Overview
A Brief History
A club founded on family values with a proud history located at the base of the Strzelecki ranges. The club enjoys great local business support and an excellent crop of hard working cricketers.
The Trafalgar township was first established in 1876 and land sales commenced in 1879. By 1881 there was a population of just over 200. Early records of the Trafalgar Cricket Club are unknown, as the club played mostly social matches against other neighbouring districts. The first ever cricket game to involve players from Trafalgar is believed to have occurred on December 8 1888 against Thorpdale. During the 1890s Trafalgar competed spasmodically, as the towns population declined to as low as 140 by 1901. It was not until the draining and cultivation of the Moe swamp at the turn of the 20th century that sport began to be played in an organised fashion in the area. Although details remain sketchy, the club won its first premiership in 1902-03 after most likely finishing the season playing against other rural localities on
top of the ladder.
Historical records from the clubs formative years remain unconfirmed, and it is likely the club was in recess at times prior to World War 1. The club officially reformed in 1912-13 after being in recess the previous season and won a premiership in the then Moe and District Cricket Association in 1914-15.
After World War 1, Trafalgar began to compete seriously and won back-to-back flags on two separate occasions in competitions comprising a cluster of local teams of the time. Trafalgar won the Trafalgar and District Cricket Association premiership in 1919-20/1920-21 and then the West Gippsland Cricket Association premiership in 1926-27/1927-28. By this stage, there was a push to bring minor cricket leagues into one established major league in the Warragul area, so the Warragul and District Cricket Association was formed in 1928-29. Trafalgar won the Thorpdale and District Cricket Association premiership in 1931-32 and was then admitted to the WDCA the following season.
Fittingly taking on the Ship moniker after the famous Napoleonic battle, Trafalgar enjoyed many successes in the WDCA, winning a premiership in 1932-33 before going on to enjoy one of the clubs most successful eras in the late 1940s and 1950s. During this time Trafalgar won seven first grade premierships in 13 years, including three in succession from 1949-50 to 1951-52.
Trafalgar again won back-to-back flags in 1974-75/1975-76 before some tough times saw Trafalgar battle throughout most of the 1980s. Trafalgar maintained its affiliation with the WDCA right up until the 1989-90 season before crossing to the Central Gippsland Cricket Association. The main reasons behind the move were that the WDCA played less overs to allow for dairy farmers milking, and that Trafalgar felt the compact travel in the CGCA would help attract more players.
Trafalgar competed in the CGCA for 10 seasons, playing in three first grade grand finals, but an acrimonious fall out with the league at the end of the 2000-01 season led Trafalgar to make the move back to the WDCA.
The return to the WDCA reaped huge rewards for the Ships, as the club won seven premierships in three grades across four seasons. The club won a second grade premiership in 2004-05 whilst the thirds won a record setting four consecutive flags between 2004-05 and 2008-09. Trafalgar ended a 30 year drought when it won the WDCA division one premiership in 2006-07.
However, a few seasons later Trafalgar found itself embroiled in another controversy with league heavyweights and switched back to the CGCA in season 2010-11.
In its second stint in the CGCA, Trafalgar found success with a surprise first grade premiership in 2014-15, whilst at junior level the club began to bear the fruits of creating one of the strongest junior programs in Gippsland. From 2014 to 2018 in the CGCA, Trafalgar won junior premierships in under 16s (three times), under 14s (twice) and won the Junior Club Championship three times. Trafalgar was also formally recognised as the being the best administered club in the CGCA during this period.
In season 2018-19 Trafalgar embarked on a new journey, as the CGCA and a number of Traralgon and District Cricket Association clubs amalgamated to form the Latrobe Valley and District Cricket League.
Trafalgar competed in the LVDCL for five seasons, adding two more flags in A Grade and C Grade, before opting to move back to the WDCA in 2023-24 after the LVDCL and TDCA fully merged. It was felt the added Traralgon teams plus a mandate to play first grade games on turf would make it unsustainable for Trafalgar to continue in such circumstances.
