The 1925 Queanbeyan team donned the now very unfamiliar colours of white with a red sash for its inaugural season. By the following year a new team, Eastlake, had entered the competition. Eastlake also took on red and white colours, so Queanbeyan changed to light blue and dark blue and would become known as the ‘Blues’ for that season.
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After withdrawing in 1927 due to a lack of players, the club once again changed colours when it re-entered the competition in 1928. This time Queanbeyan wore red with a blue ‘v’; a strip it would retain throughout the early 1930s.
It wasn’t until 1935 that Queanbeyan settled on its now familiar black and gold and became known as the Queanbeyan Tigers.
The famous black and gold colours came about through a chance set of circumstances. Mr Garton Wearne, who would later become a committee member, wrote to the Richmond Football Club seeking any assistance that Richmond might be able to offer to Queanbeyan’s ‘intermediate’ age group. The intermediate competition bridged the gap between juniors (Under 15s) and senior football.
Richmond’s response was substantial given the tough economic times. They sent a full set of football jumpers and socks. But the gear didn’t last long in the hands of the Intermediates and was “borrowed” on a permanent basis by the senior team.
The black and gold colours have remained with Queanbeyan until this current day, with the exception of a time in the early 1950s when the club combined with Acton Football Club and wore a merged strip of black and white vertical stripes with a yellow sash.
The present day Queanbeyan Tigers organisation is renowned throughout Canberra and wider reaches as being a proud club with strong roots in tradition. This has been demonstrated in recent years through the club’s efforts to recognise the past when wearing special one-off versions of old playing strips during so-called Heritage Rounds. Framed versions of the white and red; red and blue; and black, white and yellow jumpers adorn the walls of the clubs change rooms as a strong reminder to current players of the club’s roots.
As with any organisation, whether it is business or sporting, establishing an identity is a key component toward success. Settling on the black and gold colours and becoming the Tigers in 1935 would set the struggling Queanbeyan club on a path that would soon see it gain the ultimate prize. In next week’s column we’ll explore the build up to the club’s first premiership in 1939.
