List of Australian rules football clubs by date of establishment

Further information: List of Australian rules football clubs in Australia

This is a chronological list of Australian rules football clubs since their formation.

Note that some of these football clubs that formed before 1866 (see Laws of Australian football) may not have originally played the game known today as Australian rules football. It is more than likely that most of these clubs were influenced the Melbourne Rules of 1859 which were the dominant rules of the day. However many played by their own rules and often compromised rules when playing against other clubs.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Australia

Year	Date	Club (original name)	City	State	Status/League	Note
1859	14 May	Melbourne Football Club	Melbourne	Victoria	Australian Football League	In 1859, members of the club agreed to the first code of rules for Australian football on 17 May, three days after club officially formed [1] [2]. Oldest club in the Australian Football League.
1859	<30 May	St Kilda Football Club	St Kilda	Victoria	defunct	Not related to the current St Kilda Football Club (see South Yarra entry below). [3].
1859	15 June	Castlemaine Football Club*	Castlemaine	Victoria	Bendigo Football League	possibly dormant for periods [4]
1859	18 July	Geelong Football Club	Geelong	Victoria	Australian Football League	One of the founding members of both the VFA and VFL.
1859		Melbourne University Football Club*	Melbourne	Victoria	VAFA	disbanded for some time after World War I, leaving the VFL, then reformed with multiple teams in the VAFA.
1860		Adelaide Football Club	Adelaide	South Australia	defunct (South Australian Football Association)	Disbanded in 1893. Not to be confused with the present Adelaide Football Club.
1860	20 May	Ballarat Football Club*	Ballarat	Victoria	Ballarat Football League	established as junior club. Senior club established in 1862[5]
1861	3 June	Sandhurst Football Club	Bendigo	Victoria	Bendigo Football League	[6]Alleged to have been founded by J.B. Thompson, one of the inventors of Australian rules football
1862		Modbury Football Club	Adelaide	South Australia	South Australian Amateur Football League	Played its first game against Adelaide at Modbury in 1862[7]
1862		Williamstown Club	Williamstown	Victoria	defunct	The first of two Williamstown clubs
1863*		Sydney University Australian National Football Club	University of Sydney, Sydney	New South Wales	Sydney AFL	SUANFC claims to be a spin-off of Australia's oldest rugby union club, Sydney University Football Club, which experimented with Australian rules in its early years. If the claim is accepted, this would make SUANFC the oldest Australian rules football club in NSW, although it did not play an inter-club fixture until 1887.
1864*		South Yarra Football Club	South Yarra, Melbourne	Victoria	defunct	Merged with the St Kilda Cricketers' Club in 1873 to form the present-day St Kilda Football Club.[2]
1864		Williamstown Football Club	Williamstown	Victoria	Victorian Football League
1864	July	Carlton Football Club	Carlton	Victoria	Australian Football League	[8]
1866	18 April	Kapunda Football Club	Kapunda	South Australia	Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association
1866		Brisbane Australian Football Club*	Brisbane	Queensland	defunct	No connection to Brisbane Bears or Brisbane Lions [9]
1868		Woodville Football Club*	Adelaide	South Australia	defunct	Club disbanded in 1877. Club with same name later formed in 1938.
<1868		Wharehousemen Football Club	Melbourne	Victoria	defunct
1869		North Melbourne Football Club	North Melbourne	Victoria	Australian Football League	Founded as the North Melbourne Football Club in 1869. Amalgamated with Albert Park to form Albert Park-North Melbourne in 1876. Reformed as the Hotham Football Club in 1877. Reverted back to the name North Melbourne Football Club in 1888.
1870	late April or early May	Port Adelaide Football Club	Port Adelaide	South Australia	Australian Football League	[10] Formerly played in the SANFL as the Port Adelaide Magpies until 1997 before awarded a licence to enter the AFL in 1996. Entered AFL in 1997 as the "Power". A new club known as the Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club was formed in 1997 to fill its void in the SANFL
1870		Volunteer Artillery*	Brisbane	Queensland	defunct
1870		Brisbane Grammar School Football Club'*	Brisbane	Queensland	defunct	New junior club established in 2005 to participate in Queensland Independent Schools Australian Football League
1870		Civil Service Football Club*	Brisbane	Queensland	defunct
1870		Ipswich Football Club*	Ipswich	Queensland	defunct
1871		Ararat Football Club*	Ararat	Victoria	now Wimmera Football League
1872		Lilydale Football Club	Lilydale	Victoria	1st Div Eastern Football League	Formerly Yarra Valley Football League, Mountain District Football League, Eastern Districts Football League
1872		Kensington Football Club*	Adelaide	South Australia	defunct	Possibly formed earlier. Folded in 1881
1873		Albert Park Football Club	Albert Park	Victoria	VAFA	last season was in 1970. Another club which continues has its origins in the 1920s and now uses the same name.
1873		Essendon Football Club	Essendon	Victoria	Australian Football League	16 VFL/AFL premierships
1873	2 April	St Kilda Football Club	St Kilda	Victoria	Australian Football League	[11]
1873		Hawthorn Football Club*	Hawthorn	Victoria	Australian Football League	The continuity of clubs with this name is disputed. The existing Hawthorn Football Club is purported to have formed in 1901.
1874	8 June	Rochester Football Club	Rochester	Victoria	Goulburn Valley Football League
1874		Willunga Football Club	Willunga	South Australia	Great Southern Football League	1877 foundation member of SAFA – which became SANFL.[12]
1874		South Melbourne Football Club	South Melbourne	Victoria	Australian Football League	now Sydney Swans
1874		Port Melbourne Football Club	Port Melbourne	Victoria	Victorian Football League
1874		Penshurst Football Club	Penshurst	Victoria	Mininera & District Football League
1875	16 July	Launceston Football Club	Launceston	Tasmania	Tasmanian Football League	[13]
1876		South Adelaide Football Club	Adelaide	South Australia	SANFL	Merged with a club of the same name to form the modern club in 1876
1876		Inglewood Football Club	Inglewood	Victoria	Loddon Valley Football League	[14]
1876		Heidelberg Football Club	Heidelberg	Victoria	Northern Football League
1877		Beechworth Football Club	Beechworth	Victoria	Tallangatta & District Football League
1878		Norwood Football Club	Adelaide	South Australia	SANFL
1879		West Melbourne Football Club	West Melbourne	Victoria	defunct	merged with North Melbourne Football Club
1878		New Norfolk District Football Club	New Norfolk	Tasmania	Southern Football League (Tasmania)
1879	27 March	Reform Football Club	Wellington	New Zealand	defunct
1881		Unions Football Club*	Fremantle	Western Australia	defunct
1881		Murchison Football Club	Murchison	Victoria	Kyabram District Football League
1881		North Hobart Football Club	North Hobart	Tasmania	Tasmanian Football League
1882		Fremantle Football Club	Fremantle	Western Australia	defunct	No relation to the present-day club by the same name. Formed as a rugby club but switched to Australian rules in 1883.
1883	September	Fitzroy Football Club	Fitzroy	Victoria	VAFA	playing operations merged with the Brisbane Bears in 1996, but the club continues to trade as standalone entity
1883		Footscray Football Club	Footscray	Victoria	Australian Football League	now known as "Western Bulldogs"
1885		Richmond Football Club	Richmond	Victoria	Australian Football League	Currently known as the Richmond Tigers.
1885		Rovers Football Club	Perth	Western Australia	defunct	Inaugural premiers of the WA competition in 1885 and again in 1891. Disbanded in 1899.
1885		Victorians Football Club	West Perth	Western Australia	West Australian Football League	In 1889, the club changed its name to Metropolitans and in 1891 to West Perth, the name by which it is still known.
1892		Collingwood Football Club	Melbourne	Victoria	Australian Football League	VFA 1892–1896; VFL/AFL 1897– 15 VFL/AFL Premierships
1892		Corryong Football Club*	Corryong	Victoria	Upper Murray Football League	Upper Murray Football League: 1893–1915; 1918–1940; 1945 – present. (31 Premierships)
1892		Cudgewa Football Club*	Cudgewa	Victoria	Upper Murray Football League	Upper Murray Football League: 1893–1915; 1918–1940; 1945 – present. (28 Premierships)
1892		Federal Football Club*	Corryong	Victoria	Upper Murray Football League	Upper Murray Football League: 1893–1915; 1918–1940; 1945 – present. (26 Premierships) NAME:Mount Elliot FC; (1892–1900) Federal FC (1901 – present) BASED:Mount Elliot, Vic (1892–1903) Corryong, Vic (1904 – present)
1898		East Fremantle Football Club*	East Fremantle	Western Australia	West Australian Football League	WAFA/WAFL/WANFL (1898–present): 29 premierships)
1900	20 April[15]	South Fremantle Football Club	Fremantle	Western Australia	West Australian Football League	WAFL 1900–current 13 WAFL Premierships
1910		Yeronga Football Club	Yeronga	Queensland	AFLQ State Association	Originally known as South Brisbane[3]
1913		Heatherton Football Club	Heatherton	Victoria	Southern Football League	Originally named the Heatherton Freighters they are now known as the Tunners[4]
1924		Mayne Australian Football Club	Everton Hills	Queensland	AFLQ State Association (division 2)	formed as a junior club and became senior club in 1925
1947		Morningside Australian Football Club	Morningside	Queensland	AFLQ State League	[5]
1956		University of Queensland Australian Football Club	St Lucia	Queensland	AFLQ State Association	[6]
1961		Southport Australian Football Club	Southport	Queensland	AFLQ State League	[7]
1970		Broadbeach Australian Football Club	Broadbeach	Queensland	AFLQ State League	[8]
1970		Mount Gravatt Australian Football Club	Mount Gravatt	Queensland	AFLQ State League
1971		Dysart Australian Football Club*	Dysart	Queensland	Central Queensland Highlands AFL Defunct League	Club still continues but has no league to play in
1981		Brothers Rockhampton Roos AFC	Rockhampton	Queensland	AFL Capricornia
1986		Brisbane Bears	Brisbane	Queensland	Australian Football League	1987–1996, then merged with Fitzroy to form the Brisbane Lions
1986		West Coast Eagles	Perth	Western Australia	Australian Football League	1987–current, 3 premierships
1990		Adelaide Football Club	Adelaide	South Australia	Australian Football League	1990–current, 2 premierships
1995		Fremantle Football Club	Fremantle	Western Australia	Australian Football League	1995–current
1996		Brisbane Lions	Brisbane	Queensland	Australian Football League	1997–current, merger of Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears
1996		Peel Thunder	Mandurah	Western Australia	West Australian Football League	1997–current[16]

* = defunct, disputed, poorly documented or dormant for a period.

References

1. ^ The Herald, 16 May 1859
2. ^ The Argus, 21 May 1859
3. ^ The Argus 30 May 1859
4. ^ "AFL News, Scores, Stats, Transfers – Real Footy". The Age (Melbourne). http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/articles/2005/06/04/1117825103656.html?from=storyrhs. 
5. ^ Ballarat Football Netball Club – Club History
6. ^ The Argus, 5 June 1861
7. ^ Modbury Football Club History
8. ^ [1]
9. ^ Other Comps
10. ^ South Australian Register, 13 May 1870
11. ^ The Argus, 14 April 1873
12. ^ site home page
13. ^ The Examiner, 17 July 1875
14. ^ Inglewood Football Club
15. ^ "FOOTBALL.". The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879-1954) (Perth, WA: National Library of Australia): p. 7. 23 April 1900. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23833943. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 
16. ^ Peel Thunder

External links