AWSA National Senior Championships 1985 - Melbourne

The 1985 Australian Women's Soccer Association Senior National Championships were held in Melbourne, at Box Hill's Wembley Park.

New South Wales took out the title, with South Queensland finishing runner's up and the host state coming in third.

Kim Lembryk of New South Wales was Top Goalscorer for the tournament with 9 goals.

The full results were:

Australian Women's Soccer Association National Championships 1985

Wembley Park, Box Hill, Melbourne.

Wednesday August 28

Tasmania 2 Northern Territory 0
Northern New South Wales 0 Australian Capital Territory 0
South Queensland 0 New South Wales 1
Victoria 3 South Australia 0

Thursday August 29

Northern Territory 0 Western Australia 4
South Australia 0 South Queensland 2
Australian Capital Territory 0 Tasmania 1
New South Wales 1 Northern New South Wales 0

Friday August 30

South Queensland 3 Victoria 2
Tasmania 0 New South Wales 4
Northern New South Wales 2 South Australia 1
Western Australia 4 Australian Capital Territory 0

Saturday August 31

South Australia 4 Northern Territory 0
South Queensland 2 Tasmania 1
Victoria 5 Western Australia 3
New South Wales 2 Australian Capital Territory 0

Sunday September 1

Tasmania 0 Northern New South Wales 3
Australian Capital Territory 0 South Australia 2
Northern Territory 0 Victoria 2
South Queensland 2 Western Australia 1

Tuesday September 3

Victoria 3 Australian Capital Territory 0
Northern New South Wales 3 Western Australia 0
South Australia 2 New South Wales 8
South Queensland 2 Northern Territory 0

Wednesday September 4

New South Wales 5 Western Australia 0
Victoria 1 Northern New South Wales 1
Australian Capital Territory 1 Northern Territory 1
South Australia 0 Tasmania 1

Thursday September 5

Australian Capital Territory 0 South Queensland 7
New South Wales 0 Victoria 0
Western Australia 2 Tasmania 1
Northern Territory 1 Northern New South Wales 1

Friday September 6

Western Australia 0 South Australia 3
Northern Territory 0 New South Wales 10
Northern New South Wales 0 South Queensland 2
Tasmania 0 Victoria 4

The final table:

The tournament match programme can be found here.

A few videos from the tournament, thanks to Deb Nichols:

George Campbell Returns To Aberdeen

Since the beginning of the game in Melbourne, the Scots have been significant contributors to Victorian football. Many early games were drawn along Scotland v England lines, before Harry Dockerty would revive organised competitions in 1909. The importation of Scottish players throughout the 1950's and 1960's saw the standard of Australian football rise to a level which saw the Socceroos able to qualify for the 1974 World Cup Finals.

The signing of a young Scot by South Melbourne Hellas in 1978 created a stir in the football scene, as covered in Soccer Action at the time:

Soccer Action Vol.3 No.11 - Wednesday April 19, 1978

Soccer Action Vol.3 No.15 - Wednesday May 10, 1978

George Campbell had been the youngest ever player to play for Aberdeen. He came on a sixteen year old substitute against Morton in 1975 to make his First Division (current Premiership) debut. Hellas paid a record fee of $20,000 to secure the skillful, tricky youngster already dubbed "The White Pele". In five seasons at Middle Park he would score 17 goals from 104 appearances with the club reaching a best ever NSL placing to that point when Runner's-Up in 1981.

                                               George Campbell at Aberdeen


In 1983 Campbell made the move to NSL rivals Preston Makedonia where he played for three seasons before a transfer to Green Gully in 1986. During his time in the NSL the former Scottish Youth International would occasionally feature for the Victorian State Team. Some of these games included the 2-1 win over Dundee in 1978 and a thrilling 2-3 loss to a star-studded New York Cosmos in 1983.

His time in the NSL was followed by stints with Box Hill (1987-1989) and Fawkner (1989) in the VSL (current NPL). He then continued playing in the lower State League with Nunawading City, then Ringwood City, Knox City and Banyule City until 1998. After an early broken leg which scuppered plans for a return to Scottish League football he would enjoy a career spanning 20 years in Melbourne.

Since retiring as a player he has been coaching in club, academy and school capacities. As well as roles with the FFV and Xavier College he has been involved with the Youth teams at Essendon Royals, Northcote City and his current club Dandenong Thunder.

In October this year he returned to Scotland for a reunion lunch for the anniversary of Aberdeen's 1976 Scottish League Cup win. A special programme was made for the event:

                                            

It's fantastic to see a club that celebrates it's past in such a manner. Well done to George on his achievements and his continued involvement in the local game.

                                                      (Click on images to enlarge)

No Further Correspondence Shall Be Entered Into

Here's a collection of old club and Federation/Association correspondence, some with nice letterheads.

                                                    (Click on images to enlarge)

The old Box Hill

The above is a photo (click on it for larger version) of Box Hill Soccer Club from the 1928 season. The establishment of the Box Hill club began in 1922-23 with a team playing sporadic friendly matches. In 1925 the club was admitted to the new Fourth Division of the Victorian Amateur British Football Association. It was a successful season, the Championship clinched with ten wins out of twelve games leaving the club four points ahead of Brighton.

It was a barnstorming start for the pioneers of football in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, who took out the Third Division Championship in 1926. Eleven wins from fourteen games saw them finish two points clear of runner's-up Werribee United.

The following year was that of the District League schism. Box Hill were part of the District League, recognised as the official premier competition in Melbourne football. With one result missing (a game between Box Hill and St Kilda) my records have them level on points with Footscray Thistle and South Melbourne, four points behind Prahran City, the Champions. The inscription on the back of the above photograph lists the club as being runner's-up in the District League of 1927. With the weakest of the three teams on goal difference, a draw in the missing game would give them that position. Alternatively the game may have never been played and it maybe "equal runner's-up" would have been more accurate.

It may well be the latter, as it also lists them as being runner's-up in the District League Southern Division the following year. My records have them level with South Melbourne (but with an inferior goal difference), eleven points behind the Naval Depot who took the Championship.

With the split between the District League and Melbourne District Association resolved, 1929 saw Box Hill competing in the new Second Division, finishing fourth behind Caledonians. Winning the Second Division in 1931 led to a stint in the First Division which ended with relegation in 1935. The club competed through the early years of World War II until going into hiatus from 1942.

Returning to action in 1945 in the expanded top flight, steady improvement each year culminated with Box Hill taking out the First Division Championship in 1948. It would be a mainstay at the top level until 1962.

In the 1928 photo, there are only ten players, perhaps because "selfies" hadn't been invented yet. At the time the club was playing on a ground at the corner of Springfield and Dorking (then Doncaster) Roads in Box Hill North which literally was a cow paddock during the week.

The next picture is of a letter (with neat letterhead) from Box Hill to the Moorabbin City club regarding the possible move of R.Rigby between the clubs. It is from the Olympic year of 1956 when the club finished seventh in the First Division won by Juventus on goal difference from Hakaoh.

The old Box Hill went through an early 1980's revival before a downturn in fortunes eventually led to a merger with Clayton Inter. A further merger with Bulleen which formed Bulleen Inter Kings in 1997 saw the link to Box Hill disappear. Junior and women's clubs continued to play out of the Wembley Park ground, and a merger between them and Southern Suburbs in 2011 saw senior men's football return to the district with the formation of Box Hill United.