Beechworth Football Club


Beechworth Football & Netball Club, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian rules football and netball club based in Beechworth, Victoria. Its teams currently play in the Tallangatta & District Football League.
The club was known as the Beechworth Bombers but upon joining the Tallangatta & District Football League it became the Bushrangers due to Dederang-Mount Beauty having already taken the nickname of "Bombers".
Before playing the TDFL, Beechworth took part in the Ovens & Murray and the Ovens & King leagues.

History

The "Beechworth Football Club" was formed in 1861, joining the Victorian Football League in 1877. The club entered into a recess from 1878 to 1892, returning to official competition when it joined Rutherglen & District league, which began in 1893. It had previously played against other mining areas such as Chiltern and Rutherglen in occasional matches. There were two football teams in Beechworth. One was the Beechworth FC and the other was the Wanderers FC, which was based at Hurdle Flat, near Stanley.
After a meeting between officials of both clubs in 1892, they merged under the name "Beechworth District Wanderers Football Club". The team adopted a red and black striped guernsey. The club joined the Ovens & King league, winning three consecutive premierships in 1912, 1913 and 1914, leaving the league that same year. The club suspended its activities from 1915 to 1918 during the World War I, returning to the league in 1919.
Two years later Beechworth joined Ovens & Murray league, then returning to the Ovens & King until 1935. A new recess came in 1941 with the Second World War. Beechworth's tenure on Ovens & King lasted until 2004, when the club joined Tallangatta & District Football League, where has played up to present days.

Premierships