ALBERTON OVAL has been the spiritual home of Port Adelaide for more than 140 years and will soon be called home for the club’s history making inaugural AFLW team.
While there is still over a year’s wait to see Port Adelaide’s women in action, it won’t be the first time Alberton Oval will host women’s football, with history dating back over 100 years.
As the club prepares for its competition debut in late 2022, portadelaidefc.com.au takes a look back at one of the first known Port Adelaide women’s games.
An excerpt from the Port Adelaide News details one of South Australia’s earliest women’s football games on record, between teams representing Port Adelaide and Thebarton.
Symbolically, the game was held at Port Adelaide’s soon to be AFLW home ground, Alberton Oval.
The match took place on Saturday 2 November, 1918 and Eileen Reid captained Port Adelaide on the day.
Unfortunately, an inexperienced Port Adelaide side went down to a strong Thebarton outfit by 44 points.
The price of entry was sixpence for adults – the equivalent of $2.31 these days – or three pence for children, with net proceeds from the match donated to the build of the Port Adelaide Workers’ Memorial.
The memorial was completed in 1921, to honour Labor pioneers associated with Port Adelaide, who created unions and campaigned for workers’ rights.
PORT ADELAIDE v THEBARTON
Date: Sat 2 November 1918
Venue: Alberton Oval
Final score:
Thebarton 6.14 (50)
Port Adelaide 1.0 (6)
Players who represented the Port Adelaide side:
- Eileen Reid (captain)
- Nellie Delevante (vice-captain)
- Irene Piper
- Annie Liccioni
- Ivy McKay
- Jessie Roberts
- Gladys Trewartha
- Dolly Hartland
- Naomi Farr
- Vera Shaw
- Eileen Clarke
- Daisy Clarke
- Annie Irvine
- Madge Watson
- Gertie Beythein
- Lily Smith
- Rita Cheeseman
- Annie Weir
