Canterbury Football Club, in the leafy eastern Melbourne suburb of Canterbury, is one of the oldest local football clubs in Australia. It is in fact older than a number of Victorian AFL clubs. Formed in 1881, the club has played at its current ground since 1895 and worn its jumper since 1915. It is a club with a lot of history and great heritage. For a club with such an old history, its story has never been written until now.
After two years in the making, local historian James Nicolas has finished the book, Canterbury Football Club: Berries to Cobras.
“I was born and grew up in the suburb and played for the club from under 13s until seniors when I went on to play for other clubs,” the author says.
“A couple of years ago when I heard the club was struggling on the bottom of the ladder I offered to write the club history and it went from there. I did not intend for it to end up a book as such, more I wanted to give the club the history to engender some pride. The journey of discovery, like Homer in The Iliad, took me down many unsuspecting paths. I found out that the club had the first 100 goals in a season goalkicker in Victoria, that the club’s jumper was chosen by the suburb’s residents in 1915 after many Anzacs had died in Flanders, Belgium.
“To remember this event the club chose the Belgian flag with its colours of red, yellow and black. The club changed its jumper briefly at the end of WWII as the Germans replaced the swastika flag with a flag that looked almost identical to the Canterbury jumper. The club changed to green and gold but in 1949 changed back to its original strip. The club has also had one of Australian football’s first all female executive committees and has produced many famous VFA/AFL players.”
James Nicolas, who went there to write the history, was also elected Vice President for this season, so now has the job of trying to restore this club to its former glory as it has struggled near the bottom for over four years.
“My father, who came out from Cyprus in 1949 on his own without any money, and who gave me an upbringing in Canterbury due to his hard work, always provides me with an example of overcoming struggles and adversity in life,” James explains.
“His family were tobacco farmers who lost their farm in the Great Depression, and life for the family was always a struggle as they moved from Ayios Theodhoros village to Famagusta to make ends meet. My parents taught me the key lessons in life that I try to apply to help the club go forward and return to former glory. Like my relatives in Cyprus, they face an uncertain future due to the economic problems there, but in Cyprus they have long overcome problems and I am sure they can rise from these current problems they face.”
This book is not only for football lovers but for people who enjoy history, as it talks about the development of the suburb as well and is full of interviews with people, so it is about the good times, the hard times, the funny moments and the heartaches. The book is $40, with all proceeds going to the club, and can be obtained by emailing cobrascfc@gmail.com