Photos by Col Newcombe

Umpire, footy fan and trophy man Col Newcombe kindly took some photos while visiting Leura Oval.

Camperdown, the Magpies, play in the ten team Hampden Football and Netball League in western Victoria, against such clubs as Cobden, Koroit, Portland,  Terang Mortlake, Hamilton Kangaroos and Port Fairy.

Lewis Kelly not only has a scoreboard named after him, but the best and fairest award for the reserves. (The Lew Kelly Medal)

Journalist Paul Daffey mentioned the scoreboard in the 2009 edition of The Footy Almanac: The Camperdown Gentlemen’s Club, a group of former school mates, meet for one match a year at Camperdown’s Leura Oval. The gentlemen consist of farmers, teachers, policemen, ordinary blokes. They gather beneath the scoreboard and watch the Camperdown match while a radio raps out the AFL scores. After the match, the father of an old schoolmate in whose memory the gentlemen gather joins them around a bonfire to present an award for best on ground. It’s a day in the Irish tradition of emptying your heart of grief and making room for the good times.

The Magpies’ most famous sons include Paul Broderick (Fitzroy and Richmond), Scott Lucas (Essendon) and Ken Hinkley (Geelong, now Port Adelaide coach).

When not umpiring local footy, including games for the Football Integration Development Association, Col Newcombe runs  Ascot Vale Trophy Sports and Trophies.