Making of the bullring
Quinns Districts’ Bill Langlands and Darren Eiffler speak to Cameron Palmer
Bulls by name, and bulls by nature, Quinns District are one of the Perth Football Clubs that do great service to their moniker.
Across a 20 year existence, as Quinns District Amateur Football Club, the Bulls have experienced a series of celebratory highs as well as their share of disappointing moments on the field. Regardless of those good or bad games and times though, they have approached each game with a sense of determination and toughness you would expect from a bull.
Off the field, is no different.
Despite numerous challenges to find and build a home that their club and community could be proud of, the people behind the Bulls have not stopped in their unrelenting desire to make that a reality. It has taken determination and mental toughness to stay the course.
Having commenced as a club playing out of Anthony Waring Reserve, Quinns District moved to Ridgewood Park with hopes of building a clubroom that would foster this budding community spirit and club culture.
Former Club President, Life Member and one of the men instrumental behind the origins of the club Bill Langlands, saw even in the early days, what the club meant to the community and how important a proper home would be.
“In the early days, everybody who came down and had a go realised that if you were going to make a decent club everybody has to contribute so everybody helped out,” Langlands said.
“In 2001 we started with the City of Wanneroo to get away from Anthony Waring which was our original home ground and Ridgewood was decided on and part of that submission was the growth in the area we expected to grow so quickly we needed better facilities and better rooms, we got a better oval but it took a long time to get a clubroom.”
As current Quinns District President and Life Member Darren Eiffler tells though, securing that clubroom has required more bull determination.
“When I first became President in 2012, getting the clubrooms was a priority,” Eiffler said.
“Early days things progressed quickly and I thought, it would happen quite easily, but that was not the case, as it became a lengthy process with procedures to go through, but we were not going to give up.”
The clubrooms were crucial for Eiffler and Quinns District as the club continued to rely on a make shift bar every week, requiring goal posts to hold up a tarp, that was highly susceptible to rain and wind. Further, with the club continuing to attract more players with young families, the need for a safe place for families was crucial. To support his desire for a functional clubroom, Eiffler and his committee produced a high quality business plan.
“We did a business plan first or second year I took on Presidency, which was 2013 and we submitted it to the Wanneroo Shire saying about the growth and in the meeting they said it was one of the best business plans that has been put forward to them but they can’t help,” Eiffler said.
Not to be deterred Eiffler continued to draw plans, work with other local sporting clubs and gauge support to get the clubrooms that they said couldn’t be built.
Finally, after years of fighting for it, in 2018, six years after Eiffler had first made it a priority, Quinns District Clubrooms was completed. It may have taken longer than expected, but that bull determination ensured it was mission accomplished and the club had the home that represented its community.
That original Bullring had its own character, this new Bullring will be the future of the Quinns Districts Football Club for years to come.
