About

The Tatiara Hockey Association is a fantastic community-led country hockey association encompassing the Tatiara District Council. 

The association consists of 5 hockey clubs, forming 5 men's and 5 women's teams. We also hold a robust junior competition that is independent of the clubs. Junior players are sorted into colours for teams each year; however junior players are often encouraged to affiliate with a club in order to work on their development and have a pathway to senior competition. 

History

In the early 1920s, women's hockey was introduced to Bordertown by a school teacher at the High School, Miss Cleman. 

A Miss Eva Darwent began teaching at Bordertown School in 1927; but would come to Mundulla after school every Wednesday and again on Saturdays to begin teaching local girls how to play hockey. In August 1928 the Mundulla Girls Sports Club - effectively a hockey team - became official. 

Mundulla joined Bordertown teams to form the Tatiara Hockey Association in 1927. The Association comprised of three Bordertown teams (red, green, a school team, and Mundulla).

The young ladies of Keith (and surrounds) began playing hockey in about 1929. At first, the Keith team played occasional matches against Bordertown and Mundulla (who had started a couple of years earlier), as well as matches amongst themselves. 

During the 1930s an association comprising Keith and two Tintinara teams was formed, but lapsed in WWII due to petrol rationing making travel near impossible. 

Keith women's hockey began again in 1958 and men's in 1970. They briefly left the association again in 1980. 

A group of men around Willalooka wanting to play hockey first met at the Willalooka Hall on July 26, 1970. They formed a joint Willalooka-Padthaway team and entered the Tatiara Hockey Association. Their first playing field was in a paddock just south of the Willalooka store; but in 1971 they planted a clover field behind the hall. A womens team was discussed in 1971 and then formed. They officially became Willalooka Hockey Club in 1972.

One of the founding members, Werner Gensicke, had played hockey in his home country of Germany and was one of the instigators of bringing the sport back to life in the district. He was the first life member of Willalooka and was made life member of the association in 2010. 

Reverand Reginald Wynne (the Keith Anglican rector from 1968-72) is also credited in introducing men's hockey to the Tatiara.

Over the years within the association many teams have come and gone; including a team from Kaniva, and a Naracoorte team who left after the 1979 season as there was sufficient interest to form their own association. 

While a 'school team' from Bordertown had existed from the beginning, the Bordertown men's High School team was officially formed in 1970. While initially disbanding in 1982, they returned in more recent history for several years before dissolving at the end of 2021. 

In 2022, many of the members from the Bordertown High School team elected to form a new club called Western Flat Hockey Club. Many of the members had long since aged out of High School and a new men's team was entered in the 2022 season, winning their first premiership that year. In 2025 they entered a women's team who also won the premiership in their inaugural year. 

As of 2026 Clubs in the association comprise of Keith, Mundulla, Bordertown, Willalooka, and Western Flat - with grass hockey fields at all locations. 

Sources: Tatiara, the first 140 years 1845-1985 by Alan Jones.