Ships steam into their 100th year

IN a climate where football clubs are increasingly struggling to survive and several have disappeared, Old Scholars club OHA will celebrate a major milestone this year.

The Ships have reached their centenary season, having been founded on March 26, 1919 as the Old Scholars Football Club of the Hobart High School, which was in Letitia St, North Hobart.

The club has had several home grounds in its many years, including Clare St and the TCA, before moving to Geilston Bay in 1977.

A function will be held at the Elwick Function Centre after the home match against Richmond on May 12, with president Tim Carter hoping for a big turnout of past and present club legends.

“We are extremely proud, especially with the way footy is at the moment down here with so many sides that have gone by the way,” Carter said.

“There was a pretty good period of footy back in the ’60s and early ’70s where OHA was a very strong club.

“That was where our purple patch started for the footy club.

“It has been a bit of a battle because a lot of people don’t know where OHA comes from, the old Hobart High School that no longer exists.

“I find in my role as president that apart from running the footy club, it’s getting it out there about where we came from.”

Former Herald Sun chief football writer Mike Sheahan will be special guest at the gala dinner, with the club’s living premiership coaches all likely to be present.

“I tried to put my finger on why we have survived and while we are not a district like a Huonville or the likes where we get the support of the town, there are a lot of friends bringing friends along and they always have been a close-knit bunch,” Carter said.

“What we have raised over the years has helped build the clubrooms, which have helped us keep going. Without the clubrooms we wouldn’t have been able to succeed.”

The Old Scholars competition kicks off this weekend, and anyone wanting more information on OHA’s 100-year dinner can contact Tim Carter on 0418 299 699.