Sport
16 October, 2024
Dimbulah’s football in the blood
NOT a lot of football events can boast three generations attending or playing in the one day, but in Dimbulah, it doesn’t raise an eyebrow.
Tradition and family are the backbone of the town and its football club, and anything less would be insulting.
So when Mareeba and Dimbulah battle it out at the Fantin Cup on 2 November in Dimbulah, brother, sons and grandsons will all be honoured.
For Ernes and Oliver Schincariol, the Fantin Cup brings back great memories of the township, the game and the magic.
Still residing in Dimbulah, the brothers played in the first Dimbulah Football Club’s Senior Men’s Team back in 1956.
They were a rookie team, but with experienced players who had had nowhere to compete. In fact, many Dimbulah players went on to play both nationally and internationally for other clubs.
Chatting to his son Adrian for this story, Ernes recalled Dimbulah’s first game was a friendly at Tinaroo, against a team made up of mostly German and Polish workers from the dam construction. Dimbulah was a crew of local boys and young migrants, mainly of Italian descent. (As the club grew, migrants of Spanish and Croatian origins also joined the team.)
The promising fledgling team won the match one-nil, and they were ready to join the Far North competition, playing against Mareeba, South Johnston, Mourilyan, Innisfail, Tinaroo, and Cairns NAB (Northern Australian Brewery) teams.
The seniors were a competitive side, especially against their rival club, Mareeba. Not to mention twice winning the Crad Evans Cup – the longest-running cup in Queensland.
But it was a humble start.
Training in those days was on an open field, where the tennis courts are now. The area had no fence, and the ground was rough.
For away games, the team travelled in a tray-back truck covered with a tarp. The cost per trip was ten shillings ($1), which included fuel, insurance, and drinks.
Ernes remembers the club’s first president was a teacher at Dimbulah at the time and was originally from England. He had helped found the club. Another founding member, an ex-returned Aussie soldier, donated the proceeds of one bale of tobacco to the new club.
The tobacco-growing town’s first strip was donated by sponsors FHV (Faichney, Henson and Veness) a local tobacco company which Ernes remembered was “taking on the big cigarette companies”. The strip, he recalled, was blue and white.
Another past player, Ivor Schofield, recalls having to kick-off at 1pm in Mareeba in State League days, so the visiting team could catch the last plane out of Cairns.
Both Dimbulah and Mareeba players did it tough, he said, especially when the tobacco season was on.
“They’d be working to death and then have to rush to the ground in time to play.”
But one of the greatest moments was when Dimbulah won a Grand Final.
“For a town of 1000 people it was a fantastic achievement,” Ivor said. “Bruno Fantin played the bugle till 8 in the morning after that win.”
Bruno was a beloved club president whose unparalleled dedication of 35 years is why the Cup is named after him.
He led the growth of the club, along with the community fan base. Volunteers pitched in to build a new field, fence it in, and plant a lawn. Today, the much smaller community of Dimbulah no longer fields a men’s league, but still uses the grounds for the Junior Soccer competition.
Co-organiser of the Cup, Sandro Soncin, who played for both Dimbulah and Mareeba, said the town became a much smaller place as many local farms were bought out by big companies over the years.
But the Fantin Cup event revives the heydays and draws a fantastic crowd. It also brings generations together. Ernes and Oliver Schincariol will be there, looking on proudly as first a nephew plays in the juniors, Oliver’s son Brian plays in the Under 45s, and Ernes boys, Adrain and Rudi, play in the Over-45s – the entertaining main event.
The Fantin Cup is on 2 November at Bruno’s Park, Dimbulah. Young Legends, Under 45s, start at 5pm; Little Legends, Under 8/9 starts at 6pm; Dinosaur Legends, Over 45s start at 8pm.
