In 1962, Port Hedland was a sleepy little port with around 1,500 residents. A new postal officer arrived in town. It was none other than Colin Peter Matheson.
Shortly after he arrived, Colin set about meeting the locals to start a football match. Originally an umpire from Perth, he organised football games between the Esplanade and Pier Hotel for the locals, until 1967 when the Port Hedland Football Association was formed between three clubs:
- Finucane Island
- Rovers (The Esplanade Hotel)
- Towns (The Pier Hotel)
Included among the matches were challenge games against Marble Bar and Goldsworthy. It was after one of these matches that Colin Matheson and the President of the Marble Bar Football Association discussed the possibility of forming one association.
In 1969, the De Grey Football Association was formed with Colin Matheson as the inaugural President and five teams:
- Port Hedland Rovers
- Port Hedland Panthers (Pier Hotel)
- Goldsworthy Tigers
- Marble Bar
- Finucane Island
In 1971 Marble Bar disbanded.
In 1975 two other teams were admitted:
- South Hedland Swans
- Shay Gap Hawks
In 1977 the De Grey Football League (formed by Colin Matheson) and West Pilbara Football League combined to form the De Grey West Pilbara Football League under separate constitutions.
In 1983 one constitution was agreed to and the name changed to the North Pilbara Football League.
Find out more about history of #Pilbara #football in Colin Matheson’s book 1997:
North Pilbara Football League History 