History

The Early Days

Petersham Football Club, one of Sydney’s great rugby institutions, first took the field in 1883. This was just after the first inter-colonial match between New South Wales and Queensland, and a year before New Zealand’s first representative team toured Sydney.

At the time, Sydney club rugby was divided into Senior and Junior levels. While the Senior competition had operated since 1874, Junior rugby was less organised until the Southern Rugby Union introduced an official competition in 1886. Petersham had already affiliated with the Union and joined that inaugural second-tier season.

Junior rugby quickly grew in popularity, with the competition expanding regularly. Petersham established itself among the leading clubs, competing in every First Junior season from 1886 to 1895. The club won the title in 1889 and reached the semi-finals four other times.

The club also developed outstanding talent, producing many representative players and supplying strong footballers to the Senior ranks. Among them were Arthur Braund and Rush Nelson, who later played multiple tests for New South Wales, with Nelson also representing Queensland.

Survival Through Change

By the late 1890s, Sydney rugby was undergoing major reform. In 1897, the newly formed Metropolitan Rugby Union took control of Sydney’s club competitions and moved to streamline the existing system. Its aim was to reduce the number of clubs, making competitions easier to manage and raising the standard of top-level rugby.

As a result, many smaller Junior clubs disappeared. By the start of the 1898 season, more than twenty foundation clubs of the new union had been removed, including the entire Fourth Junior competition.

Petersham was strong enough to survive. While many excluded Junior clubs folded between 1897 and 1900, a handful, including Petersham, continued playing independently outside the control of the Metropolitan and New South Wales Rugby Unions.

In 1901, this breakaway competition was formally established as the City and Suburban Association, the direct predecessor of today’s Subbies rugby.

The Establishment of Subbies Rugby

Petersham is the only surviving founding member of that competition, forming the basis of its claim as Australia’s oldest Subbies club. The club competed from 1901 to 1905, winning the premiership in 1904. During this period, one opponent was Dally Messenger, who played for Warrigals before earning Wallaby and Kangaroo honours.

In 1906, Petersham joined the Metropolitan Rugby Union’s Borough competition, created in 1902 to challenge the new rebel union. The club remained there for two seasons until the competition ended in 1907.

Petersham then ceased operations for the first time since its founding, creating the only break in the club’s history, before reforming after the First World War.

When rugby resumed in New South Wales in 1919, the City and Suburban Association and Metropolitan Rugby Union were not revived. Instead, the New South Wales Rugby Union took control and introduced a new combined competition.

Petersham quickly rose through the ranks, reaching First Grade in 1922. However, its brief spell in senior rugby proved difficult, with the club’s only two competition points coming from a final-round forfeit by University of Sydney. Relegated to Third Grade, Petersham responded by winning the title and earning promotion to Reserve Grade B.

The previous year had seen the first presentation of the Kentwell Cup to Reserve Grade B premiers, beginning Petersham’s long association with one of Subbies rugby’s most prized trophies.

The 1934 Kentwell Cup and Beyond

In 1929, the New South Wales Rugby Union split its competition into District and Non-District divisions. Petersham remained in the Non-District competition, which became the Metropolitan Sub-District Rugby Union in 1933.

Petersham won its first Kentwell Cup in 1934, defeating Roseville in the grand final. With a vacancy opening in the District competition, it was decided that whichever club won the 1935 Kentwell Cup would be promoted. Roseville claimed the rematch, later merging with Chatswood and Gordon to form Gordon District Rugby Club, while Petersham remained in Subbies.

After the Second World War, Petersham came under the leadership of Ron McLean, one of Subbies rugby’s great figures. Having first played for the club in 1935, he later served a combined 47 years as president and secretary. One of his most significant legacies was the Petersham World Tour.

Although Petersham had toured since the 1880s, in 1966 it became the first rugby club in the world to complete a round-the-world football tour. Many later touring squads included prominent New South Wales and Australian representative players.

Return to Success

The competition was later reorganised into three divisions, with Petersham entering 1st Division. The club reached the Kentwell Cup final in 1972, losing to Hunters Hill, before winning back-to-back titles in 1973 and 1974, defeating Lindfield and then Hunters Hill.

An internal dispute after the 1974 premierships led to the departure of many key players, and within two years Petersham had fallen to 3rd Division. A difficult period followed, with the club at times close to extinction.

Revival in the 1990s and 2000s

A committee reshuffle and new players in 1993 sparked a revival. Petersham returned to 3rd Division in 1996 and enjoyed a strong run of success:

Campbell Cup winners (1997)
Farrant and Nicholson Cups (1999)
Clark, Farrant and joint Campbell Cups (2000)
Keith Harris Shield for 3rd Division club champions (2000)

This success earned promotion to 2nd Division, though the club was relegated again in 2005 after injuries and poor fortune.

The rebound was immediate. In 2006, Petersham won the Campbell Cup, followed by Farrant and Nicholson Cup victories in 2007.

125 Years and Modern Era

In 2008, Petersham celebrated its 125th anniversary. All four grades reached the 3rd Division grand finals, with the club winning the Farrant and Campbell Cups.

Recent achievements include:

2011 – 3rd Division Champions
2013 – 2nd Division Champions
2017 – 1st Division Champions and Kentwell Cup winners
2018 – Back-to-back Kentwell Cup winners

Our Colours

Petersham RUFC’s original 19th-century colours were described as “Bismarck and Coral, 4-inch bars.” While the exact shades are uncertain today, the strip likely reflected those contrasting tones.

These colours were worn from the club’s founding in 1883 until the end of the Metropolitan Rugby Union Borough Competition in 1907.

After World War I, the club reformed and initially played in dark green. However, this was soon overshadowed by Randwick’s Myrtle Green, prompting another change. In 1929, when Petersham joined the new Non-District competition, the club adopted its modern colours: “Sky Blue and Maroon, 4-inch bars,” reflecting the traditional colours of the New South Wales and Queensland rugby unions.

Since then, the design has remained largely unchanged. The only major addition has been the Waratah crest of New South Wales, featuring the club’s founding year, 1883.

Today, the Petersham jumper stands as a proud symbol of the club’s long history and continues to inspire players in memorable victories.