A Great Tradition – Cananore/Hobart Football Clubs

Pictured (from left): Lachie Andrews, Jason Gridley, Jacob Quinn, David Monks

As part of the club’s theme for 2022, the Hobart Football Club is looking to celebrate and build on “A Great Tradition” that is our club’s history.

We really want to celebrate the club’s proud history dating back to 1901.
That is why this Saturday 23 July we will be wearing our ‘Cananore’ heritage strip in our Southern Football League match against the Cygnet Football Club.
Prior to World War 2, the club was known as Cananore and wore a black and yellow strip known as the Canaries.
The club was a Junior club playing at the West Hobart oval in the TFL from 1901 to 1907, before moving to the TCA Ground and being recognised as a senior club from 1908 to 1941 before going into recess for World War 2.
When they would look to return in December 1944, District Football had been formed and the Hobart Football Club was formed at a meeting at the Continental Hotel on 19 December 1944, wearing the same black and yellow, playing at the TCA but changing emblems to the Tigers.
Other founding District Clubs include the now defunct Sandy Bay Football Club, North Hobart Football Club, New Town District Football Club (now Glenorchy) and the New Norfolk District Football Club.
Despite only competing as a senior club from 33 years the Cananore club went on to win 11 TFL premierships and 10 state premierships; winning it’s last TFL Premiership in 1933.
The Club boasted famous players including Albert Collier who played 205 VFL Games with Collingwood, and left the famous Collingwood “The Machine” 1927-1930 flags to Captain/Coach the Canaries, he managed a William Leitch Medal, TFL and State Premiership in his two years at the club.
Other Prominent Players include Horrie Gorringe who played for Cananore from 1914-1930 as a forward pocket and rover.
He went onto play in 5 premierships, made the Tasmanian Team of the Century and has been inducted into the Tasmanian and Australian Football Hall of Fame’s respectively.
Both the Cananore and Hobart Football Club’s would be inducted into the AFLTAS Hall of Fame as a Great Club in 2010.
Adding the success of the two clubs together we can celebrate 122 years of history including:
• 20 TFL Premierships
• 12 State Premierships
• 1 SFL Premiership
Hobart – “A Great Tradition”
Cananore Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame Inductees: Horrie Gorringe, Jack Gardiner, Bruce Carter, Jack Charlesworth, Pat Hartnett, Fred Pringle, Allan Scott, Don Scott and Hec Smith.
Hobart Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame Inductees: Scott Clayton, Noel Atkins, Don Gale, Trevor Leo, Burnie Payne, Ian Stewart, Scott Wade, Paul Sproule, Alastair Lynch, Garth Smith, Wayne Fox, Chris Fagan, Jamie Shanahan, Kevin Bailey, Matthew Armstrong, and Paul Hudson.

Even more on the history of Cananore

Thanks to Matt Cramond

The inscription on the base of the copper name plate sitting on display in the Hobart clubrooms reads as follows. “Charles Edward Walch’s home in Davey Street, Hobart, was named Cananore after his place of birth, Cannanore, a town on the Marabar Coast, Madras Presidency, India. His father, Major J.M Walch was stationed at Cannanore with his regiment, and while there the brothers James and Charles were born. The family, with three sons and two daughters came to settle in Tasmania in 1842.

Charles was then a boy of 12 years of age. Charles subsequently became Superintendent of the Congregational Sunday School, and in 1901 a football team was formed and called Cananore as a tribute to him. The dwelling’s name plate was made in copper by Charles Walch’s niece under the guidance of Mr Dechaineux at the Hobart Technical School and inadvertantly spelt incorrectly omitting one ‘N’.

Cananore, after playing in two junior football associations was admitted to the Tasmanian Football League in 1908 and remained as a Senior Club until the advent of District football at the conclusion of the Second World War.”