EST. 1896 • BOULDER • WESTERN AUSTRALIA
130 Years
of the Boulder Tigers
The Official Yearbook and Historical Record
OUR STORY • OUR PEOPLE • OUR CLUB
1896
2026
The Beginning
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
and Beyond
The Journey That Changed Everything
1940 - 1949
For much of the 1940s, like communities across Australia, Boulder was rebuilding after the hardships of World War II. Football returned gradually as players came home, volunteers resumed their roles, and the club once again became a gathering place for the Boulder community.
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Even during the war years, the Tigers invested in their future through junior football, ensuring the next generation would be ready when peace returned.
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As the decade unfolded, the club rebuilt both on and off the field. Football reclaimed its place at the heart of Boulder, while the social fabric of the town came alive once more through events such as the famous Black & Gold Ball, bringing players, families and supporters back together.
THE ADELAIDE TRIP
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By 1947 the Tigers were ready to look forward. At season's end, a group of officials and players travelled to Adelaide never imagining the journey would alter the course of the club's history. During a relaxed evening at a local hotel, the publican mentioned that an outstanding league footballer was searching for a coaching opportunity.
Curious, the Tigers asked where they might find him. The publican simply pointed across the room. "He's sitting right over there." That man was Jack Broadstock. Ray Crannage one of the leading players in the touring party described Broadstock on first appearance as appearing to be "built like a steam roller'
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Within days, Boulder President Charlie Wiley and secretary Ben Plasto along with an ambitious Tiger committee had convinced one of South Australia's finest footballers to head west for the 1948 season. It proved to be one of the greatest recruiting decisions in the club's history.
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Broadstock brought elite football experience, fresh ideas and an infectious confidence. The local playing group responded immediately.
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A football drifter... who left stories wherever he went.
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The Tigers lost just one game all season before capturing the 1948 Goldfields Football League Premiership.
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It was far more than another flag. It marked the beginning of a new era for the Boulder Football Club and demonstrated what vision, leadership and belief could achieve.
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The premiership side featured a remarkable collection of Tiger greats including Pom Holland, Dick Jones, Jack McNally, Ping Matthews and George Krepp, names that would become woven into the club's rich history. The journey to Adelaide had begun as an end-of-season trip. It returned with a premiership coach.
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1950 PREMIERS
1948 PREMIERS
Third Row: D Flockhart (Trainer), E Riseberry, W Colgan, S Jones, J Vulich
J Colgan, J Crannage (Trainer)
Second Row: R Crannage, F Galbraith, B Laffin, M Boston, M Goode
R Nichols , C Domney, R Baldock (Committee)
Front Row: W Mawby (Com), S Honey, J Allen (Hon Sec), R Jones (Cpt)
J Novell (Pres), J Cahill (vc), G O’Callaghan (V Pres)
Captain-Coach: Dick Jones
Back Row: D Flockhart, R Jones, W Mawby, J Martin, A Riggs (V-Pres), S Laffin, R Thompson, J Novell,, G Geach, W Nilsen
Third Row: M Huxtable, J Morgan, R Alcock, J Britten, W Hebbard,
J Carmody, C Davies
Second Row: F Matthews, E Smythe, R Laffin, J McNally, S Jones, R Nichols
W Wison, A Moyle, A Scattini, H Crocker
Front Row: A Holland (V-Pres), R Crannage, B Plasto (Hon Sec), G Krepp (vc), C Willey (President), R Jones. R Carmichael (Patron), W Ivey, F Mann
Inset: J Reid, R Kemp, V McAuillife, J Broadstock (Cpt), A Ruddick, K Crompton, J Vulich
Captain Coach: Jack Broadstock
Mascots: G Harris & Krepp
Behind every successful football club are the people whose work is rarely seen. For Boulder during the rebuilding years, A. Huxtable was one of those people. Huxtable Hall became far more than a meeting place. It was where players gathered, committees planned, volunteers worked and the future of the Boulder City Football Club quietly took shape.
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Long before modern clubrooms, the hall became the heartbeat of the Tigers—a place where friendships were formed, ideas were shared and a club rebuilt itself after the hardships of war.
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The football premiership of 1948 may have been won on the oval. The foundations of that success were laid inside Huxtable Hall.