Alberton Kicks Around Australia daily

ON THURSDAY, August 7 schools around Australia are invited to kick the footy in tribute to the game’s 150th birthday.

But for one tiny service town in West Gippsland, Kick Around Australia day will require no change in routine. For the 69 students of Alberton Primary School, 216km south-east of Melbourne, kicking the footy is something they do every single day.

At lunchtime, school principal Bill Mullen and a couple of the older students act as umpires for the preparatory, year one and two students who play what is known as ‘little kid’s footy’. They alternate days with ‘big kid’s footy’, played by those in grade three through to grade six.

“The kids really enjoy it,” Mullen says.

“We do it every day. Boys, girls ... They always say, ‘Is it big kid’s footy or little kid’s footy today?’ They really enjoy it, and we do the same thing in summer with cricket.”

In February, 1858, Alberton Primary School was a tiny Presbyterian school comprising little more than a tin shed. One hundred and fifty years later – through a brick reincarnation to portable classrooms, and a planned building upgrade this year – the school is celebrating its sesquicentenary alongside the anniversary of the game at its heart.

The entire town has a population of 215, with only six students from nearby Port Albert, Tarraville and Robertson’s Beach. Most of the school’s students travel each day from farms in the surrounding districts.

Football is a huge part of life for Alberton’s families, with most of the four, five and six grade students playing under-12s or under-14s football for one of the two local clubs in the district as well as for the school.

The school football coach is former Richmond player Anthony Banik, the number one pick from the 1989 AFL draft, who has settled with his family in the town.

Alberton kicked off its 150th celebrations in February with activities including an official ceremony, fete, dance and barbeque held over three days. The festivities attracted 1,000 people – more than four times’ the town population – prompting another community event to be scheduled at the Town Hall later in the year.

The kids of Alberton represent a minute proportion of the 630,000 people that play Australian football nationwide, and the additional 40,000 overseas. But while it is easy to lose them in the numbers, it is impossible to ignore their enthusiasm for the game they love.