World Footy News

The following is an extract from my own new book which explores the early days of Australian Rules football in the districts to the south of Cairns in North Queensland. It looks at the history of clubs such as the Babinda Magpies and the mighty Centrals Aloomba teams of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s through to their modern day incarnation, Pyramid Power.

 

Along the way the deeds of great local people such as the legendary Howard Kennedy from Woopen Creek, the tragedy of Des Trannore and many more are looked at within the fabric of the game’s development in the tropics.

 

From the centre circle at Power Park I look south towards the majesty of Walsh’s Pyramid, the small mountain that watches serenely over Gordonvale and the surrounding district.  It is the landmark from which our club, Pyramid Power, has taken its name and is a symbol for the club, most local schools and many local businesses.

 

 

Occasionally my reverie is diverted by the irritated squawk of a nearby plover, or the gentle grazing of a flock of ibis. 

 

Other sights and sounds tell their own story. Above the tree line the smoke billows from the Mulgrave Central Sugar Mill, itself another icon of this sugar producing region. The Hambledon Mill is long gone, and there is now a pile of rubble where the Babinda Mill once proudly stood. But the Mulgrave Mill still stands, and the smells, sounds and views of its non-stop seasonal production are still a part of the Gordonvale way of life.

 

From this centre circle, it’s as if I’m a spectator to history itself, not just a sport.

 

In 2014, the Pyramid Power Australian Football & Sporting Club celebrates their 10th anniversary. It follows a year which bought two junior premierships and approval for our first ever senior team in 2014 in the women’s competition. It makes a good story.

 

However, the story of this club goes back further…right back to the beginnings of Australian Rules football in Far North Queensland and the deeds of great men such as Howard Kennedy. As I sit here on the spongy green grass of the centre square at Power Park, I think of where this story should begin.

 

A fitting start would be Woopen Creek.

 

Anybody interested in this examination of both a rich part of the history of Australian Rules football and a close look at how a new club came into existence can contact World Footy News for more information. The book is due for release during February.

 

 

 

 

Left: "Kennedy's Legacy"