THE HISTORY OF REPRESENTATIVE / INTERSTATE FOOTBALL
WESTERN AUSTRALIA - UNIFORMS
THE TIMELINE
EVOLUTION OF THE JUMPER
SPONSOR PATCHES
THE TIMELINE
THE TIMELINE
(click on any image to see a full-sized version)
NOTE - due to photographic development techniques widely used prior to the mid-1930s, the appearance of these dark jumpers
with light trim was often inverted in newspaper photos. This creates the illusion that the early WA jumpers were gold with green trim. Click here to read more about this phenomenon.
NOTE - from 1904 to 1981 the official Western Australian uniform featured white shorts.
However, from 1927 to 1981 black shorts were worn in 39 of 47 games against Victoria plus a handful of games against other opponents (TAS 1927/56, SA 1928, NSW 1949, VFA 1958/65).
The black shorts gave a very different look to the WA uniform, and a full comparison of each version can be found here.
EVOLUTION OF THE JUMPER
The inaugural Western Australian State jumper in 1904 featured a black swan, a symbol synonymous with the state as far back as its first Colonial flag in the 1800s. In well-over a century of representative football since, there have been just twelve seasons when the Western Australians took the field without a swan on their jumper.
Ironically, that 1977 to 1988 State of Origin era marked the most successful period in the State's history, beginning with a 94-point humbling of Victoria in October, 1977 and culminating with national titles in 1979, 1983, 1984 and 1986. |
Various designs have come and gone including green jumpers (1904-34) and black jumpers (1958-63 / 1994-99) but the classic Western Australian gold jumper with a black swan - first introduced in 1935 - is still worn proudly today.
SPONSOR PATCHES
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN STATE UNIFORMS HISTORY
Click on the tabs below to discover the story behind each design...
Written and researched by David Eastman
Artwork by Rob Meredith |
First published 19/9/2017
Last updated 19/4/2020 |