1960’S – Campbelltown Is Included In A New ‘Rural’ Competition – Group 6

Following the diggers returning from World War II, many men found comradeship on the football field and in 1946, Campbelltown was included in a new rural competition – Group 6, along with Camden Rams, Picton Magpies and Bowral Blues.

In the 1960’s the population in Campbelltown was growing rapidly and so was the love of local football. This photo shows Wests and Campbelltown City Kangaroos Life Member Tony Norton leading his team onto the field.

In 1968 ‘rural’ Campbelltown was officially declared a city and the first electric trains were arriving from Sydney.

1969 – The Spark That Lit the Fuse

The Kangaroos had a thriving juniors competition which drew great crowds to the games down at Duguid Oval. Football in Campbelltown was a popular attraction. The club however had mixed results winning a grand final in the inaugural (Group 6) competition in 1946 and then 1949 followed by a two-decade finals drought.

The high point came in the 1969 football season when the Kangaroos cut a swathe through the Group 6 competition. Record wins, record crowds. The celebrations after the win were long and arduous. The Kangaroos were poised for a decade of greatness so group 6 evened things out with three teams competing for the 1970 football season, with the other two clubs, the Warriors and Collegians backed by licensed clubs. So the idea was hatched to create a leagues club for the original team – The Campbelltown City Kangaroos.

Council approved the project and the “Campbelltown City Rugby League Football Club Ltd” was registered on 12 November 1970. This image shows the first-grade team of 1969; (back) Kevin LeJuene, Bruce Steeley, Bob French, John Knapp, Ron Girrard and Bruce Melville, with the team manager Jack Muggleton; (centre) Col Jenner, Rod Smith, Ray Corkery and Dick Downes; (front) Roy Warby, Jan Hincks, ball boy Billy Kain, Nick Evans and Ron Kain.

1972 – Humble Beginnings

The stadium area known as “Orana Park” was becoming a sporting hub with Athletics using it in summer, tennis courts being built next door and a squash court at the stadium entrance – The perfect place for the new leagues club to be built!

This image is an aerial view of Leumeah before Wests League Club was built. The small white building seen in the centre of the image is the original squash court that occupied the site.

1972- Get Togethers And Good times!

Photos survive of many Kangaroos social nights of the early 1970s. Lots of fun, humour, and outrageous fashion choices. These events were held at Campbelltown Civic Hall, the Golf Club, Bowling Club, Lacks Hotel, or Rugby League Country Club at Narellan. The prospect of soon having a Kangaroos own premises at Leumeah excited the Kangaroos.

The annual ball held in 1972 was held at Campbelltown Civic Centre. Many familiar faces were seen, including four directors of the future leagues club — pictured is local real estate agent and now local legend Frank Ward and the very influential and late John Marsden in velvet suits.

1973 – Notice Of Construction

In support of the Kangaroos, Campbelltown was to have a new licensed sporting venue, the Campbelltown City Rugby League Football Club Limited. The Campbelltown City Rugby League Club administered the local Kangaroos Football Club, and the major objective was to foster the code of rugby league in the region.

This image shows Foundation Directors, Frank Moore and Mike Semchyshyn, erecting the “Notice of Intention to Build” on the club site in 1973 (with the white squash court seen at rear).

1974 – Campbelltown City Rugby League Football Club Opens August 1974

Our club began trading on the 2nd of August — but the official opening was staged on Saturday, 31 August 1974 with 450 members. “It was a very colourful scene and brought spring a day early,” reported the Campbelltown-Ingleburn News.

The 604 square-metre building cost almost $500,000 and the royal blue and gold signage on the roof reflected the team colours of the Campbelltown City Kangaroos. This view is looking east.

1974 – Our Club Led By Nine Foundation Directors Was Born

“The club was essentially one big room,” shares friend of Wests Bruce Melville. “You came in through a small vestibule area, then double doors opened up onto tables and chairs. The northern wall was glass, overlooking Orana Park, with a long bar to the far right, poker machines along the Pembroke Road end along the wall, and a small dance floor. There was a mixed grill restaurant on the right. The meals were quite good.” The decor reeked of the seventies — orange curtains, dark wood paneling, warm brown carpeting, and flamenco chairs.

Marsden boasted the club had a standard of comfort and service equal to any larger club in the Sydney area. This image shows the nine directors who guided the club from its opening in 1974. All were Kangaroos players or team administrators. Pioneering club member Garry Munroe described them as “a bunch of really great blokes and hard workers”.

1974 – Musical Acts & Good Times

“Top live artists only”. That was the policy John Marsden declared in 1974. Admittedly, many of the cabaret acts that followed were hardly household names (budgets only stretch so far). But some truly big names did play at the club. Johnny O’Keefe, Jimmy Little, John Williamson, Col Joye and Little Patti to name a few. Irish comedians Brian Doyle and Sean Kramer were also popular.

Member-generated fun was also a mainstay, such as the fancy dress celebrations. During the 1970s, the club had its own house band — Reaction — (pictured here) which played three nights a week. Mainly Top 40 hits, looking stylish in caramel-coloured suits with chocolate velvet lapels. The lineup included John Hepher, Kevin Harris, Allan Muir and Ken Hornery (the latter replaced by Sean McHugh as the band later changed its name to Hart).

1983 – Change Afoot Within Campbelltown Football.

1983 saw Campbelltown welcome the Newtown Jets to Orana Park in 1983, with crowds divided and the Kangaroos playing their final season with Group 6. Following a failed merger, Campbelltown Rugby League was excluded from the Sydney competition, and had been removed from Group 6 despite winning the 1983 grand final.

Tim Sheens, a former St Gregory’s College captain, was team captain that year. This image shows Tim Sheens celebrating the Kangaroos’ 1983 grand final victory. He later gave thanks to Corkery for “planting the seed to pursue a coaching career”. Sheens went on to forge a top career that would include coaching four NRL premiership winning teams — including Wests Tigers.

1986 – The Magpies Arrive As Our Club Does It Tough

Ray Corkery, had taken over from John Marsden as Chairperson and the club following the Newtown demise. These were dire times with Ray admitting it was hard making a profit without any senior football being played next door at Orana Park. Young people did come to live music gigs, and the Chinese restaurant was popular.

“But the club was on its knees,” it declared a deficit of $120,000 and the club was declared “broke”. It’s only possible lifeline was a merger with Western Suburbs Leagues Club at Ashfield. The Magpies had arrived and so did a name change to Western Suburbs Leagues Club. Pictured here is Campbelltown youngsters cheering on their newly-adopted team in 1987.

1994-1995 – The Push To (RE) Localise Our Leagues Club 

In 1995, local Jim Marsden was elected chairman of the Magpies Football club with Stephen Noyce as CEO and the Magpies felt a lot more local. Magpies legend Tommy Raudonikis made his home in Leumeah and, as promised, took the Magpies to the finals in 1996. After a few years under majority Ashfield reign, Chairperson Ray Corkery fought for the next board appointees, due in early 1995, include two Campbelltonians, accountant Roy Warby and surveyor John McDonald. Ashfield agreed.

With their appointment, Campbelltown suddenly commanded a narrow 5-4 majority on the board. An extraordinary meeting of members was called on 3 March 1996 — to vote for a change to our club’s constitution. Gordon Fetterplace had proposed that the Campbelltown board be reduced from nine directors to seven — all of them democratically-elected. In the subsequent democratic election, Ray Corkery was returned as chairman, with Gordon Fetterplace as his deputy. The new Campbelltown-controlled board congratulated not only its loyal members, but its hard-working staff as the transition took place. Pictured here are 1990s staffers posing for snaps.

1997 – Wests Campbelltown Doubles In Size 

Our club became a giant building site for a project that would include a new foyer and entry, a new poker machine lounge, a large new mixed lounge, a TAB/Keno area, and a new administration area, plus a complete refurbishment of existing areas. A grand “reopening” was held on Sunday, 14 September 1997. There was a parade, bands, cheerleaders, circus performers, rides, footballers signing autographs, fireworks, and dancing horses from El Caballo Blanco. All overlooked by a giant inflatable Magpie.

Campbelltown councillor Meg Oates — a Magpies fan and proud Leumeah resident — helped Corkery with the official duties in a packed auditorium. The days of Wests being Campbelltown’s ‘third club’ would soon be in the past, he predicted. The stars did seem to be aligning . . .We had a big new locally-run leagues club. We had the Magpies football team headed by a local CEO and a local chairman. Some of its best young stars, such as the McGuinness brothers and John Skandalis, were local juniors. And the team was coached by Leumeah’s own Tommy Raudonikis.

1999 – Wests Sports Council Is Born 

The Wests Sports Council, established in 1999 (with origins back to 1995), is a network of all sporting Clubs and Associations with whom the Wests League Club has established a supportive relationship. Representatives from each sporting organisation meet on a bi-monthly basis to network, share information and best practice examples, and receive presentations from a variety of relevant Government, sporting and commercial entities, with a purpose of strengthening their own knowledge and operations of their respective organisations.

The Wests Sports Council also provides for an annual award process for local athletes and sporting groups, which recognise achievement, commitment and contribution to local sport. The Wests Sports Council is a strong example of Wests League Club’s commitment to local sport and to assisting the local community to access affordable and well-administered sporting opportunities.

2000 – Campbelltown Footballing Future Is Re-Written 

The appointment of coach Raudonikis had, as expected, sent a shot of adrenaline into the Magpies. But the team could not compete in the expensive player market stoked by Super League and News Ltd and wooden spoons awaited for the Magpies in 1998 and 1999. A peace deal was thrashed out by the ARL and News Ltd resulting in a new, merged, National Rugby League (NRL). This NRL ordered a reduction in the number of teams to just 14. News Ltd promoted the Magpies as a team most likely to be ousted. Wests had little choice but to merge with another at-risk club, the Balmain Tigers, to ensure their mutual survival — giving birth to “Wests Tigers”.

Through much turmoil, there was also true local joy when Wests Tigers took to the field for the first time at Campbelltown Sports Ground on 6 February 2000 — and John Skandalis, a former Magpie and Minto Cobras junior, scored the first try. Other homegrown stars such as Liam Fulton and Brett Hodgson helped add a Campbelltown presence, but the road ahead would often be rocky.

2001- Wests No Longer Has A Magpie

As the 2001 extensions went up, the large Magpie shield came down. It never returned. There was also no Magpies team in the NRL anymore. During the early 2000s, our club had replaced the magpie symbol with a “palm trees” logo, hoping to evoke a holiday resort mood. Ray Corkery, our then chair proposed changing our name — to “Campbelltown Sports Club”. This title was trademarked, and local art students were tasked with coming up with a potential logo — ideally including orange (representing an athletics track), green (grass) and blue (water).

When the vote was held at an extraordinary meeting in 2002 there was a clear majority for “Campbelltown Sports Club” but fell short because in order to be passed as a special resolution it needed to be backed by 75 per cent. Our official name would remain as Western Suburbs League Club (Campbelltown) Ltd and still remains our trading name in 2024.

2004- The Home Of Sport Is Born

The “Campbelltown Sports Club” name had not been approved — but, in many ways, the club acted as if it had In 2004, Wests introduced a new motto: “The Home of Sport”. Those four words were reinforced by an important cultural shift. The club had been founded to fund a top rugby league side (the Kangaroos, then Magpies), while giving funds to other sporting clubs as a sideline. That ranking was now flipped. Local juniors would now be our focus.

By the 2000s, a popular highlight of club life was the annual Wests Sports Council Awards night. Monthly winners vied for a top annual award in seven categories: Junior Sports Person, Youth Sports Person, Senior Sports Person, Elite Sports Person, Sports Team, Elite Sports Team, and Spirit of Sport.

The club also introduced, in 2003, a Amateur Sporting Grants Policy for individuals and teams representing Macarthur at state, national or international level. In that first year, 128 rising stars shared $15,000. By 2005, it had more than doubled

2005 – Wests Tigers Win The Premiership

Campbelltown erupted in euphoria in October 2005 when Wests Tigers won the NRL premiership, defeating North Queensland Cowboys 30-16. It was the first time a joint venture team had won a grand final, and the match set new television viewing records. Bitter Wests Tigers boardroom squabbles were forgotten as “our” team was joyously cheered and toasted. Mind you, it wasn’t quite the same feeling as the 1969 grand final victory; the Kangaroos had returned home to Campbelltown to celebrate, whereas the Wests Tigers made merry that night at Ashfield and Balmain Leagues Clubs. But the team did come to Campbelltown the next day, and thousands of fans flocked to Leumeah stadium to welcome them. It was a magical moment as local boy John ‘Skando’ Skandalis lifted the trophy and the crowd went wild. In coming months, the players would visit local schools, as Wests proudly displayed the trophy for its patrons.

2006 – Roy Warby Era Begins

Roy Warby the new Chairman had old links with the Kangaroos, as a member of the legendary 1969 grand final team. He had even older links with the suburb our club stood in as a descendant of Leumeah pioneer John Warby. Warby would face many challenges in the years ahead, particularly as smoking bans and huge new poker machine taxes threatened clubs everywhere — but he would also prove a firm leader, aided by Mike Semchyshyn as deputy. Corkery did remain on the board, as a respected founding father of the club.

2007 – Wests Takes Over The Tennis Club

In 2007, Wests amalgamated with its neighbour, Southern Districts Tennis Club — rescuing the latter from financial ruin. This merger immediately gave our members access to 14 courts and a tennis shop . . . not to mention a popular Chinese Restaurant. “We see certain synergies,” Roy Warby said at the time. Wests guaranteed it would continue to operate the courts for at least 10 years, but assured members: “it will continue to operate for a long time.”

In early 2008, work began on a major upgrade of the clubhouse, as well as a resurfacing of playing facilities — including one hard court “comparable to the surface of the Australian Open”. Also LED lights for night-time play. This was expensive, but Wests wanted to give its juniors the best opportunities. The Tennis Club did, in fact, find it hard making a profit — “struggling to compete with the leagues club just up the road” — but, by 2012, it was paying its way . . . and that was the objective. The rescue of the tennis centre had also put Wests at the epicentre of Campbelltown’s recreational and sporting scene, given the surrounding precinct also included the Sports Stadium and the Athletics Stadium.

2008 – Bambu Extension Opens

The old squash court had been replaced by a car park in 1997 — and now that car park was replaced by the next big Wests extension, as membership neared 30,000. A lavish Asian-style “Bambu” mixed lounge, tapas dining area, and cocktail bar were the highlights of a $13.5 million project that brought our club all the way to the corner of Old Leumeah Road.

A resort atmosphere was the aim, with water features, intricately-carved wood sculptures, and tropical greenery. Outside, the architecture was dominated by a colossal glass facade, allowing natural light to showcase all the new shapes and tones inside.

2008 – Campbelltown City Kangaroos Celebrate 100 Years

2008 saw a special anniversary event with a sea of old familiar faces at the team’s 100th anniversary celebrations. Tony Norton was front and centre as not only a ‘Roos legend’, but a foundation director and Wests’ sports ambassador.

2009 – Wests Buys Some Land

In 2009, Roy Warby announced Wests had bought the large two-storey block of 10 shops alongside the club. This was so that complex could eventually be bulldozed, to allow the club to expand. “In the meantime, many units offer commercial returns,” Warby said. This was part of the big picture plan Wests had followed for decades. Before the recent Bambu extension, the club had (in 2005) erected a $4.6 million multi-level car park, providing 260 spaces. That was only possible because Wests had, years earlier, bought the houses that once occupied that site.

2009 – Lakeside And The Country Club Join Wests 

The fate of Wests took a sharp turn in 2009 when another local sports club — Camden Valley Golf Resort near Narellan — went broke. Camden Valley had been established in 1964 as the “Rugby League Country Club” (RLCC), a joint venture of a dozen leagues clubs, each with an equal share. RLCC was long famed as Sydney’s only 27-hole golf course. It had a clubhouse and bistro, a motel, as well as a swimming pool, tennis courts and cricket grounds. RLCC was a popular spot for Kangaroos events, such as cabaret nights and social events, before our club opened in 1974.

By the early 2000s, Camden Valley (as it was then marketed as) was losing money. The RLCC board decided to convert its valuable land assets into suburbia. As part of that process, RLCC acquired the Camden Lakeside Golf Resort (to be retained as a golfing green space for the housing estates being planned). Then came the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09 which saw the entire project collapse, after RLCC’s development Camden master stroke partner went into liquidation. The land was sold to Japanese developer, Sekisui House, which was creating adjoining estates on the El Caballo Blanco and Gledswood Homestead sites.

2013 – Wests Campbelltown Leaves The Wests Tigers Board

Wests made rugby league headlines in June 2013 when it pulled out of the joint venture with Wests Tigers. Our club sold its one seat on the 10-seat Wests Tigers board to Ashfield for a dollar. Wests Tigers really needed to consolidate in ownership and leadership to allow for future direction and growth.

Wests was in a strong [financial and management] position as a business, and with the risk of the joint venture falling over we thought it best if we walked away. In 2023, an independent review into why Wests Tigers hadn’t played finals football since 2011 came to the conclusion that the joint venture’s future lay in Macarthur, not the inner city. This has been relfected in the 2024 move to the southwest strategy. Wests continues to be an allie and supporter of the Wests Tigers in Campbelltown and true believer in the strengths of our local junior league and Wests Tigers rugby league pathways.

2017 – Wests Group Macarthur Is Officially Born

When Roy Warby joined the board in 1995, Wests was still considered Campbelltown’s “third club”. Two decades later, it was now the largest club in Macarthur. Our net assets were worth more than $80 million, it had almost 70,000 members, and our club’s community donations were about to hit $1 million a year. Warby had good reason to feel proud when he stepped down as chairman in 2016. He was staying on the board, but handed over the reins of leadership to Warren Thomson, with Alan Buxton elected as his deputy.

Thomson would serve until 2019, when he handed over the big chair to Buxton — with Paul Lake as his deputy. This was “the class of 2003” stepping up as a new leadership team of an expanding club. No longer just Wests Campbelltown, but Wests Tennis Club, Lakeside Camden, and Country Club Gledswood Hills.

In 2017, Wests began marketing itself as “Wests Group Macarthur” — an overarching identity with the motto: “Four great destinations, One journey.”

2020 – COVID Strikes

‘Social distancing” became a new catchcry in 2020-21 as COVID-19 swept Australia and masks hid faces. Our club was, repeatedly, forced to close — including for three months in 2021 — as “lockdown” became the other catchcry. That meant tens of thousands of social interactions were banned, and hundreds of club staff were left without a job.

These dire times proved a baptism of fire for Daniel Perkiss, Wests Group’s new CEO. Instead of gently settling in to learn the ropes, he was busy developing response plans, supporting employees, and communicating with the community. Many clubs laid off their staff, but Wests vowed to maintain all its payrolls, as well as other support measures such as hampers. Alan Buxton called it a “People before Profits” policy that cost $2.1 million.

2021 – Everything We Do Is For Macarthur 

Wests Group found itself at a pivotal juncture as it emerged from the shadows of isolation and set out to rekindle the spirit of togetherness. Not only internally, with a revitalised calendar of events, promotions and themes in our venues, but externally. Our club threw itself into community outreach like never before. Wests was not only a major supporter of most of Macarthur’s big events — from the Fisher’s Ghost Festival and Christmas Carols to Campbelltown City Challenge Walk — but it also participated.

Our directors, staff, and members were serving snags at barbecues, handing over tinned goods for homeless families, meeting kids at school events, taking part in working bees, or seeing up-close how our donations were making a difference.

In 2021-22, the club also launched a new annual Community Magazine to report on all the latest club news. The sheer variety of our connections also showed how far Wests had come from being a mere leagues club. From providing installation of defibrillator packages into the community, to backing new community arts facilities, to funding charities in support of women fleeing domestic violence. “We are more committed than ever to being a profit-for-purpose organisation that exists for the betterment of Macarthur.”

2023 – Wests Tennis Club Is Reborn As The Sherwood 

As much as Wests Group thrived, the weak link in the chain seemed to be the old, ever-struggling, Tennis Club. So, Wests brought in the bulldozers and embarked on a bold new adventure — The Sherwood. The result, opened in 2023, was a modern pub-style venue with alfresco dining that felt like a luxury beer garden.

Relaxation was the vibe, with staff wearing t-shirts. ‘Experience tasty food and bevvies and enjoy a variety of specials all week long, along with live entertainment on the weekend.’

2024 – Our People Have Always Been Our Greatest Assest 

The ‘Old Guard’ of Wests’ staff celebrating in 2024. Some of the long-serving faces who have played a pivotal customer service role at Wests. Back row: David Jackson, Brent Krause, Lee Massey, Christian Vera, Bruce Punch, Christie Sciberras, Kim Doherty. Front row: Wade McKinnon, Mark Dymitriw, Dick Lucas, Julia Maulguet, Gale Warner, Dawn King, Katherine Fogarty, Sonia Menegazzo, Sandra Arthur, Vicki Omullane, Leigh Prebble, Shirley Imber, Sue Hudson.

2024 – Our People Make The Difference 

Our employees are the backbone of our organisation, each bringing their unique talents, dedication, and passion to create a dynamic and thriving workplace culture. Today Wests employs a 90% local workforce with over 470 staff from front of house, bar workers, chefs, catering service staff as well as functions and administration team members. Based on the ground floor of Wests League Club, the administration cog keeps all 4 venues running under the guidance of Chief Executive Officer Daniel Perkiss and active Board of Directors.