Where it all started.

The Shepparton Swans was originally known as the Lemnos Footbal Club.

 

THE STORY OF LEMNOS

​

LEMNOS – ORIGIN OF NAME
The name LEMNOS, for a soldier settlement about 5 miles east of Shepparton, was suggested by Major (later Colonel) E P Hill at a public meeting of settlers held in the early 1920s. Major Hill, like many other soldier settlers, had served on Gallipoli in the Great War (1914 – 1918), and had been on the beautiful Greek island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea, the base for the Gallipoli operation. The euphony of the name appealed to Major Hill and others, particularly when associated with a fruit growing district. The euphonism referred to was ‘Lemons from Lemnos’. 

LEMNOS – A GREEK ISLAND
The Greek island of Lemnos, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, is an area of approximately 457 square kilometres with a shoreline of some 260 kilometres. Hills dominate the landscape, sending streams down to an often rugged coastline interspersed with sandy beaches.
Lemnos is strategically placed in relation to Turkey, the shores of which are visible on a clear day. A well-kept war cemetery on the outskirts of the town of Moudros contains some 98 graves of Australian soldiers together with those of British, New Zealand and French servicemen, most of whom died after being evacuated to hospital on Lemnos during the 1914 –1918 Great War.

LEMNOS – THE ANZAC TRADITION
The Anzac Tradition was born at Gallipoli on the 25th April 1915 when Australian & New Zealand troops stormed the beaches at Gallipoli. The Greek island of LEMNOS was the base for the operation. Many of the soldier settlers at Lemnos, near Shepparton in Victoria, served at Gallipoli and had fond memories of singing a war-time song as they shored up morale to face the trenches. The essence of the song became the essence of the Lemnos Anzac Tradition, namely “Fight The Good Fight”. The tradition continued when Australia entered World War II (1939 - 1945) and many of those 1st AIF veterans saw their sons and friends’ sons go again to fight. Twenty of the 1940 Lemnos Premiership Club enlisted in the Australian Forces.

LEMNOS – A SOLDIER SETTLEMENT
Following World War I (1914 – 1918) many returned servicemen were settled on the land as a means of rehabilitation. In the Shepparton District several areas had already been subdivided under the Closer Settlement Scheme, and in 1919 –1920 an area of land known
as Thomas Estate No 5 was subdivided for settlement by ex-soldiers.
This new soldier settlement area, bordered by New Dookie Road in the south, South Central Avenue (now Lemnos North Road) in the west, Cosgrove Road to the north, and Boundary Road to the east, was without a name, since the name Shepparton Central, by which the area was earlier known, was no longer appropriate as the town of Shepparton was 5 miles to the south-west. At a meeting called for the purpose of naming the area, ‘Kingston’, ‘Birdwood’, ‘Diggerville’ and ‘Lemnos’ were the suggested names. The euphonism of ‘Lemons from Lemnos’ won the day !

LEMNOS – THE EARLY SETTLERS
Amongst the original settlers were E. P. Hill, Bill Eliason, Len Homewood, Walter Stephens, Arthur Stephens, Albert Quiggin, Bob Cargill, Bill Gorey, E. Young, Stan McCallum, Harry Jondahl, Ron Hutchins, Fred Parker, Harold Lowrie, George Tilley, Fred Robinson, Malcolm Weller, Hec O’Neill, Albert Taylor, Bill Robinson, Carl Hauff, Stan Sutherland, W.R.M Treble, and W. J. Tyers.
The following is an extract from a speech given by Mrs E. P. Hill when opening a Lemnos School fete some years later :  -
“These orchard blocks of 22 to 30 acres, unfenced and not planted, were then allotted by the Soldier Settlement Commission and Closer Settlement Board to returned soldiers, some of them bachelors, some with brides from England, and some of them Englishmen who had enlisted in Victoria. You will realize the difficulties they had, building homes, fencing their blocks, and planting and maintaining their orchards until they bore fruit. Equipment had to be bought and families fed until the orchards became productive. The men had to take jobs on established orchards in the older Grahamvale district and look after their own orchards mornings, evenings and week-ends. Some of the new settlers also milked cows to add to their income during the early years before their orchards came into full production”.

The adage of ‘all work and no play’, however, certainly did not apply to the early Lemnos settlers. Within a few years a church, recreation reserve, hall, tennis and football clubs were all established and the social activities enjoyed in the district were often reported in the Shepparton News of those days.

LEMNOS – A FOOTBALL CLUB
The Lemnos Football Club was formed at a public meeting in April 1928. The Club affiliated with the Goulburn Valley Second Eighteens Association (GVSEA), which later in the 1930s became the Goulburn Valley Football Association (GVFA). The colours of the Lemnos Football Club were black with a yellow sash, and its home ground was the Lemnos Recreation Reserve adjacent to the Lemnos Primary School.
The 1928 inaugural committee consisted of the following : - President, E.P. Hill ; Secretary, A.A. Opie ; Captain, W. Mawson ; Vice-Captain, H. McFadyen ; Goal Umpires, A. McDonald and J. Young ; and Timekeepers, R. Cargill and W. B. Orchard.
In its first season in 1928 the Lemnos Football Club finished fifth out of eight teams, the other teams being Mooroopna, Dookie College, Shepparton Imperials, Ardmona, Undera, Bunbartha and Cosgrove. The first Best & Fairest winner in 1928 was W Mawson who was the recipient of a gold medal. The first Club Leading Goalkicker in 1928 was W. Marshall with 26 goals from 13 games.

LEMNOS – THE 1930s
Circa 1930 a Post Office and Telephone Service was established, and shortly after, a store in conjunction with those facilities. The Shepparton News reported that

“Lemnos people have been successful in their application for a Railway Siding” and “that the district intends to use all its weight in the proposal for the enlargement of the cannery. It will only be a matter of a year or two before the Lemnos orchards are producing heavily and ruin will be the lot of the plucky settlers if they are unable to find a market for their crops”.

The site set aside for a railway siding was never developed, but when Campbell’s Soups came years later a siding was built to their factory.
As well as the initial hardships related to setting up their blocks, the years that followed brought water shortages, the Depression, marketing difficulties, and at times, more fruit than could be taken by canneries. Then just when it seemed the worst was over, Australia was again at war, and many of those 1st AIF veterans saw their sons and friends’ sons go again to fight.

LEMNOS – FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT 
So the Lemnos Anzac Tradition continued on in World War II from 1939 – 1945. Twenty of the 1940 Lemnos premiership club enlisted in the Australian Forces and thus the Club, after a short season in 1941, had to go into recess between 1942 – 1945. Four players paid the supreme sacrifice – George Pearce, Roy Taylor, Paul Bell and ‘Stepper’ Hawkins.  LEST WE FORGET  !

The Club reformed in 1946 and had to continue to ’Fight The Good Fight’ in the face of : -

•    1945    Usurpation of the Lemnos  Colours by Shepparton East whilst Lemnos 
         was still in recess.

•    1946    Rejection by the GVFA, Lemnos’ home League, when the club reformed.

•    1946    Admission into the GVFL as a town based Lemnos – Shepparton Football Club playing at the Shepparton Showgrounds

•    1965    Shifting to Princess Park and carving out the ground, clubrooms and amenities with City of Shepparton assistance.

•    1970s    Upholding the war-won value of a FAIR GO FOR EVERYONE - an
              &    Australian mixture of mayors, businessmen, professionals, migrants,    
          1980s    aboriginals, working men – despite a concerted football and media 
   campaign against the Club.

 

LEMNOS becomes SHEPPARTON SWANS

•    The 1999 season brought a significant change at the club when, in anticipation of the fresh challenges that would inevitably arise in the new century, it adopted the trading name of the Shepparton Swans. Initially the club responded to those challenges well, with the senior side contesting the finals in 2001-2-3 and 2006, 2007 and 2010. 

•    In 2014 they improved still further and if the premiership they ultimately procured was unexpected it was nevertheless extremely deserved. Opposed in the grand final by a Benalla side which had won all 19 matches contested prior to the Grand Final the Swans eked out a narrow and hard-earned victory. The team was well coached by Brett Warburton and the last quarter was a torrid affair with the Swans only managing to score a single behind themselves, but crucially keeping Benalla to just 1.2 leaving them 3 points adrift.

•    The side duly qualified for the finals in both subsequent years but bowed out of the flag race at the first hurdle at the hands of Seymour in 2015 and Benalla in 2016. The Swans have experienced a lean run since premiership glory in 2014 but are in a strong rebuilding phase with many positive signs. 

•    Shepparton Swans have an extensive and successful Netball and Junior Football Program in place which has generated tremendous opportunities for individuals to excel in their chosen sport. 

​

FLOODING OF SWANS’ FACILITIES 

•    In October 2022 devastation struck the Shepparton Swans with major flooding of the Goulburn River resulting in the inundation of all Swans’ facilities including ovals, netball courts and clubrooms. Much work was undertaken by volunteers of the Club, Council and AFL to make the ground and netball courts usable for the 2023 season however replacement clubrooms are still in the planning phase causing considerable disruption to Swans’ activities.  
 

And so now we have the current chapter of LEMNOS ‘Fighting The Good Fight’ – trying to challenge the class divisions and providing a ‘Fair Go For Everyone’ – despite the odds ! Thus, the final value to imprint on the mind is the universal Australian concept of

LEMNOS – A FAIR GO FOR EVERYONE

John M Coghlan 

(First written on 1 October 1992 – revised 2025)