road. The club played in 1933 and 1934. It was revived in 1940 but only lasted till the end of the 1941 season. The club's colours were blue and gold.