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Jack's 6 decades of service to the Maine Print E-mail
Bendigo FLJACK Jefferies’ service to the Castlemaine club has spanned every decade from the 1940s to the first part of the 21st century.

He has been a player – and a premiership player, at that – a club president, vice-president and committeeman and also the vice-president of the newly-formed Bendigo Golden City League in the early 1980s.

And this year with his 81st birthday looming in November he’s back on the Magpies’ finance sub-committee, continuing his life-long commitment to the Camp Reserve Pies.

Jack’s son John “Chicka” Jefferies was also a Castlemaine premiership player. John was a key defensive player in the Magpies’ five-point winning team against Golden Square in 1992.

“That was my last game for the Maine. I retired after the grand final – I was 34,” John recalled this week.

Nowadays both men can take a break from the footy action to watch John’s daughter Kirby play A grade netball for the Maine.

Jack played 207 games with Castlemaine, and eight games with Eaglehawk. John totted up more than 240 games with the Magpies.

BORN in Castlemaine in November, 1927, Jack’s senior career began with his home club in 1944 at the age of 16.

At that period of their history the Magpies were part of the Castlemaine and District Football League.

In his early career Jack played as a ruck-rover, but as he developed physically his on-ball ability turned him into a ruckman.

His high marking, stamina and accurate taps from ruck contests were a feature of his play. His first five years of football saw him play in three premierships teams with an invitation extended in 1948 to train with the Melbourne Football Club.

Family commitments meant he couldn’t pursue a career with the Demons so Jack continued with his beloved Magpies.

It was 1949 when Jack Jefferies first contested matches in the BFL. The Castlemaine Football Club was keen to re-enter the Bendigo competition (which the club had been part of way back in the 1920s) and Jack made his presence felt from the opening bounce of the ’49 season.

The Magpies’ very first match was against power club Sandhurst at the Upper Reserve, or QEO, and Jack starred for his team with a best afield award that day.

Castlemaine soon became a competitive force in the BFL, culminating in a glorious premiership in 1952.

Vice-captain of the flag-winning team Jack was one of the Maine’s most consistent players all season. When they got back to Castlemaine that memorable evening in 1952 the circus was in town so the victorious players rode elephants in the town’s main streets.

Some of the great players of one of the BFL’s golden eras were Sandhurst’s Kevin Curran and Eaglehawk’s Peter Pianto, Basil Ashman and George Ilsley, Jack recalled.

At his own club none topped coach, the late Wally Culpitt. Other Magpie greats included Ron McKnight, Les Murray and Max Gale with Jack firmly convinced the BFL was the best league in country Victoria.

Just about every club boasted ex-Victorian Football League players with standouts such as the late Ollie Grieve (Eaglehawk) and Norm McDonald (Golden Square) in the club line-ups.

Jack Jefferies was named in the BFL inter-league sides in all five seasons he played at Castlemaine and he was vice-captain to South Bendigo great Alan McDonald (later to coach Richmond) in the Coronation Day game at Echuca on June 2nd, 1953.

Jack was granted Castlemaine life membership in 1952. He accepted promotion in his job to Bendigo in 1954 which meant he could no longer play for Castlemaine.

He believes there was an imaginary line drawn across Big Hill with anyone living north of the line committed to playing for a Bendigo-based club.

Son John has another viewpoint. “There was a zoning policy in force during the 1950s and Dad was unsuccessful in gaining an exemption from that zone policy,” he explained.

So Jack, although he wasn’t all that happy with the policy, decided to try his luck with Eaglehawk. He had a great respect for the Two Blues and because he loved his footy decided to join the Canterbury Park club.

Unfortunately he suffered serious leg and ankle injuries after just eight games in 1954 and at the age of 26 his football career came to an end.

That was just the start of another chapter in Jack Jefferies’ remarkable life and football career. He served as president of the Castlemaine Junior Football League for 12 years, with his administrative abilities keenly noted at the senior level.

Jack joined the Castlemaine Football Club committee in the mid-1970s and over the ensuing 30 years would provide outstanding service to the Camp Reserve outfit.

He served as club president for eight years, another three as vice-president and also served time as treasurer, chairman of selectors and player advocate at the BFL tribunal. Jack also was the Castlemaine delegate to the BFL long before the board of management, as we know it today came into existence.

Jack was right in the thick of the administrative maelstrom which enveloped Bendigo footy in the early 1980s when the BFL and the old Golden City League were amalgamated.

Not only was there a march through city streets by GCFL supporters and officials, there was a dramatic VCFL-chaired meeting at the old Red Cross building in View Street, when rocks were hurled onto the roof during the heated proceedings inside.

Jack Jefferies was just about the only rational and sane voice at those tumultuous BGCFL meetings when club delegates waved fists about, hurled pens onto the floor and against the walls and eventually stormed out.

He was elected as vice-president of the amalgamated BGCFL body and attended countless meetings and debates as the future direction of Bendigo footy was sorted out.

In 1983 the BFL honoured Jack with the award as Personality of the Year and a decade later --- in 1993 --- he was granted the league’s highest honour: life membership.

On a memorable Friday night August 23rd, 1996 Jack Jefferies was inducted, along with 11 other identities, into the BFL Hall Of Fame.

Richard’s tips for round 15: Golden Square, Castlemaine, South Bendigo and Eaglehawk. Progress tally: 49.

By Richard Jones
 
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