‘Club in the scrub’ on Kangaroo Island to rise again as code shows it cares

A small Australian footy club on Kangaroo Island has received a lifesaving donation from the AFL to rebuild after the Black Summer bushfires destroyed the community heart.

President Tony Nolan at the club after fire tore through. Picture: Matt Loxton

A remote South Australian football club — razed during last year’s bushfires – will rise again thanks to a $1m windfall from the AFL.

Dubbed Kangaroo Island’s “club in the scrub” — the nearest town of Parndana is 40 minutes away – it lost its kitchen, bar, hall and memorabilia on January 3, 2020. “The only thing standing was the … football change room (and even it) took a significant burn,” said Western Districts Football Club president Tony Nolan, 52. “Sheds were vaporised. I’ve never been in a war zone but that (is) what I imagine it would look like.”

But the community is determined to rebuild. “We don’t actually have a town. Everybody just comes together through the club, so the club is the hub for our whole community,” Mr Nolan said. “It’s more than sport — this is our life.”

Now the AFL has come to the party, donating $1.14m for the construction of a large commercial kitchen, social spaces and spectator amenities.

Mr Nolan said the funding was “overwhelming” and showed the AFL could “walk the talk” when it came to supporting the grassroots.

“You could almost not get another club further away from the mainland or anywhere that could be of any relevance to the AFL than the Western Districts Football Club,” he said. “We are right out in nowhere, so to think one of the smallest clubs in the country could be assisted by the AFL … you could see the glint and glitter in kids’ eyes.”

The AFL made the contribution via a community relief fund on top of an initial investment of $324,000 in April last year, which was used for female-friendly change rooms. The rooms are also used by netball, tennis and cricket players. Because of COVID-19, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said it felt like a “lifetime ago” that the bushfires tore across the country, but the code was still committed to supporting community clubs.

“As these fires were unfolding the universal response from across the football industry was ‘what can we do to help’,” Mr McLachlan said. “The AFL industry is committed to continuing to work in these bushfire-affected areas, with state football bodies, local leagues and all levels of government to support communities like Western Districts through the ongoing rebuild and recovery.

“I’m proud of the way our clubs, the players, corporate and broadcast partners, and all our fans came together to raise an amazing amount of money.”

AFL operations general manager David Stevenson announced the windfall on Wednesday night at the club’s weekly training session. “The club is really the glue that holds that community together,” he said.