Western Magpies AFC

Historians will tell you that of all their sources of information primary sources are of the greatest value. That is sources that are closest to the actual events. Over the years many dedicated individuals in the Club have contributed to the regular production of newsletters to communicate information to the Sherwood football community. The two most notable and enduring publications have been the “Magpie Chatter” (originally “Magpies Chatter”) and “In Black and White”.

These primary sources have been extensively drawn on in this book and will be referenced often in the following pages. Just as an aside, I went back to another promising information source, the “Sherwood Districts Centenary 1867-1967 Celebrations” publication. I thought this might shed some light on the development of football in the region. Interestingly of the 3 ½ pages devoted to sport in this 76 page publication, only 2 ½ lines were devoted to football; that is Australian Rules, Rugby League, Rugby Union and Soccer combined.

All it said about football’s contribution over the preceding 100 years was that “Football in its various forms of Rugby League, Rugby Union, Australian Rules and Soccer, have all played their part for both the young and the old of the district”. I couldn’t help noticing that Croquet got 3 ½ lines and Lacrosse 4 ½.

Getting back to the story, and bearing in mind what has been said above about primary sources it is worth going back to a piece produced by Peg Peirce that appeared in the March 1973 edition of the Magpie Chatter. Peg, who became associated with the Club in the very early days, takes us back beyond the beginning of the Sherwood District Australian Football Club (SDAFC) story to her childhood when our current facilities were nothing but a swamp. Following are some excerpts from her article.