Port Adelaide and District Football Association explained

The Port Adelaide and District Football Association (PADFA) was an Australian rules football competition based in the western and north-western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia until it folded in 1952.^[1]

It was first formed in 1921 as the Port Adelaide and Suburban Football Association under the auspices of the Port Adelaide Y.M.C.A., initially as a church based competition.^[2]

Following World War I, the association reformed,^[3] between 1921 and 1923 was known as the Port Adelaide and Suburban Church Football Association, and in 1924 was renamed the Port Adelaide and District Football Association.^[4]

Controversy

• The competition made the news in 1915 when late during the Grand Final, an Ethelton player kicked his Port Catholic opponent after he was beaten to the ball. Multiple fights broke out on the field as a result. Ethelton, who held a small margin at the time, lost the lead, and as a result, the match. When the siren sounded, several hundred spectators stormed the ground fighting. A number of people were injured.^{[5] [6]} Ethelton went on to win the Challenge Final for the Premiership the following week.^[7]
• The association came into potential legal trouble in 1923 when a group of footballers calling themselves the "Rosewater Catholics" nominated a team in the place of the existing club of that name. The existing Rosewater Catholic club that participated in the previous season were instructed to adopt a new name to avoid confusion. Father Gearon, the Parish Priest of Rosewater, was given special permission to state his case for his team and not the new team.^[8] It is not known which team eventually participated as Rosewater Catholic.

Member Clubs

Club	Years Participating	Notes
	1915
Albert Park	1910–15, 1920–32
Alberton Baptist	1911–12, 1920–22
	1915, 1924–30^[9]
Alberton Juniors	1915
Alberton Methodist	1911–13, 1920
Birkenhead	1915, 1933
Birkenhead Junior	1929–41
Birkenhead Sports	1947–51^[10]
	1936
Camden	1936
Central Junior	1911
Eastwood	-1952
	1913–15, 1920–51
Exeter	1931,^[11] 1949	Semaphore Central Juniors (1931)
Glanville Methodist	1920
Kilkenny Terminus	1933
Kilkenny United	1927–1933
Largs Bay	1932–33
Naval Cadets	1915
Ottoway	1933–35
Peterhead	1933
Peterhead Mission	1920
Port Adelaide Methodist	1912–13
Port Catholic	1914–15
Port Adelaide Church United	1920–23
Port Adelaide Congregational	1911–13	Port Congregationalist (1911)
Port Junior	1912
Queenstown	1912–15	Queenstown Church of Christ (1912)
	1933–48^[12]
Rosatala	1922–1933	Rosatala Church United (1922–31)
Rosewater	1920–48
Rosewater Catholic	1922–23
Semaphore Baptist	1911
Semaphore Central B	1949
	1934–50^[13]
Semaphore Church United	1920–23
St. George	1913
	1938–39^[14]
Woodville Catholic	1922–24

Premierships

A-Grade

• 1911 - Albert Park ^[15]
• 1912
• 1913 - Ethelton^[16]
• 1914 - Port Catholic ^[17]
• 1915 - Ethelton
• 1916–19 - in recess (World War I)
• 1920 - Rosewater^{[18] [19]}
• 1921 - Rosewater
• 1922 - Rosewater
• 1923 - Port Adelaide Church United ^[20]
• 1924 - Ethelton^[21]
• 1925 - Alberton Church United^{[22] [23]}
• 1926 - Albert Park ^[24]
• 1927 - Albert Park ^[25]
• 1928 - Rosatala Church United ^{[26] [27]}
• 1929 - Rosewater
• 1930 - Semaphore ^[28]
• 1931 - Rosatala ^[29]
• 1932 - Kilkenny United
• 1933 - Riverside^[30]
• 1934 - Riverside^[31]
• 1935 - Riverside
• 1936 - Riverside^[32]
• 1937 - Riverside^[33]
• 1938 - Birkenhead Sports ^[34]
• 1939
• 1940
• 1941
• 1942–46 - in recess (World War II)
• 1947
• 1948 - Rosewater^[35]
• 1949 - Semaphore Park
• 1950 - Semaphore Park
• 1951

Medallists

• President's Medal
  • 1923 - L. Graves (Rosatala Church United)^[36]
  • 1925 - H. Penn (Rosewater)^[37]
  • 1926 - K. T. Williams (Alberton Methodist)
  • 1928 - T. Waye (Rosatala Church United)^[38]
• S. Hosking Medal
  • 1929 - J. Howe (Semaphore Central B)^[39]
• President's Medal
  • 1930 - V. Williams (Queenstown)^[40]
• A.J. Swain Trophy
  • 1951 - H. Dennis (Ethelton)

Leading Goalkickers

• 1923 - J. Wallace (Semaphore Church United)
• 1925 - J. Simon (Rosatala Church United) - 40
• 1950 - C. Berry (Birkenhead) -
• 1951 - C. Berry (Birkenhead) - 69 ^[41]

References

1. Web site: Bloch. Fred. SAAFL History - 1956. South Australian Amateur Football League. 2 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130425103831/http://www.saafl.asn.au/History_1956. 25 April 2013. dead.
2. News: Port Adelaide Association. 2 August 2013. Daily Herald (Adelaide). 25 March 1911.
3. News: Football - Port and Suburban Association. 2 August 2013. Daily Herald (Adelaide). 14 February 1920.
4. News: Port Adelaide District Football Association. 2 August 2013. Daily Herald (Adelaide). 3 April 1924.
5. News: Riotous Footballers Create Unseemly Scenes - Freefights on Alberton Oval. 2 August 2013. Daily Herald (Adelaide). 23 August 1915.
6. News: Match - A General Melee. 2 August 2013. The Register (Adelaide). 23 August 1915.
7. News: Football - Port Adelaide Association Premiership Won by Ethelton. 2 August 2013. Daily Herald (Adelaide). 31 August 1915.
8. News: A Football Trouble - An Association Threatened with a Writ. 2 August 2013. The Register (Adelaide). 3 May 1923.
9. Web site: Bloch. Fred. SAAFL History - 1931. South Australian Amateur Football League. 2 August 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130425015926/http://www.saafl.asn.au/History_1931. 25 April 2013. dmy-all.
10. Web site: Bloch. Fred. SAAFL History - 1953. South Australian Amateur Football League. 2 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120424233224/http://www.saafl.asn.au/History_1953. 24 April 2012. dead.
11. Web site: Bloch. Fred. SAAFL History - 1932. South Australian Amateur Football League. 2 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130425015930/http://www.saafl.asn.au/History_1932. 25 April 2013. dead.
12. Web site: Bloch. Fred. SAAFL History - 1949. South Australian Amateur Football League. 2 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120424233245/http://www.saafl.asn.au/History_1949. 24 April 2012. dead.
13. Web site: Bloch. Fred. SAAFL History - 1951. South Australian Amateur Football League. 2 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120424233138/http://www.saafl.asn.au/History_1951. 24 April 2012. dead.
14. Web site: Bloch. Fred. SAAFL History - 1940. South Australian Amateur Football League. 2 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120424232109/http://www.saafl.asn.au/History_1940. 24 April 2012. dead.
15. News: Albert Park Club. 2 August 2013. Daily Herald (Adelaide). 20 March 1912.
16. News: Port Adelaide and Suburban Association. 2 August 2013. The Advertiser (Adelaide). 22 September 1913.
17. News: Football - Port Adelaide and Suburban Association. 2 August 2013. Daily Herald (Adelaide). 25 August 1914.
18. News: Football - Port Adelaide Club. 2 August 2013. The Register (Adelaide). 10 March 1921.
19. Web site: Premierships. Rosewater Football Club. 2 August 2013.
20. News: Footballers Get Together - Social at Port Adelaide. 2 August 2013. Daily Herald (Adelaide). 22 September 1923.
21. News: Junior Football - Port Adelaide Association - Final For Premiership. 5 January 2015. The Mail. Saturday 23 August 1924. The Mail. 23 August 1924.
22. News: Port Adelaide Association. 19 July 2016. The Mail (Adelaide). 5 September 1925. 5.
23. News: Alberton Church United Club. 19 July 2016. The Register (Adelaide). 19 October 1925. 13.
24. News: Port Adelaide Junior Football Association - Annual Social. 18 August 2016. Port Adelaide News. 10 September 1926. 3.
25. News: Game Among Juniors - Port Adelaide Association - Presentation of Shield. 29 August 2016. News (Adelaide). 5 September 1927. 2.
26. News: Port Adelaide District Football Association. 2 August 2013. The Register (Adelaide). 8 October 1928.
27. News: Football at Alberton - Proceeds for Charity. 2 August 2013. The Mail (Adelaide). 25 August 1928.
28. News: Junior Association. 2 August 2013. The Advertiser (Adelaide). 6 October 1930.
29. News: Football - Port Adelaide District Association. 29 August 2016. Port Adelaide News. 18 September 1931. 2.
30. News: Port Adelaide - Final. 24 October 2013. The Mail (Adelaide). 16 September 1933.
31. News: Port Adelaide District - Final. 24 October 2013. The Mail (Adelaide). 15 September 1934.
32. News: Premiers of Associations Play Match. 2 August 2013. The Mail (Adelaide). 19 September 1936.
33. News: Riverside Premier of Port District. 2 August 2013. The Advertiser (Adelaide). 6 September 1937.
34. News: Port Adelaide - Grand Final. 24 October 2013. The Mail (Adelaide). 10 September 1938.
35. News: Junior Football - Port District Association. 9 November 2013. The Mail (Adelaide). 18 September 1948.
36. News: Port Adelaide and Suburban Hurch Football Association - First Annual Social. 18 August 2016. Port Adelaide News. 21 September 1923. 8.
37. News: Port Adelaide District Football Association. 18 August 2016. Port Adelaide News. 28 August 1925.
38. News: Football Banquet - Port District Association. 18 August 2016. News (Adelaide). 6 October 1928. 7.
39. News: Port Football Association. 18 August 2016. News (Adelaide). 11 November 1929. 3.
40. News: Port District Football - Trophies and Medals Presented. 18 August 2016. News (Adelaide). 21 November 1930. 4.
41. Web site: Sports Round-Up . Messenger . 23 August 1951 .