St Marys Band Club Rangers Football Club

In 1960 two members of the St Marys District Band Club, Stan Harris & Don Tinnion decided to get together a soccer team. They asked members of the St Marys District Band Club if they had sons who were interested in forming a team to play the game of soccer as it was known in those days.

They found enough boys interested, the oldest being 13 years of age, so one team was entered into the under 14 division with the Granville Federation. These boys’ names were Boris Stchening, David & Ken Glover, Doug & John Lambeth, Jim Armil, Kevin Blacker, Robert & Jeff Knight, Andy Murray & ST Javonovic.

Every week this team would have to travel to the Granville, Auburn District the closest game they played was against a Blacktown Club. At this stage there was no Nepean District Association.

Penrith Council granted permission to this newly formed team/club to use Victoria Park (across the road from the St Marys District Band Club). As their home ground. There were no goal posts at the park so Mr. Murray Fuller would transport the goal posts on a borrowed truck to Victoria Park.

These posts would then have to be erected and dismantled before and after every home game the posts would then have to be stored until the next home game.

Even though this team of young boys did not win a game all season they put their heart and soul into every game they played.

The shirts were 2 tone blue and all one size so that the shirts would fit anyone and everyone, on some small boys the shirts came down past their knees. At the end of the 1960 season Stan and Don attended the Federation meeting held at Granville and a vote was take that a new association was to be formed if enough Clubs were interested.

A Mr. Pat Henry from the Penrith District was in attendance at that meeting . The vote was taken and won by a majority of one vote it was then decided to start a Nepean Association. So on the 9 of November 1961 Nepean District Soccer Football Association was formed.

The St Marys Band Club’s first Soccer ball was purchased from the St Marys District Band Club’s funds by the then Club’s President Mr. Brian King.

The St Marys District Band Club Soccer did not have any committee for the first 2 years; Stan Harris acted as the secretary and was doing all the arranging of games and the general administration to keep the team going.

In 1961 we had enough boys to make 2 teams by 1962 there was more people interested in soccer so Penrith City Council allowed the St Marys District Band Club Soccer to erect fixed goal posts in Victoria Park.

Victoria Park was used for a few more seasons. Penrith City Council then moved us to Halls Paddock on Caddens Road Orchard Hills. This field was so dead, hard and dry it had to be hosed for days ( even up to the day before a match) to make it playable by the weekend, there were no facilities such as toilets and canteen and the soccer club was responsible for removing all the sewerage themselves.

St Marys Band Club Soccer were then allocated a field at Water St Werrington with a lot of help and support from Edie and Danny Buellen where we stayed until 1977 We were once again moved this time to our current fields at Roper Rd Colyton.