General News
23 September, 2024
Footy medallion revealed town's forgotten premiers
Dr Trevor Bretag didn't know his father Frank had played in a football premiership team until discovering a rare gold medallion while cleaning out his mother's home after her death.
Nor did he know that Ellam once sported its own football team.
The thin, ornately edged medallion has the initials "FB" on the front and inscribed on the back are the words "Ellam FC Premiers 1936 F Bretag".
Frank Bretag was 25 at the time, working on the family farm at Werrap and not yet married.
He later married Bessie Putt and had four children: Dorothy (Mitchell), Alan, Ian and Trevor.
Werrap is between Rainbow and Jeparit; Ellam district is further south and once had a church, a school and a reserve across about three kilometres.
All are to the east of Lake Hindmarsh.
Historian Peter Ralph of Rainbow said the medallion was a rare find.
"We knew about many many district football clubs but I had no history of Ellam Football Club," he said.
After a search Mr Ralph discovered that Ellam had played Tarranyurk in the Jeparit and District league grand final on October 2 1936, winning 14.20 to Tarranyurk 7.7.
The two teams had also played in the semi-final.
Ellam's player list also included Frank's brother, Alex Bretag. Both were also top regional tennis players.
Mr Ralph said at that time, more than a decade on from World War I and during The Great Depression, many farms had large families and also had many itinerant workers.
"The fact that 41 men from around Rainbow died in the First World War is evidence of that," he said.
"Often it depended on the season how long men stayed in the district.
"If the crops failed and there was no work, they moved on."
And during the Depression everything collapsed.
Many football teams existed only for a few years and then players moved away to hunt for work elsewhere, or moved on to play with another team nearby.
Among Dr Bretag's possessions is a handwritten letter from Mr Ralph, one of his former teachers at Rainbow High School, sent after Trevor received the award for dux of Year 11 and was about to start at Longerenong College at Dooen near Horsham.
Mr Ralph congratulated him on his excellent examination results as a "good reflection of the good work you put in during the year".
He said Rainbow's loss was Longerenong's gain and described his former student as co-operative, competent and diligent.
Dr Bretag spent four years at Weerap State School before attending Rainbow state and high schools, then went on to Longerenong College, where he gained a Diploma of Agriculture in 1969.
He later worked for four years at Horsham's Wheat Research Institute (now the Grains Innovation Precinct), then studied at La Trobe University, completing a Bachelor of Agricultural Science.
He completed a Master of Agricultural Science through Melbourne University.
In 1992 he gained his doctorate with studies into field pea diseases.
Dr Bretag retired from full-time work in 2005 before working as a consultant.