Tales of North Fremantle

by LES EVERETT

PLENTY of stories were told at Gil Fraser Reserve last week. Some of them might even have been true.

NFFC reunion

Past North Fremantle players (l-r) Harold Jefferys, Stanley Whipp, Laurie Nugent, Ray Sorrell and (front) Daniel Regan. Photo by Les Everett
The occasion was a reunion of past players, officials and supporters of the North Fremantle Football Club and, in fact, anyone who might have had anything to with the beautiful oval.

NFFC has been around for a while - it was formed in the 1890s and has survived various guises including a stint in the WAFL from 1901 to 1915.

The recent gathering included players from the 1930s to the present and organisers Stanley Whipp and Ray Herdman estimate about 200 turned up.

"Three elderly blokes arrived at about 10 to 10 (start time was 10am)," Ray said, "and the first thing they asked was, 'where's the bar?'"

Jim Blades, a player in the 1960s, traveled from Esperance for the big day and Kevin Partridge came up from Albany. Jim reckons there should be some kind of monument to Stanley Whipp at Gil Fraser in recognition of the work he's done over the years.

Stanley prefers to talk about the men of vision who ensured the game survived and thrived at North particularly in the period after the Second World War. "Men like Laurie Tetley, Ted Moffit and Gil Fraser were heavily involved in ex-scholars and amateurs," Stanley said.

He believes the wisdom of a host of NFFC officials helped generations of players enjoy the game at a level that suited their capabilities and inclinations.

One of Stanley's favourite projects was the restoration of a gate at the reserve honouring Les Charlton. "Les played with North in the WAFL and then went to the war. After the war he decided tennis was the thing and he formed the North Fremantle tennis club in 1921. He died in 1954 while he still the mayor of North Fremantle. How much more can a person do?"

Some of the older attendees at Sunday's function recalled one of North's open secrets - when the only place to get a drink on Sunday mornings was the North Fremantle Football Club. "In 1951 South Fremantle invited Collingwood over for a game," Stanley said. "On the Sunday morning they brought them over here. The story was that Collingwood wanted to make contact with North because they wore black and white. The truth is that this was the only place they could get a beer."

North's illegal Sundays continued until a certain MP connected to the club finished his Parliamentary career. "After that they started getting raided," Stanley said.

The gathering at the reunion included dual Sandover Medallist Ray Sorrell, East Fremantle premiership players George Meiers (1945), Harold Jefferys (1946) and Laurie Nugent (1957) and Daniel and Michael Regan who in their playing days made visitors to Gil Fraser wish they'd never come.

"The day went extremely well," Stanley said, "but as I said in my little speech we've got to make sure we have another generation coming through."

North Fremantle is looking to field two colts teams in next year's amateur competition so the future is looking as bright as the past.

From the Fremantle Rooster.

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