Esk Football Association
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| Most recent season or competition: 1983 | |
| Sport | Australian rules football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1930 |
| First season | 1930 |
| Ceased | 1983 |
| No. of teams | 6 (1989), 13 (historical) |
| Country | Australia |
| Last champion | Perth (1983) |
| Most titles | Bracknell (17) |
| Related competitions | Esk-Deloraine FA Deloraine FA |
The Esk Football Association was an Australian rules football competition based in the Northern Midlands of Tasmania.
Although similar competitions had existed in previously decades, the most recent incarnation of the Esk Football Association was formed in 1930, with Bracknell, Cressy and Longford Juniors competing in the first season.[1] Evandale joined the EFA for the first time in 1933, winning the premiership in their first season.[2] Evandale and Perth played sporadically in the EFA during the 1930s. Perth first joined in 1935, did not form for the 1938 season but returned a year later.[3] The EFA went into recess after the 1940 season due to WWII.
When the competition re-formed in 1945, controversy reared when Bracknell failed to supply delegates to a pre-season meeting on account of supposed difficulties in paying for their transport to the meeting, leading to the club's exclusion from the Association for the 1945 season.[4] The club would play in the Central Football Association in 1945, before re-joining the Esk FA a year later along with Evandale and two new clubs - Hagley and Bishopsbourne.[5] Longford Juniors would depart for the NTFA seconds competition after winning the 1947 premiership.[6] Carrick joined from the Esk Seconds FA in 1952,[7] while Bishopsbourne merged with Bracknell in 1953 after a year in recess.[8]
The 1950s and 60s were dominated by Bracknell, which established itself as the power club of the competition by winning 9 premierships in 10 years between 1956 and 1965, including 7 in a row between 1959 and 1965. Poatina joined for a brief period in the early 1960s, while Carrick folded around the same time. The Esk FA was bolstered by the admission of Westbury from the Northern Tasmanian District Football League in 1964 and Deloraine from the Northern Amateurs in 1968, which offset the loss of Hagley to recessin 1966.[9] Meander joined from the Deloraine Football Association in the late 1960s but returned by 1976.[10] Ross also briefly played from 1972 to 1979 following the disbanding of the Midlands Football League.
A dwindling number of players in the area, along with the admission of Deloraine to the NTFA in 1984, saw the Esk FA merge with the Deloraine FA after the 1983 season to form the Esk-Deloraine FA.[11]
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