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Ted 'Shack' Evans
“Before he represented the people of Kalgoorlie, he belonged to the people of Boulder.”
Podcast Available
Life Member
No 48
Coach
Premiership Coach
BORN OF THE GOLDFIELDS — MADE A TIGER
Edward Thomas “Ted” Evans
1940–1981
Before he became a parliamentarian, a community leader or a respected voice for working people, he was simply Shack — a Boulder boy and a Tiger. Some people become part of a football club's history because of what they achieve on the field. Others become part of its identity because of the lives they lead, the people they influence and the years they devote to the club. Ted “Shack” Evans belonged to that second group.
Born in 1940 and raised in the Goldfields, Ted grew up in a community where hard work, loyalty and looking after your mates were part of everyday life. Boulder was more than the place he called home. It was the community that shaped him. And the Boulder City Football Club would become one of the enduring connections throughout his life.
THE MAN THEY CALLED SHACK
To generations of Boulder people, Edward Thomas Evans was simply known as “Shack”. It was a name that became familiar around the football club, throughout the Goldfields community and, eventually, well beyond the boundaries of Boulder. Those who remember Shack recall a man of strength, presence and conviction. He was someone who believed in people, understood the importance of community and was prepared to contribute rather than simply stand on the sidelines. These qualities would eventually define his working life and public career. But they were also the qualities he brought to the Boulder Tigers.
BLACK AND GOLD ROOTS
The Boulder City Football Club was an important part of Shack's life. His association with the Tigers extended across playing, coaching and years of service to the club. He understood that football was about more than the result on the scoreboard. It was about belonging. About friendships. About the connection between generations of families who had grown up around the club.
In Boulder, football clubs were woven into the fabric of the community, and Shack became one of the people who helped maintain that connection. He was not content merely to wear the black and gold. He wanted to contribute to its future.
A YOUNG MAN WITH A SENSE OF PURPOSE
Away from football, Shack's life was developing along a path that would eventually take him into public service. The mining industry and union movement became important parts of his working life.
He developed a strong connection with the working people of the Goldfields and the issues affecting their families. In time, that commitment would lead him to the Western Australian Parliament as the Member for Kalgoorlie. It was a remarkable journey. From Boulder to Parliament. From the football club to representing an entire electorate. Yet those achievements would never erase his beginnings. He remained a Goldfields man. And he remained a Tiger.
THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING GREATER
As the 1960s began, Shack was about to embark on one of the most significant periods of his involvement with Boulder City. It would be a decade of coaching, developing young footballers, reaching Grand Finals and celebrating premiership victories. His contribution would extend from junior football to the League side. And along the way, he would help shape a generation of young Tigers.
The story of Ted Evans was becoming much more than the story of one footballer. It was becoming the story of a man who understood the importance of giving something back. He was born of the Goldfields. He was shaped by Boulder. And he would spend much of his life giving back to the Tigers.
A DECADE OF DEDICATION
Ted “Shack” Evans — The Coach
Boulder City Football Club | 1961–1970
Three junior premierships. Two undefeated seasons. Four runners-up finishes. A League Grand Final. And a generation of young Tigers who benefited from his leadership. Some men make their contribution to a football club through the games they play. Others make their mark through the players they develop. Ted “Shack” Evans did both.
Throughout the 1960s, Shack became one of the most influential figures in the coaching ranks of the Boulder City Football Club. His commitment stretched across junior and senior football, helping shape teams, develop young players and strengthen the foundations of the club. It was a remarkable period of service from a man who was also building a career, raising a family and establishing himself as a respected voice within the Goldfields community. Yet, season after season, there was Shack — giving his time to the Tigers.
BUILDING THE NEXT GENERATION
The story begins in 1961. Junior football was an important pathway into the senior ranks, and Shack understood the value of developing young players within the traditions of Boulder City. Success did not arrive immediately. In 1962, Boulder reached the Junior Grand Final but suffered a heavy defeat against CBC, losing by 57 points. The following season, the Tigers returned to the premiership decider. This time they came much closer. CBC defeated Boulder by just eight points.
Then came 1964 — a Grand Final that must have been particularly difficult to accept. In a fiercely contested match, CBC prevailed 3.8 (26) to Boulder City's 3.6 (24). Two points separated the teams. Three consecutive Grand Final appearances had produced three defeats. But Shack and his young Tigers kept coming back. The results reflected a team steadily improving, and a coach who was building something that would soon deliver its reward.
1965 — THE FIRST PREMIERSHIP
After three consecutive Grand Final disappointments, 1965 became the breakthrough season. Boulder City defeated CBC: Boulder City 10.8 (68) CBC 6.5 (41) Boulder won by 27 points. For Shack, it was the first of three junior premierships during his coaching era. The Tigers had finally turned their consistent Grand Final appearances into a premiership. It was a significant achievement, particularly after the narrow defeats of the preceding seasons. But the success did not mark the end of the journey. There was more to come.
1967 — THE UNDEFEATED TIGERS
The Tigers returned to the Grand Final in 1966, again finishing runners-up to CBC. Twelve months later, Shack's young side produced something special. The 1967 Boulder City juniors completed an undefeated premiership season. In the Grand Final, they defeated Railways: Boulder City 7.11 (53) Railways 4.4 (28). Boulder won by 25 points. This was more than another premiership. It was the culmination of an entire season without defeat.
For a junior football team, such an achievement demanded consistency, discipline, determination and a collective commitment to the task.
Shack had guided his young Tigers through the season and all the way to the premiership without losing a match. It was an achievement that would become one of the defining highlights of his coaching career. And remarkably, he would do it again.
1968 — FROM JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT TO THE LEAGUE GRAND FINAL
By 1968, Shack's coaching responsibilities had extended to the Boulder City League side. It was a significant step. The man who had spent years developing the club's junior footballers was now leading the Tigers at senior level. And in his first documented League Grand Final season, Boulder reached the premiership decider against Mines Rovers. The result was a difficult one for the Tigers. Mines Rovers 17.9 (111) Boulder City 6.13 (49). Mines won by 62 points. Although the premiership eluded Boulder, reaching the League Grand Final added another important achievement to Shack's coaching record.
In 1969 Ted was back at the helm of the Tigers Junior Team. By then, his contribution to the club extended well beyond any single team or age group. He had become a coach capable of working across the entire football pathway — from developing youngsters to leading senior players.
1970 — ANOTHER UNDEFEATED PREMIERSHIP
The final junior premiership of Shack's coaching era arrived in 1970. And it was another extraordinary achievement. For the second time in four seasons, the Boulder City juniors completed an undefeated premiership campaign. Their opponents in the Grand Final were CBC, the club that had so often stood between Shack's Tigers and premiership success during the earlier years. This time Boulder prevailed.
Boulder City 6.7 (43) CBC 4.5 (29). Boulder won by 14 points. It was Shack's third junior premiership. And his second undefeated season. Consider what that represented. In 1967, one group of young Tigers had completed an entire season without defeat. In 1970, another group achieved the same distinction.
Different players. Different seasons. The same coach. Two undefeated premiership teams under Ted “Shack” Evans. It was a remarkable achievement and a fitting conclusion to an extraordinary decade of coaching involvement.
A remarkable coaching record
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3 Junior Premierships: 1965, 1967, 1970
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2 Undefeated Premiership Seasons: 1967, 1970
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4 Junior Grand Final Runners-up: 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966
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7 Junior Grand Final Appearances
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Reserves Premiership Coach 1975
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Senior League Coach: 1968 - Grand Final Appearance
MORE THAN PREMIERSHIPS
Statistics provide an impressive account of Shack's coaching achievements. But numbers alone cannot tell the complete story. Seven junior Grand Finals in nine seasons. Three premierships. Two undefeated campaigns. A senior League Grand Final. Those achievements would be enough to secure a significant place in the coaching history of Boulder City. Yet the greater contribution was the investment Shack made in the young men who wore the black and gold. The footballers he coached were not simply names on a team sheet. They were the next generation of Boulder Tigers. Some would progress into senior football. Others would carry their connection to the club into adulthood, becoming supporters, volunteers and members of the wider Tiger family.
The influence of a good coach does not necessarily end when the final siren sounds. It continues through the people he has encouraged, challenged and helped develop. For Shack, coaching was another expression of his lifelong commitment to the club and community. The same qualities that would define his public life — leadership, service, determination and a willingness to stand up for others — were evident in his football involvement.
A DECADE THAT HELPED SHAPE A CLUB
From the disappointment of three consecutive Junior Grand Final defeats to the triumph of two undefeated premiership seasons, Shack's coaching journey was one of persistence and achievement. He experienced the frustration of narrow losses. He celebrated premiership victories. He guided young footballers through their formative years. And he accepted the responsibility of coaching the Boulder City League side. It was an extraordinary contribution to one football club across a remarkable decade. Ted “Shack” Evans would go on to become a prominent figure in the union movement and Western Australian Parliament.
But long before his name became familiar in political circles, he had already demonstrated his leadership in the black and gold of Boulder City.
He didn't simply coach football teams.
He helped build generations of Tigers.
A decade of dedication. A generation of Tigers.
Ted “Shack” Evans — Coach of the Decade.
TED ‘SHACK’ EVANS — THE PLAYER
More Than a Coach
Long before he became one of Boulder’s most dedicated coaches, Ted ‘Shack’ Evans had already established himself as a loyal and hardworking Tiger. An ungainly but determined ruckman, Shack progressed through Boulder’s junior ranks before becoming a regular League player. His playing career stretched across many years, often overlapping with his coaching commitments throughout the 1960s.
Shack experienced his share of football's near misses. He was part of the Tigers' junior runners-up side in 1955 and the League teams that fell agonisingly short of premiership glory in 1963 and 1964. In between came a treasured reward — a 1957 Reserves Premiership, ensuring Shack had a premiership medal of his own. The near misses continued from the coaching box when he guided Boulder’s League side to another Grand Final appearance in 1968, only to finish runners-up once again.
Shack may not have been the most graceful footballer to wear the black and gold, but his contribution was never measured in elegance. He was a competitor, a teammate and a tireless clubman who gave the Tigers years of service both on the field and from the sidelines. For Ted ‘Shack’ Evans, playing and coaching were never separate chapters. They were all part of a lifetime devoted to the Tigers.
Shack-Evans-Podcast
00:00 / 49:41
Ted “Shack” Evans — Husband, Father, Family
To the Goldfields, he was Ted Evans. To the Tigers, he was Shack. But to his family, he was simply Dad. Throughout his life, Ted “Shack” Evans wore many hats. He was a footballer, a premiership coach, a trade union leader and a Member of the Western Australian Parliament. His name became familiar throughout the Goldfields, and his contribution to the Boulder City Football Club earned him a lasting place in the club's history.
But behind those public achievements was another life. A life centred on family. And while the records tell us much about what Shack accomplished, they reveal far less about the man his family knew and loved.
BEHIND THE PUBLIC FIGURE
The photographs preserved by the Evans family provide a glimpse into that more personal world. A wedding portrait captures Ted and his wife at the beginning of their life together — long before the full extent of his public achievements would become part of Goldfields history. Other family photographs reveal a side of Shack rarely seen in newspaper reports or football records.
They remind us that behind the familiar public identity was a husband and father, sharing the ordinary moments that make up family life. For all his commitments to football, the union movement and politics, there was another important responsibility in his life. His family.
TWO SONS — THEIR FATHER'S STORY
Some stories are best told by those who lived them. And when it comes to understanding Ted Evans beyond his public achievements, few voices could be more important than those of his sons, Greg and Darryl.
In a special Four Quarters podcast conversation, the brothers spend considerable time remembering their father. Their reflections take us beyond the football field, the union movement and Parliament House.
They offer something that historical documents cannot — a personal perspective on the man they knew as Dad. Rather than attempt to reproduce their memories in written form, we have chosen to let Greg and Darryl tell that part of the story themselves. It is an opportunity to hear the Evans family history in their own words.
FOUR QUARTERS — THE EVANS FAMILY STORY
Greg and Darryl Evans remember their father, Ted “Shack” Evans. An intimate family perspective on one of Boulder City's most significant figures. Take some time to listen. The conversation adds a dimension to Shack's story that no collection of football statistics, newspaper articles or parliamentary records could ever fully capture.
A FAMILY CONNECTION THAT ENDURED
Ted Evans died in 1981, aged just 41. His passing brought an early end to a life already filled with remarkable achievements. But his connection to Boulder City did not end there. Both Greg and Darryl would continue the family's association with the Tigers, making their own contributions to the club. In time, both sons would be recognised with Life Membership. Their father had also received that honour. It is an extraordinary distinction for one family. Three Life Members. Two generations. One football club. Each earned recognition through his own contribution, but together they represent a remarkable chapter in Boulder City's history. For a club that has always valued family connections and service across generations, the Evans story holds a special place.
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MORE THAN A FOOTBALL LEGACY
There is something particularly meaningful about the Evans family's story. Shack's achievements as a coach are preserved in the club's records. His contribution to the union movement and Western Australian Parliament belongs to the wider history of the Goldfields. His sons have continued their own association with Boulder City, each becoming part of the club's Life Membership tradition. But beyond all those achievements are the personal memories that families carry from one generation to the next. Memories that cannot always be captured in a photograph.
Stories that may never appear in an official history.And recollections that become more precious with the passing of time. Through Greg and Darryl's conversation, we have the opportunity to preserve some of those memories and share them with future generations of Tigers. That is one of the great purposes of the Boulder Tigers Digital Museum. Not simply to record what happened. But to remember the people who made it happen.
THE MAN THEY REMEMBER
For many Boulder supporters, Ted “Shack” Evans will always be remembered as the coach who guided junior premiership teams, including two undefeated seasons. Others will remember his leadership in the Goldfields community and his service in Parliament. But the family story reminds us that the most important measure of a person's life is not always found in the public record. Sometimes it is found in the memories of those closest to them. And for that part of Ted Evans' remarkable story, we leave the final words to Greg and Darryl.
To the Goldfields, he was Ted Evans.
To the Tigers, he was Shack.
To his sons, he was Dad.
Past Players
130 Year Book
Digital Museum
Honour Boards
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