Port Melbourne Railway United Football Club

The Port Melbourne Railway United Football Club, also known simply as Railway United or just Railway, was an Australian rules football club based in Port Melbourne.^[3][4]

Port Melbourne Railway United
Names
Full name	Port Melbourne Railway United Football Club
Former name(s)	Port Melbourne Junior Football Club (c. 1919−c. 1928)
Nickname(s)	Portsmen, Ways[1][2]
Club details
Founded	March 1902; 122 years ago (1902-03)
Dissolved	c. 1939; 86 years ago (1939)
Premierships	VJFA (3) 1910 1913 1914
Ground(s)	Richmond City Reserve
Uniforms
Home

Railway United was one of the most successful clubs in the Victorian Junior Football Association (VJFA), appearing in seven grand finals from 1910 until 1926. It also had an reserves affiliation with the Port Melbourne Football Club in the mid-1920s.^[5]

The club had various rivalries throughout its history, most notably with the Yarraville Football Club, as well as with the Fernside Football Club and Prahran Juniors.^[6][7][8]

History

Early years

Port Melbourne Railway United was formed in March 1902 after a meeting at the Prince Arthur Hotel.^[7] The club entered the A Section of Fenton and Dinsdale's Suburban 6th rate competition, finishing third at the end of the season.^[7] Many of the club's players also worked on the Sandridge railway.^[9]

In 1903, Railway United moved to R. Smith's South Suburban 5th rate competition.^[7] However, several of the club's best players left shortly before the start of the season. Despite this, the club went onto win its first 5th Rate game with only 16 players, and after gaining more players as the season progressed, went onto win the premiership.^[7]

Railway United moved to the Linton 5th rate competition in 1904, going undefeated for the season, and then entered the 3rd rate competition in 1905, although "many thought they were too small for this competition".^[7] They were again undefeated for the season, in what The Standard described as "undoubtedly the best team that ever played" in the 3rd rate competition.^[7]

The club discussed joining the Victorian Junior Football Association (VJFA) for the 1906 season, but ultimately chose to stay in the 3rd rate competition.^[7] Owing to a misunderstanding as to where the first match was to be played, a number of Railway United players did not turn up, and the club was defeated by a point in round 1 (their first defeat in three seasons).^[7] Later that year, they won the premiership for the fourth time in a row.^[10]

VJFA entry

In 1907, after a "great deal of discussion", Railway United entered the VJFA with a 1st rate team, playing their home games at Richmond City Reserve.^[7][11] The club finished second on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season and were widely seen as premiership favourites, but after a disagreement about who would play against Footscray Juniors in the semi-final, players entered the field "very dissatisfied" and a 26-point loss followed.^[7][12]

The 1908 season was a difficult one for Railway United, as they had close losses to Footscray Juniors and Yarraville and just missed out on a place in the finals series.^[7] The fifth-placed finish was the club's lowest in its history.^[13] They also appeared to have played at least home home game against Port Melbourne Cricket Ground this season.^[14]

They returned to the finals series in 1909, but again missed out after a semi-final loss to Yarraville.^[15]

VJFA success

See also: 1912 VJFA Grand Final

Railway United won its first VJFA premiership in 1910, defeating Yarraville by 25 points.^[16] The grand final was again reached in 1911, but Railway United was defeated by Fitzroy Juniors by 38 points.^[17]

In 1912, the club was involved in a controversial grand final against Yarraville.^[18] Railway United won the match by three points, but Yarraville successfully protested one of Port Melbourne's second quarter goals on the grounds of goal umpire error, and the match was reversed to a three-point Yarraville victory.^[19] Although they had the right to challenge, Railway United refused to play as its own act of protest, and was almost banned from the VJFA as a result.^[20][21]

The 1913 and 1914 seasons saw back-to-back premierships for Railway United, with victories over Yarraville and South Melbourne District respectively.^[22][23] The club did not make any grand finals in the following six seasons, possibly because 80 of its players were fighting in World War I (the highest proportion of the total number of players recruited from a VJFA club) and it appears to have been in recess for the 1916 season.^[24][25] Railway United suffered an 11-point loss to Preston in the 1921 grand final.^[26][27]

Later years

In 1924, the VJFA started to formally become the reserves competition for the Victorian Football Association (VFA).^[28] By 1925, Railway United were effectively the reserves team of the VFA's Port Melbourne Football Club, and were referred to in the media as the "Port Melbourne Junior Football Club" (although the Railway United name remained in use locally for many years).^{[29][30][31][32]}

Back-to-back grand final losses against Yarraville came in 1925 and 1926.^[33][34]

In 1928, the VJFA officially became the VFA reserves competition, and Railway United (like all other non-VFA clubs) left the VJFA, joining the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA).^[35][36]

Exactly what happened with the club in the next decade is unclear. Records show it was still active in the 1930s, with Port Melbourne playing at least one practice game against Railway United ahead of the 1930 VFA season.^[37][38][39]

It appears the club may have played in the Wednesday Football League (WFL), a mid-week workplace competition that disbanded in the mid-1930s.^[40] A club known as "Railways" was known to have competed in the 1920s and 1930s as one of the strongest clubs in the competition, but that included seasons where Port Melbourne Railway United was in the VJFA.^[24][41]

Port Melbourne Railway United still existed in 1938, but no records can be found after this time. It is possible the club dissolved because of the impacts of World War II.^[42]

Honours

Season records

At the end of the 1910 VJFA season, Railway United had an all-time winning record of 84.97%.^[7]

Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	GF/BF	TF	GA/BA	TA
173	147	24	2	832.1299	6291	391.609	2955

Seasons

Premiers

Grand Finalist

Minor premiers

Finals appearance

Wooden spoon

Year	League	Division	Finish	W	L	D	Coach	Captain	Best and fairest	Leading goalkicker	Ref
1902	6th rate		3rd
1903	5th rate		1st
1904	5th rate		1st		0
1905	3rd rate		1st		0
1906	3rd rate		1st
1907	VJFA		2nd	13	4	1						[43]
1908	VJFA		5th	10	8	0						[13]
1909	VJFA		2nd	13	4	1						[44]
1910	VJFA		1st	15	1	0		A. Hair[45]				[46]
1911	VJFA		2nd	13	5	0			J. Menzies[47]			[48]
1912	VJFA		1st									[49]
1913	VJFA		1st	16	1	0				Moloney[50]	45	[51]
1914	VJFA		1st	11	3	0						[52]
1915	VJFA		5th	11	7	0		W. Critch[53][54]				[55]
1916	VJFA		(In recess due to World War I)	[25]
1917	VJFA		7th	6	12	0						[56]
1918	VJFA		6th	7	9	0						[57]
1919	VJFA		4th	8	7	0						[58]
1920	VJFA		5th									[59]
1921	VJFA		2nd	13	4	0						[60]
1922	VJFA		6th	10	8	0						[61]
1923	VJFA		8th	7	11	1						[62]
1924	VJFA	VFA Section	5th	10	6	0						[28]
1925	VJFA	VFA Section	[a]
1926	VJFA	VFA Section	1st[b]									[63]
1927	VJFA	VFA Section
1928	MJFA
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938

VFL players

A number of Railway United players also played in the Victorian Football League (VFL), which is known today as the Australian Football League (AFL).^[64]

• William Angwin − Melbourne, St Kilda
• Harry Brereton − Melbourne
• Frank Gomez Jr. − Essendon
• Mal Lowrie − South Melbourne
• George McDonald − St Kilda
• Billy Moxham − South Melbourne
• Clarrie Roberts − St Kilda
• Jack Robertson − Melbourne
• Claude Thomas − South Melbourne

Notes

1. In 1925, Railway United finished in an unknown position in the VFA Section and were runners-up in the VJFA Section grand final.
2. In 1926, Railway United finished 1st in the VFA Section but were runners-up in the VJFA Section grand final.

References

1. "JUNIOR RESULTS". Trove. Weekly Times. 18 September 1909. p. 20. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
2. "RAILWAY UNITED". Trove. Port Melbourne Standard. 4 May 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
3. "RAILWAY UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB". Trove. Port Melbourne Standard. 16 September 1911. p. 4. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
4. "JUNIOR FOOTBALL". Trove. Port Melbourne Standard. 30 September 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
5. "1907 Reserves". Blueseum. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
6. "First-Rate Junior Association". Trove. Port Melbourne Standard. 20 August 2010. p. 3. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
7. "Port Melbourne Railway United Football Club". Trove. Port Melbourne Standard. 12 November 1910. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
8. "JUNIOR FOOTBALL". Trove. Port Melbourne Standard. 22 July 1911. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
9. Pikó, Lauren (11 September 2017). "Railway United Football Club". pastport.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
10. "Railway United Football Club 1905 - Premiers 1903-4-5". Australian Sports Museum. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
11. "PORT MELB. RAILWAY UNITED F.C." Trove. Port Melbourne Standard. 13 April 1907. p. 3. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
12. "Football – the Junior Premiership". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. 7 October 1907. p. 10.
13. "The Junior Premiership". Trove. Leader. 12 September 1908. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
14. "1908 Reserves". Blueseum. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
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24. Burke, Peter (November 2008). "A social history of workplace Australian football, 1860–1939" (PDF). CORE. RMIT University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2024.
25. "PREMIERSHIP LIST TO DATE". Winner. 13 September 1916. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
26. "JUNIOR ASSOCIATION". The Argus. 5 September 1921. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
27. "PRESTON PREMIERS". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 3 October 1921. p. 11.
28. "ASSOCIATION". The Age. 25 August 1924. p. 15. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
29. "FOOTBALL". Trove. Port Melbourne Standard. 15 March 1919. p. 2. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
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33. "Football – Port Juniors lose Grand Final". The Record. Melbourne, VIC. 10 October 1925. p. 2.
34. "Victorian Juniors' Grand Final". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. 4 October 1926. p. 17.
35. "Port Melbourne Railway United Football Club (Victoria)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 10 August 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
36. "LEAGUE PERMITS GRANTED". The Argus. 21 June 1928. p. 4. Retrieved 25 December 2024. St Jude's v. Port Melbourne United
37. "FOOTBALL PRACTICE GAMES". Trove. The Herald. 19 April 1930. p. 3. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
38. "ASSOCIATION". Trove. The Age. 21 April 1930. p. 5. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
39. "List of Coming Events". Trove. Record. 3 April 1932. p. 7. Retrieved 27 September 2024. Thursday April 21 — Port Melbourne Railway United Football Club
40. "GOMEZ, Frank". essendonfcpastplayers.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024. He also played for Port Melbourne Railway United Football Club in the Wednesday League.
41. "Wednesday League". Trove. Sporting Globe. 20 July 1932. p. 9. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
42. "Ticket, Port Melbourne Railway United Football Club, 1938". victoriancollections.net.au. Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
43. "THE FOOTBALL SEASON". Trove. Standard. 28 September 1907. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
44. "VICTORIAN JUNIOR ASSOCIATION". Trove. The Argus. 6 September 1909. p. 5. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
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46. "VICTORIAN JUNIOR ASSOCIATION". Trove. The Age. 19 September 1910. p. 11. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
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48. "VICTORIAN JUNIOR ASSOCIATION". Trove. The Age. 4 September 1911. p. 13. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
49. "FIRST-RATE JUNIOR ASSOCIATION". Trove. Standard. 31 August 1912. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
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52. "VICTORIAN JUNIOR ASSOCIATION". The Argus. 3 August 1914. p. 6. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
53. "AMONG THE JUNIORS". Trove. Port Melbourne Standard. 5 June 1915. p. 4. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
54. "AMONG THE JUNIORS". Port Melbourne Standard. 17 July 1915. p. 4. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
55. "Footscray wins final". Winner. 22 September 1915. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
56. "Football". Sporting Judge. 22 September 1917. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
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58. "ASSOCIATION PREMIERSHIP LIST". The Age. 1 September 1919. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
59. "JUNIOR ASSOCIATION". The Argus. 6 September 1920. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
60. "ASSOCIATION". The Age. 29 August 1921. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
61. "Junior Association". Labor Call. 7 September 1922. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
62. "Association". The Age. 10 September 1923. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
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64. Carroll, Lynda (17 May 2011). "The ghost of James Mackie". Melbourne Football Club. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.