Discontinuity or Hibernation?

Of all the low points in Weston's history perhaps their exclusion from the Northern division in 1945 is the lowest. It saw the club confronted with the possibility of extinction. The loss of the Homestead ground was also a significant impact of the exclusion. Ultimately, the action was understood by many as an attack on one of Australia's most successful club teams, one that had held the miner's lamp for the game while it navigated the tunnel of the Depression.

Research needs to establish why the club was excluded (both the ostensible and actual reasons). I've seen two explanations: 1) simple relegation for poor performance 2) an assessment that the football culture on the coalfields could not sustain three first grade teams (Cessnock's vote below is interesting in this light). There will be more explanations than these. Research also needs to ask the tricky question of whether the present club was born in 1949 while the old one died in 1946.

One of Weston's first responses was to appeal against the directors' decision on constitutional grounds. The following is a report of the appeal in the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, Monday 4 February 1946, page 5.

Weston Rejected by Soccer Clubs SYDNEY, Sunday

The elimination of Weston Football Club from the first grade competition was upheld at a meeting of the New South Wales Soccer Football Association last night. The appeal by Weston was put to a vote of club representatives, who supported the directors' decision by 8 votes to 7. The Secretary of the association (Mr. D. T. McLaren) said that the result is regarded as a vote of confidence in the directors. Clubs which voted for Weston's reinstatement were Kurri Kurri, Wallsend, Lake Macquarie, Canterbury-Bankstown. Leichhardt-Annandale, Woonona-Bulli and Weston. The eight clubs which voted against were Adamstown, Cessnock, Swansea-Belmont, West Wallsend, Corrimal, Granville, Metters and North Shore.

Through Chairman W. Beaney, the club seemed to insist on a legalistic and perhaps dogmatic path, resorting to brinkmanship at at least one point. As Celtic (Sid Grant) reported in 'Weston Soccer Appeal Failed By A Vote' in the Newcastle Sun (Monday 4 February 1946, page 11):

Weston Soccer Club will meet on Wednesday night to discuss the future of the club , following the 8 to 7 vote decision of the meeting of club delegates in Sydney, on Saturday to dismiss the club's appeal against its elimination from the Northern division of the State League. '

It's worth noting Grant's emphasis on the narrowness of the vote as opposed to the 'vote of confidence' argument mounted in the Herald. Grant goes on to outline Beaney's two options, neither of which seem, in hindsight all that likely to produce a positive result. 

Last night Mr. Beaney instructed that Weston Club had two courses to follow: (1) To test the directors' decision in the Court: (2) to wind up the club. He said that the club would not conduct a reserve grade or Junior teams unless it .was reinstated In the senior ranks. 

The refusal to conduct lower grades smacks of dog-in-the-manger. Or does it?

To cut a long story short, despite occasional soccer activity on the Homestead, the Weston Club was effectively discontinued (and, by the way, is it a coincidence that the Weston RL team won its competition in 1947?). 

Another way to look at the matter is that the Club was in hibernation (like good Bears?), sitting on its laurels and not insubstantial cash waiting for another option which in due course arrived via the Weston Workers Club in 1949.

Rather than seeing Weston's attitude as enraged and irrational, or as futile posturing, maybe we need to see the events as being akin to the actions of Geordie miners when they are angry: the club went on strike! 

This points to the kind of culture that might constitute Weston, based on working class principles of solidarity and not putting up with attacks on conditions or community pride. The exclusion of Weston (whether fair, ethical and legal or not) was an assault on the club's dignity and it responded in keeping with its own principles.