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The Polwarth Football League (PFL) was an Australian rules football competition based in south-west rural Victoria. Named for the electoral district of Polwarth, which encapsulated numerous competing clubs, the league was established as the Polwarth Football Association (PFA) in 1922, before it was renamed as the Polwarth Football League in 1950.

The league's final season took place in 1970; six of the league's eight teams then migrated to the newly formed Bellarine & District Football League for 1971, with the remaining two (Apollo Bay and Lorne) commencing in the Colac & District Football League.

History

The first Polwarth Football Association season was conducted

The McDonald Cup, the trophy for which clubs were originally presented upon winning the premiership, was first introduced in 1929. The cup was initiated by and named after local politician James McDonald, who died in 1933; before his passing, he specified that no club could permanently hold the trophy until every club had held it at least once. However, Winchelsea was given outright ownership of the cup after winning a trifecta of premierships from 1937 to 1939.

In September 1939, the association announced that teams would next year compete for the Marjorie Lawrence Cup, named for Australian soprano singer Marjorie Lawrence, a Deans Marsh local who had left the area to study music.

However, by 1941, the Polwarth Association was put on hold due to Australia's increasing involvement in World War II. The competition would not return until 1946.

In 1950 there was a mass exodus of clubs from the Colac & District Football League, the cause was that the Colac (Hampden league) team wanted to have the right to pick any player from the Colac DFL without needing a clearance. The result was Colac Imperials and Coragulac opted to leave and join the Polwarth FL and be away from Colac's reach. Beeac had a short stint in the Western Plains FL for two years before also joining the Polwarth FL.

After a couple of years the threat of Colac poaching their players had ceased, the Colac Imperials returned to the CDFL in 1955. Deans Marsh succumbed to player shortage and that was offset by the introduction of Queenscliff in 1957. Coragulac got permission to join the Hampden League in 1961 and Beeac returned to the Colac DFL.

Seeking new clubs, the league admitted Torquay in 1964 and then Leopold and Portarlington in 1965. Birregurra after a run of poor seasons went into recess after unsuccessfully applying to change to the Colac DFL. With the balance of the league shifting closer to Geelong the idea was floated to introduce more clubs closer to Geelong. Knowing that their little town didn't have the catchment to lure players as the other clubs did, Forrest transferred to the Colac DFL in 1969. The other clubs voted to form the Bellarine DFL and blocked Lorne and Apollo Bay from joining. These clubs were forced to join the Colac DFL making it the largest country football league at the time.

Clubs

Final Clubs

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	Years in comp	PFL Senior Premierships		Fate
							Total	Years
Apollo Bay		Hawks	Apollo Bay Recreation Reserve, Apollo Bay	OFA	1900s	1929-1930, 1935-1970	0	-	Moved to Colac & District FL in 1971
Leopold		Lions	Leopold Memorial Park, Leopold	GDFL	1955	1965-1970	0	-	Formed to Bellarine FL in 1971
Lorne		Dolphins	Stribling Reserve, Lorne	WBFA	1896	1929-1970	8	1933, 1935, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950	Moved to Colac & District FL in 1971
Ocean Grove		Grubbers	Shell Road Reserve, Ocean Grove	GDFL	1964	1969-1970	0	-	Formed the Bellarine FL in 1971
Portarlington		Demons	Portarlington Recreation Reserve, Portarlington	GDFL	1874	1964-1970	0	-	Formed the Bellarine FL in 1971
Queenscliff		Coutas	Queenscliff Recreation Reserve, Queenscliff	GDFL	1928	1957-1970	7	1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968	Formed the Bellarine FL in 1971
Torquay		Tigers	Spring Creek Reserve, Torquay	GDFL	1952	1964-1970	0	-	Formed the Bellarine FL in 1971
Winchelsea		Blues	Eastern Reserve, Winchelsea	WBFA	1876	1923-1970	10	1924, 1926, 1932, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1951, 1957, 1960, 1969, 1970	Formed the Bellarine FL in 1971

Former Clubs

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	Years in comp	PFL Senior Premierships		Fate
							Total	Years
Beeac		Magpies	Beeac Recreation Reserve, Beeac	WPFL	1919	1952-1961	1	1956	Moved to Colac & District FL in 1962
Birregurra		Saints	Birregurra Recreation Reserve, Birregurra	WBFA	1883	1922-1965	5	1927, 1928, 1930, 1935, 1955	Entered recess in 1966, re-formed in Colac & District FL in 1967
Colac Imperials		Cats	Western Reserve, Colac	CDFL	1922	1950-1954	0	-	Returned to Colac & District FL in 1955
Colac Memorial Rooms		Diggers	Colac Showgrounds, Colac		1922	1922-1923	1	1923	Folded
Colac Rovers		Rovers	Colac Showgrounds, Colac	CFL	1900s	1922-1924	1	1922	Returned to Corangamite FL in 1925
Coragulac		Hawks	Coragulac Recreational Ground, Coragulac	–	1940s	1950-1960	3	1953, 1958, 1959	Moved to Hampden FL in 1961
Deans Marsh		The Marsh	Deans Marsh Recreation Reserve, Deans Marsh	WBFA		1922-1957	1	1929	Folded
Forrest		Lions	Forrest Recreation Reserve, Forrest	–	1891	1922-1969	6	1925, 1931, 1934, 1952, 1954, 1966	Moved to Colac & District FL in 1970
Inverleigh		Hawks	Inverleigh Recreation Reserve, Inverleigh	WBFA		1926	0	-	Moved to Mathieson Trophy competition
Mount Moriac			Mount Moriac Recreation Reserve, Mount Moriac	FCDFA	1878	1922-1926	0	-	Moved to Geelong Athletic Society FL in 1927, now known as Modewarre

Premiers

References

1. "Polwarth Football League / Polwarth Football Association (Vic)". Footypedia. 21 November 2008. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
2. ^ Roberts, Kirsty, ed. (2015). Polwarth League Reunion 1950–1970. Birregurra Football Netball Club.
3. "POLWARTH PEOPLE KEEN ON FOOTBALL". Weekly Times. No. 3753. Victoria, Australia. 9 September 1939. p. 62 (FIRST EDITION). Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "MARJORIE LAWRENCE PRESENTS CUP". Weekly Times. No. 3756. Victoria, Australia. 23 September 1939. p. 66. Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "No Football At Colac". Weekly Times. No. 3751. Victoria, Australia. 10 May 1941. p. 40. Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "Australian Football - PFL Premiership season - Season 2022B". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
7. "DEANS MARSH". Geelong Advertiser. No. 23, 475. Victoria, Australia. 24 August 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "COLAC AND DISTRICT". The Advocate. Vol. LIII, no. 2602. Victoria, Australia. 10 August 1922. p. 33. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia. Colac are in the lead for the Polwarth competition.
9. "COUNTRY NEWS". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 24, 039. Victoria, Australia. 23 August 1923. p. 14. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
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11. "POLWARTH ASSOCIATION". Geelong Advertiser. No. 24, 386. Victoria, Australia. 5 August 1925. p. 2. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
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20. "Forrest Successful". Weekly Times. No. 3491. Victoria, Australia. 25 August 1934. p. 66 (FIRST EDITION). Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
21. "Other Games". The Age. No. 25, 068. Victoria, Australia. 19 August 1935. p. 7. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
22. "Other Games". The Age. No. 25, 402. Victoria, Australia. 14 September 1936. p. 4. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
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24. "RESULTS OF OTHER GAMES". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 28, 722. Victoria, Australia. 12 September 1938. p. 14. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
25. "GEELONG". The Age. No. 26328. Victoria, Australia. 4 September 1939. p. 6. Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
26. "Lorne Win Premiership". Weekly Times. No. 3711. Victoria, Australia. 3 August 1940. p. 39. Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
27. "COUNTRY SPORT RESULTS". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 31, 208. Victoria, Australia. 9 September 1946. p. 14. Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
28. "SPORT IN THE COUNTRY". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 31, 525. Victoria, Australia. 15 September 1947. p. 37. Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
29. "History". Lorne Football Club. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
30. "V.F.L. Umpires". The Age. No. 29127. Victoria, Australia. 2 September 1948. p. 8. Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
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32. "SALE TOO STRONG IN FINAL". The Argus. No. 32, 145. Victoria, Australia. 12 September 1949. p. 17. Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.

• Australian rules football competitions in Victoria (state)
• Defunct Australian rules football competitions in Victoria (state)
• Defunct sports competitions in Australia