Sport
29 May, 2026
Tigers hunt for lost treasures
TULLY Rugby League is on the hunt for lost treasures from its earliest days as the club prepares to celebrate its centenary milestone this year and locals might be holding the missing pieces of history.
As a special coffee table book is being put together to mark the centenary, the Tully Tigers Rugby League Football Club is calling on the community to help uncover rare memorabilia from the club’s first four decades, spanning 1926 to the years just after World War II.
While records and photos from the past 60 years are well preserved, much of the club’s earliest era remains scattered in family collections, old trunks, and dusty sheds.
The club hopes to track down programs, photographs and newspaper clippings that capture the pioneering years of rugby league in Tully.
Those early decades were a very different time for the sport.
Teams travelled by train to play in inter-town competitions, which were divided into zones and grades long before the Foley Shield began in 1948.
Cars were scarce, roads were rough and simply getting to a game in another town was an adventure.
Despite the challenges, Tully enjoyed strong success, including a standout victory in 1939 when the team claimed the B grade Wilson Cup final after defeating Collinsville.
One of the few surviving artefacts from that era is a programme from a 1934 match between Tully and Babinda.
The club is eager to learn more about the players listed and hopes locals may have additional items tucked away which may help bring this chapter of history back to life.
“Anyone with memorabilia, such as old photos, newspaper clippings and programs are encouraged to contact the Tully Tigers Rugby League Football Club,” said historian Greg Shannon.
“Items do not need to be handed over permanently. The club can arrange scanning of items so they can be preserved and shared as part of the centenary celebrations and the commemorative book,” he said.
The club recently hosted a hugely successful high tea celebrating 100 years of women in Tully rugby league, raising more than $9500, through a pink jersey auction to support the Tully Hospital Foundation, cancer research and support services.
A further $1000 was donated to Melita’s Helping Hand from raffles held on the day.
Club stalwarts Nadine O’Farrell and Alicia Gardiner were also honoured at the event, joining the distinguished list of Tully Tigers women in league award recipients.
They now stand alongside past recipients Mary Jones, Leanne Fanning, Barb Ketchell, Caroline Chadwick, Karlene Boslem, Clydie Pease, Karen Lucy and Brenda Morice.
As part of its centenary celebrations, Tully Rugby League will host a dinner dance on 17 October at the Tully State High School multipurpose centre.