HISTORY

Yarra Hockey Club has a history that stands tall.

Established in 1977, Yarra Valley Hockey Club was the amalgamation of two long-standing clubs: the Fairfield Hockey Club, established over a century ago in 1906, and the Ivanhoe Hockey Club, established in 1930.

In 1956, Australia’s inaugural Summer Olympic Hockey Team consisted of two players from the Ivanhoe Club. Against a home crowd in Melbourne, Ken Clarke, as captain, played alongside his teammate Geoff Bennett, and against fierce competition they took the Olympic team to a placing of 5th.

The club, which draws players from the local council areas along the general inner Yarra river areas – Banyule, Darebin, Yarra and Nillumbik councils – operates from the club facility at the Cyril Cummins Reserve. Set on the banks of the Darebin Creek, the grounds are bounded by cycling paths and beautiful bushland.

Yarra is still the only modern club to achieve the SL1 premiership in the year following promotion from SL2, with the SL1 team claiming victory in 1973.

The club’s identity was simplified from Yarra Valley Hockey Club to Yarra Hockey Club in 2023.

The history of Ivanhoe Hockey Club is encapsulated in the book Mad For The Hockey – The History of Ivanhoe Hockey Club.