Founded 1976

In 1976, the Irrigation and Water Supply Sharks entered a touch team in the Public Service Touch Competition at Kalinga Park, Kalinga. The team was formed when the Department of Irrigation and Water Supply rugby league team disbanded after winning the B-grade competition in the Public Service rugby league competition at Kalinga in 1975 and some of its members decided to play touch football. Original organizers were Warren Hutton, Mick Garvey and Alan Vizer. The Sharks colours were orange and black, with the logo of a Shark on the front. The publican of the Cecil Hotel in George Street, Brisbane allowed the rugby league team to use a room in the basement of the hotel as a club room, which they nick-named “The Dungeon”, and Alan Vizer painted a Shark logo on the wall of the pub.

The touch team played fixtures at 7.45 am on Sunday mornings at Kalinga Park. After the touch game, everyone would drink beer from an esky and have a talk while they watched the Public Service rugby league teams play. Players’ wives and children would come to the game and all would participate in a barbeque and mix socially for hours. A number of the players had children, whom they would bring along, and who would have a great time running around and playing with each other. Most of them went on to play for the Sharks when they were in their early teens. On occasions, some players would get home at 3 pm after an 8 am game, usually a bit wobbly on their feet.

Rules were 8-a-side, kick off, marker at play-the-ball, full-size rugby league field, and bare feet. As the competition was played in Winter, games were usually played in fairly frosty conditions.

As the Sharks players were basically all public servants, they would knock off work in the city and train on parkland on the southern bank of the Brisbane River where Southbank now stands. After training they would have a drink at the Ship Inn Hotel. The field had the Brisbane River as a sideline, and sloped towards the river. If you played on the wing on the river side of the field, you never got the ball passed to you because if you missed it, it would go into the river. After a couple of seasons, training was moved to the second field at Davies Park, which had a slope from one try line to the other. If you were running downhill, you had a distinct advantage. We would have drinks in the Souths Rugby League Clubhouse after training.

Brisbane Touch Association fixtures were played at various venues all over Brisbane initially, and then they introduced northside and southside competitions. Sharks left the Public Service Touch competition and joined Brisbane Touch Association in 1980. Some venues included the second field at Davies Park, South Brisbane, Klumpp Road, Upper Mt Gravatt, Kitchener Park, Wynnum, Mansfield High School, Mt Gravatt Primary School.

Warren Hutton grew up in Chinchilla, and he invited school mates Reg Barr and Ray Head to join the touch team. Those three and their families were the major driving forces behind the Sharks for the next 20 years. Warren was an excellent touch player with a good step and speed off the mark. He introduced his children, Karen, Susan, Mark and Belinda to touch, and they all played in the higher grades. Warren had to give away touch in the mid-90s because his heart was running fast. The illness seemed to be exacerbated when he was watching the ladies touch players warming up. He and his wife Joan are Life Members of the Sharks.

In 1980, the team entered the Brisbane Touch Association as HK Motors Sharks. They were sponsored by HK Motors of Moorooka, where Ray Head worked.

The Sharks 1980 photograph shows Alan Vizer in front row, middle. Alan was a founding member of the club. He started playing touch when he was 46 years old and played until he was 60. He is a Life Member of the Sharks. His rumpus/bar area was called The Dungeon because it was almost impossible to get out of. Just when you thought you were out of drinks, Alan would find another carton of beer or bottle of wine. When retired from touch, he managed representative Brisbane City touch teams, going to Townsville and Rockhampton championships. He was a very efficient manager, and was always ably assisted by his wife Gwen. He was also very good companionship at after-game celebrations. For years, Alan and Gwen voluntarily operated the canteen on game days at the Aussies Rules club at Mt Gravatt and later in the Sharks caravan at Yandina Park, Wecker Road, Mansfield. Alan and Gwen also did early morning cleaning of the BMTA clubhouse at Whites Hill for many years. Sadly, Alan passed away in 2020. Alan and Gwen are both Life Members of the Sharks.

Mick Garvey was a founding member of the Sharks club, when it was called Irrigation and Water Supply. He was the first captain of the club and played for many years until he worked out that fishing was more relaxing. He is a Life Member of the Sharks. One morning Mick was late for a game. As he ran towards the sub box, he saw a piece of bark just on the touch field. He stopped to pick it up, and there was a large piece of dog shit under it. He immediately vomited on the field.

Ray Head was a stalwart of the Sharks club, obtaining sponsorship from HK Motors, and coaching many teams of younger players, for whom he set a great example. His children Aaron, Danielle, Murray and Jaimie all played in various grades for many years. Ray represented Brisbane City and Queensland in over-age divisions on many occasions. He either sold a second-hand car to or serviced the cars of nearly every member of the Sharks club. Ray was on the Brisbane Metropolitan Touch Association committee for a number of years, and did a fantastic job as the groundsman of BMTA fields at Whites Hill for 10 years. He is a Life Member of the Sharks.

Gary Schramm played for the Sharks for about 6 years, captaining the side for a season or two. He was a good player and a complete gentleman. One day when we were playing at the Moorooka State School, Gary made a break and was heading for the try line. He worked out that he wasn’t going to get there, so passed the ball to another player to score. Just as he passed the ball, he ran into a goal post at full pace. It was a terrible collision and he fell to the ground. The whole team ran over to see how he was. He looked up, rather dazed, and said, “Geez, that was a hard touch.”

Don Alexander played for the Sharks for many years, and he also took on the role of Treasurer of the club. His daughter Cynthia played in the ladies’ team. Don would invite people to his house after the game for a few drinks. He would supply a few snacks, and take delight in people gasping for water after trying his “mild” chilli sauce on a biscuit. He is a Life Member of the Sharks.

Reg Barr started playing in 1976. He became the first President of the club in 1980, and remained in that role until 2003, except for a few years when Michael Cooksley and Cameron Costello took on the role. Reg coached and played in many Brisbane City representative teams, and played for Queensland over-age teams on numerous occasions. He was responsible for building the Sharks club from one team in 1980 to 19 teams in 1987. Reg was instrumental in obtaining a lease of the Whites Hill Touch Complex and the formation of Brisbane Metropolitan Touch Association. He is a Life Member of BMTA, having served on that committee for 17 years, and then being Head Groundsman for 10 years. Reg’s four children, Andrew, Angela, Catherine and Matthew all played touch at a representative level. He is a Life Member of the Sharks.

John Hunter joined Sharks in the early 1980s, coming from a public service touch team run by the Groth brothers. He was active as a club member and coached a number of teams. On many occasions groups of players, wives and kids would go to John’s residence at Wishart for a swim in his pool and BBQ after games. John was an eligible bachelor, who had interest in three ladies at the one time. His mates looked on with interest on the occasion when the three of them turned up to the same restaurant at one of the club dinners. Someone suggested that that is how he inherited his sidestep. He is a Life Member of the Sharks.

Pat Cahill joined the Sharks in 1986, after being a member of the Falcons which included the Brindell boys, Bobby and Laurie. Pat’s daughters Leah, Elise and Shannon played in the ladies’ teams. Pat played in and helped coach several teams. He went to Canberra with the Queensland Over 40s team and represented Brisbane City on many occasions. He was a keen photographer, and documented a lot of the Sharks history with his camera. He is a Beatles tragic and a Life Member of the Sharks.

Greg Larkin joined Sharks in the mid-1980s, bringing with him a number of players from his Commonwealth Bank team. Greg took on several coaching roles and was on the committee. He played for Sharks till 2016 and for many years in the Brisbane City representative team. His daughter Terry played in a Sharks ladies’ team. Greg was the ultimate Shark. He was known to loiter in the backline and leap to snatch cut-out passes meant for the person outside him, so that he could score. He is a Life Member of the Sharks.

Brad Ritchie became a Shark mid-1980s, and played for the next 20 years, coaching and being a committee member. He joined the club through a Chinchilla connection, having taught at the Chinchilla State High School. Brad was quite tall, and he never seemed to be puffed when playing. Someone suggested it was because he took only half the number of steps as everyone else. He also played the drums in Shark Attack, the Shark’s band. He is a Life Member of the Sharks.

Mike Batch started playing with the Sharks in the mid-80s, and is still playing in 2021 aged 70 years. He was a professional sprinter in his younger days and represented the Sharks and Brisbane City at many touch carnivals. Mike loves his touch, and is very dependable, especially in his attendance for drinks after the game. Mike is a Life Member of the Sharks.

Terry Batch, Mike’s brother, started playing touch for Chalkees in the 1980s, and played for the Sharks from 2003 until 2020. Terry is one of the Sharks major benefactors. Because of his work commitments, he was unable to turn up regularly. In some seasons he only played one or two games, but still forked out the full registration fee. Terry is a Life Members of the Sharks.

Trevor Kennett started playing touch with Chalkees, but joined Sharks in 2003, and has been a reliable regular until 2021, when he is still playing at the age of 71. In the later years, he has spent more time fishing than playing touch, but still has the ability to catch fish and touch balls. He represented the Sharks, Brisbane City and Queensland in a long representative career. He is a Life Member of the Sharks.

Tim Griffin played for Chalkees in the 80s and 90s, and joined the Sharks oldies in 2004, providing a bit of speed and swerve to the team. He still plays as at 2021, having reached 50 years a few years back. He celebrated that achievement by running 3 marathons in his 50^th year. Having lived through that ordeal, he has worked his way up the hierarchy of the team and now commands great respect for his penchant to shout beers after the game. Players have to be quick to beat him to the bar, and on occasions some have been noticed to take one step forward and two back in the race to shout. He is the self-appointed contract manager of the team, and puts out an annual list of contracted players, with poignant incisive commentary. He is a Life Member of the Sharks.

Ross Bateson began playing touch in 1974 in the South East Queensland Touch Association (later named Metropolitan Touch Association), playing for Metros, Eagles and Cavaliers. He joined the Sharks oldies team in 2000 and played with them until 2020, becoming a Life Member. Ross still plays touch and is one of the longest playing persons in touch in Queensland. He had good speed in his younger days, but turned into a wily manipulator of play in later years. Ross has been a President, Treasurer and committee member at Brisbane Metropolitan Touch Association, and is a Life Member of that association.

Michael Cooksley is a Life Member of the Sharks. In 1985, he brought to the club a team of his teenage mates from school. He took to touch like a duck to water and the team was popular and successful. The infusion of youth into the club brought about a new vibe, and team numbers exploded. Mick is an excellent touch player, and is well known in his ambassadorial role for the promotion of Strongbow Sweet. Michael has represented Brisbane City as a player and coach for many years, and is still playing well as of 2020. He took over as President of the Sharks for a couple of years in 1993, and was President when the HK Sharks open men’s’ team won its one and only BMTA premiership.

Cameron Costello was a student at Griffith University. He proposed that the Sharks amalgamate with his university team to widen the recruitment base for the club. In 1997, the Sharks became Griffith Sharks, having major success with the women’s’ open team from 1997 to 2000. Cameron became President for a couple of years. Cameron was also a talented player and has represented Brisbane City and Queensland in Mixed. He introduced the club to Pub Crawls, and was famous for dropping his dacks whenever Eagle Rock was played.

The above photograph depicts the premiership winning Sharks Over 40 team in 2015. Members were Reg Barr, Terry Batch, Greg Larkin, Alan Fraser, Tim Griffin, Tim Carroll, Mike Batch, Matt Barr, Brett McKenzie, Trevor Kennett, Mark Allen

The Sharks club would not have been so successful without the support of wives Jenny Barr, Joan Hutton, Genevieve Head and Karen Cahill. They would attend games and barrack from the sidelines, at the same time trying to keep a track of their children who would have a terrific time mucking about. One morning when they were barracking on the sideline at a touch game, one of the opposition players came over and told them that they should be home doing their f…ing knitting. The ladies always managed the catering when the Sharks had a presentation night or function. They made it a family club. They are all Life Members of the Sharks.

Genevieve Head, Joan Hutton, Jenny Barr, Karen Cahill

Peter Bell joined Sharks in 1990. He went on to become a Life Member of BMTA and a member of the Australian Touch Association Hall of Fame. Peter represented Brisbane City and Queensland as a player, but his great talent is in coaching. He coached the Australian Women’s side in 5 World Cups, winning all of them. He has also coached Brisbane City and Queensland teams. He is also the founder and current Administrator of the very successful Queensland Secondary Schools All Schools competition held annually. He is a Life Member of Sharks.

When Peter commenced coaching at the Sharks, he brought together many of the best schoolgirl players around to form a Women’s team and entered them into A grade. At first they were beaten soundly by the older Women’s teams of the era but within 2 years the team progressed to be the best Women’s team in the country with Brisbane, Queensland and even Australian (club) titles to their credit. The backbone of the team was always the Barr twins, Catherine and Angela who went on to represent their state and country at World Cups. In 2019 Catherine was honoured in Touch Football Australia’s best Women’s teams during the 50 years of the sport and Angela had the Women’s Player of the Final Medal at the National League named in her honour. She was also named the Player of the decade (1990s) by BMTA.

Sharks A-grade Women in 1996 at Qld State Cup in Mackay where they won the Womens Open division.)

Players l to r – Robin Hull, Dominique Curtis, Lorelle Sankey, Angela Barr, Karen Hutton, Karley Banks, Peter Bell (Coach), Marnie Balnave, Leanne Hull, Catherine Barr, Sharyn Williams, and Alison Kay

Sharks A grade Women – 1998 Premiers)

Players l to r – back row Peter Bell(Coach) Angela Barr, Mandy Baska, Tina Elliott, Sharyn Williams, Alison Kay, Shelley Matcham.

Front – Catherine Barr/Bell, Rebecca Chesterton, Angela Daley, Justine Smith, Renee Henderson, Leah Cahill.

The Sharks women won the BMTA women’s A grade no less than 6 times including BMTA A grade premierships in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. They were runners-up in every other year between 1992 and 2006. Other prominent women who played for Sharks included Sharyn (Billy) Williams, Justine Smith, Alison Kay, Dominique Curtis, Tina and Rachel Reid, Rebecca Geldart, Rebecca Chesterton, Leah Cahill, Mandy Baska and Angela Daley. The team won a number of BMTA premierships, with the above girls all playing for Brisbane, Queensland and some for Australia.

Some other notable female players to represent the Sharks included sisters Emily (Hennessy) and Sam Hopkins, both Australian Women’s Open players, and Ali Brigginshaw, who is the current captain of the Queensland Rugby League State of Origin team

Angela and Catherine Barr were twins, and provided the nucleus of the Sharks ladies team. Angela was awarded the Player of the Decade 1990 by BMTA. Catherine was team captain and a tenacious worker in attack and defence. Both played for Queensland and Australia for many years, attending several World Cups. Angela had speed, agility and ability and scored touchdowns regularly. Angela and Catherine are Life Members of Sharks.

Catherine Barr, Peter Bell, Sharyn (Billy) Williams, Angela Barr

Sharks players in the above Australian team photo are Alison Kay, Catherine Barr, Sharyn Williams, Angela Barr, with coach Peter Bell.

Sharyn Williams was nicknamed Billy after Billy the Kid, because she was 15 when she joined the Sharks Womens A grade team. She went on to play for the Gold Coast Sharks, Queensland and Australia for many years. Sharon is a Life Member of Sharks.

Other notable contributors to the success of the Sharks club were Terry Daly and Ron Dwyer. Terry played for years, and then became a Queensland Selector. He is a Life Member of Sharks.

Over the next ten years, the Sharks club expanded to 19 teams, including three girls’ teams.

Over the years, the Sharks played at several home grounds, including the Mansfield State High School (1984), a soccer club at Annerley, the Mt Gravatt Aussies Rules Club at Klumpp Road, Upper Mt Gravatt (1988) and Yandina Park at Wecker Road, Mansfield. The club earned income by operating a BBQ at the Mt Gravatt Australian Rules Club and a drinks van at Wecker Road, Mansfield. Alan and Gwen Vizer volunteered every Sunday morning to cook the BBQ and sell drinks, with the help of John King.

Reg Barr obtained a free caravan from a mate, and Alan Vizer painted a huge shark on both sides of it. It was fitted out so that the sides and end opened up to serve food, so it was a huge income earner for the Sharks club. One morning when Reg was towing the van to Shark Park (Yandina Park) at Wecker Road, Mansfield, because he was a little hung over and slow, he didn’t hitch the van to the car very well, and when he turned right from Ham Road into Wecker Road, the van dislodged and continued straight ahead on a T-junction intersection. Luckily, the van slid to a gradual stop just before the front fence of a house. There wasn’t much damage, and it was business as usual, although there were a few frothy beers opened that day.

In 1984, teams consisted of 8 players and the game was played on a full-size rugby league field for 30 minutes each way with a 10-minute break. HK Motors Sharks nominated a Southside B and Over 35 men’s’ team into BTA fixtures.

In 1985, the Australian Touch Association changed the number of on-field players in a team from 8 to 7, and ruled that the game of touch would be played on half a rugby league field.

By 1988, the Sharks had 9 teams entered in BMTA Friday night competitions.

Warren Hutton, Ray Head, Pat Cahill, John Hunter and Reg Barr played for many years for Brisbane City Touch Association at State Championships, and all five represented Queensland in the over-age divisions. Alan Fraser and John Hunter represented Queensland and Australia playing in the National Touch Rugby Association competition, touring to New Zealand.

The club was very successful and would hold a club Presentation Night annually at various venues, including the hall next to the Mt Gravatt Bowls Club. Members of the club formed a band called Shark Attack which played music at the gatherings. It consisted of Hans Kristjansson, Wally Donovan, Brad Ritchie and Reg Barr.

In 1996, in an effort to introduce some younger players into the club, the Sharks club amalgamated with a Griffith University team and was called Griffiths Sharks. Cameron Costello was attending Griffith University and organised uni students to join Sharks. The club scaled down the number of teams and concentrated on Friday night fixtures at BMTA with 5 men’s’ and 3 ladies’ teams. Sharks won several premierships with the ladies, but were unable in most years to field a competitive men’s’ open team. The men’s’ A grade team won the BMTA premiership in 1993 when Bobby and Laurie Brindell joined Griffith Sharks and brought a few of their mates with them. They left the following year and started another team.

For a couple of seasons in the 90s, Terry Jacks and Greg Young (Yogi) coached and played with the Sharks. Terry was an Australian captain who was inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame and Yogi was a magical player who played for Queensland and Australia for almost 40 years.

By 2003, the committee decided that it was time for Sharks to have a name change and an upgrade of club colours and uniforms. Sharks Touch Club amalgamated with Chalkees Touch Club to form the Southern Storm, which has gone on to become the largest club in Brisbane, with a huge junior base. Ken Willett has been a major influence in introducing hundreds of junior touch players to Southern Storm Club.

To keep the long record of the Sharks history intact, Reg Barr continued a Sharks team in the BMTA Wednesday night competition, and that team has not missed a season to date, as of 2021. Notable older players include Reg Barr, Al Fraser, Trevor Kennett, Mike Batch, Terry Batch, Ross Bateson, John Hunter, John Carroll, Michael Day and Greg Larkin, some of whom are still playing into their seventies.

The Sharks had three Presidents: Reg Barr for over 20 years, and Michael Cooksley for a couple of years in the early nineties and Cameron Costello for a few years in the late nineties.

Another incident with Reg was that one Sunday morning at touch he collected $360 in player nomination fees and put it in a pair of boots in his sports bag. When he got home, he couldn’t find the money. He was very embarrassed to tell treasurer Don Alexander that he had lost the money, which was written off as lost. Four months later, Pat Cahill went to get his old touch boots out of his blue Brisbane Cobras bag and found $360 in them. It was a pleasant surprise, but he worked out how it got there. Reg and Pat were in the same representative team and both had the same bag at the game on the day the money went missing.

Life Members  :  Reg Barr, Warren Hutton, Mick Garvey, Ray Head, Alan Vizer, Don Alexander, Greg Larkin, Michael Cooksley

This team won the Brisbane Touch Association Men’s Over 35 competition in 1985.

Alan Fraser played with Sharks club for more than 25 years and retired at age of 71 years in 2019. Matt Barr is on his right.

A father and daughter mixed team, featuring Terri Larkin, Belinda Hutton, Leah Cahill, Jamie Head, Elise Cahill, Damien Boyce, Warren Hutton, Greg Larkin, Ken Boyce, Pat Cahill, Ray Head

Pat Cahill with daughters Elise, Leah and Shannon

Angela Barr, Sharks women’s open player and Australian player for 11 years

Sharks Over 40 team which won the Australian Club Championships on the Gold Coast in 1990.

Don Alexander, Greg Larkin, Greg Thomas, Ray Head, Warren Hutton, Reg Barr, Alan Wright

Frank Rissman, Ken Boyce, Pat Cahill, Ray Greishaber, Alan Vizer

Reg Barr, John Hunter, Ray Head, Warren Hutton

Members of the Sharks Over 40 team playing at BMTA in 2019, including Stuart Macdonnell, Alan Fraser, John Linden, Tim Carroll, Matt Barr, Dave Wotherspoon, Tim Griffin, Brett McKenzie, Mike Batch and Reg Barr

TO BE CONTINUED………………

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