Club History
Club Establishment
The Gap Pastime Club was formed on 17 February, 1955. Founding member Oliver Twist envisaged a club similar to the Toowong Amateur Recreation Club, covering as many sports as there were people interested in them.
Cricket was the first sport to be played at The Gap Pastime Club in 1955 with several games being played on land owned by Frank Easton (now Walton Bridge Reserve). In 1956, in addition to cricket, the Club became involved with soccer and women’s softball. The Club commenced negotiations with the council for land at Walton Bridge to be resumed and leased to the Club to establish a centralised home ground.
Between 1956 and 1957, whilst negotiations with the Council continued, the Club shared a lease at Jubilee Park, Bardon for both soccer and cricket.
In 1959 Oliver Twist and local solicitor Arch Rowlands were successful in their ongoing negotiations with Brisbane City Council who secured the land at Walton Bridge, now known as Walton Bridge Reserve, and granted The Gap Pastime Club their first land lease.
Over the years The Gap Pastime Club has supported the following sports:
- Men’s, juniors, and women’s football
- Junior and senior cricket
- Softball
- Women’s netball
- Tennis
- Basketball
On 18 October 1990, The Gap Pastime Club was incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981. On 23 April 2014 The Gap Pastime Club officially became The Gap Football Club and remains the focus of the Club today.
Club Colours
The Gap Pastime Club chose the colours of gold and purple from the suburb name (GAP – gold and purple). These colours are still proudly used today for all uniforms.
In 2021, the Club commissioned a new away strip for season 2022. Rather than just celebrating with a one-off NAIDOC week kit, the club chose to embrace the theme of “Get Up, Stand Up and Show Up” by wearing an aboriginal themed away kit year-round. The jersey was designed by local artist and proud Mayi woman Leah Cummins and was designed to reflect as many elements of our club and culture as possible.
The design was approved by our local elder Aunty Denise Proud, and was worn by our High-Performance Teams throughout the season. The Gap Football Club would like to acknowledge the Turrbal people, Traditional Custodians of the land on which we train, play and meet and we would like to pay our respects to their Elders, past, present, and emerging.
Women’s Football History
The 1980s saw The Gap Football Club enter Women's competitive football, and teams have played competitively each year since 1993 when the Club started its first season of women’s football in Division 5. In furthering a strong female football program, the Club established a girls-only junior football program focussing on player development, becoming a pioneer in female football development.
The Gap’s commitment to developing the female football program has been extremely successful, and the Club continues to be a leading pathway for young women wishing to enter professional leagues.
Youth Development
Youth development is one of the pillars upon which the Club has built its foundation, with an emphasis on high standards, development pathways for young players, quality coaching, facilities and equipment and opportunities to play either competitively or socially.
Over the past 20 years the focus on youth development has been spectacularly successful for The Gap Football Club, and the Club is proud of to continue this tradition in the years to come.
Team Success
The Club has had incredible success since its inception in both male and female football programs.
Results have been achieved through a commitment to developing players, and by using a consistent playing philosophy and approach. This has enabled The Gap to produce players with outstanding technical ability and tactical insight. The Club prides itself on playing attractive, proactive possession-based football and continues this tradition through all ages and grades.
Club memories
The Club is always seeking club memories, and former players, members, and their families who were involved in football at The Gap Pastime Club and The Gap Football Club are encouraged to pass on any photos or memorabilia to the club secretary at secretary@gapfootball.org.au.