The first view of the bare site where once stood the original purpose-built Border Football Club rooms has left a lump in the throats of former players. The fond memories are now all that remain of the club house that served Border from 1965 to 1995 and Koondrook Barham River Raiders from 1996 until 2019 when the current state of the art facility was built.
Prior to 1965, Border club rooms were Cobwell Hall; opposing sides utilised the hall until July 28, 1973. Cobwell Hall was originally constructed on the ‘Picnic Paddock’ portion of ‘Eyrie’ owned by Mr Arthur Eagle. Picnic Paddock had been used for Annual Boxing Day picnics said to attract visitors from far and wide, and the home of Mr and Mrs Eagle became a frequent venue for ‘evening festivities’ post sports.
The hall was constructed for £199/13/7 at the site on the left-hand side of the road immediately across the Little Barber Bridge, with the work carried out mainly by Harry West. After the Second World War, local sports clubs were back in full swing and the Border Athletic Club was in need of better facilities. Mr J.M. Mathers, a man said to possess great drive and initiative, entered into negotiations with Mr Percy Eagle to buy the hall and relocate it to Barham. A price was agreed and the sum of £70 donated to the Hospital Committee in exchange for the building. It was reported that some of the loose ends of relocating the hall had not been tied up and the Council instructed the project to halt action. Mr Mathers solved the problem with a hasty visit to council. “Too late,” he said, “she’s already on the way.” Council raised no further objection, so from 1948, the Cobwell Hall found its new lease of life complete with a ‘real luxury’ of the time, a hot water system.
The 1965 club rooms started as a single room with construction performed by volunteers on Sundays. John McGowan was instrumental in the construction. One particular day, the construction team arrived to find the footing holes refilled. A young boy, Greg Thompson, resided a few doors away, and finding the holes filled with water after a rain, decided to kick the dirt in, as a young mischief maker would.
“That was one memory I had,” laughed Greg.
“Celebrating the 1973 premiership and the 1969 Colts premiership, which I played in, were great memories.
“We used to have a lot of Sunday games against Koondrook, which would draw a big crowd.
“It was great times.”
Local farmer Phill O’Neill remembers building the trusses for the extensions when he had his engineering business.
“I had the engineering business for the extension, but all the other work was done by blokes on weekends, the way it used to get done,” said Phill.
“We grew up in there as kids and footy was central to our lives.
“The old man was president for a while and football and cricket was basically everything.
“I’ve probably got a lot of stories you probably can’t repeat,” laughed Phill.
“I remember the family evening where the ladies would cook tea and there would be a huge community gathering of players and supporters.
“In the late 60s and 70s, football had a period where everyone had a heap of players. At the time, I think Barham had four or five teams and players left over, through the period there were players everywhere.”
Another local involved in the extension of the rooms was builder Champy Thompson.
“I was involved with nearly all the extensions. It was all free labour through John McGowan, who was the main instigator.
“Nearly all the builders around town had a bit to do with it.
“From time to time, when they got enough finances, we’d put another room on, then the kitchen and the netball rooms and the little bits and pieces.
“We used to have a lot of good fun times on Sundays, the Sunday barrels were magnificent.
“Everyone used to get down there and my father (Laurie) and my Uncle Neil were really good singers and they used to get up there and have a bit of a sing along.
“There was an old bloke by the name of Syd Leather and he used to get up there and tell jokes.
“Syd was the local vet, so to speak. Not sure he was an actual vet, but he knew a lot about animals and classed himself as one. He would tell jokes, lots of good memories.”
The removal of the building will be one step in the redevelopment of the Barham Recreation Reserve under the Murray River Council’s Recreation Reserve Masterplan.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 18 May 2023.