Back in 1988 the then Confreres President, Don Sheil unveiled two new twin honour boards for the Confreres in the Social Club at Glenferrie.  One honour board was to record the names of the Presidents and Secretaries of this prestigious group with the second board to record the name of the players who won the Confreres Annual Player’s Award, titled ‘Champion Player’.  This honour board was dedicated to the memory of James ‘Jim” Quealy” a former president of the Confreres.

These dark brown honour boards with the lettering in metallic gold had a very impressive look.  The Confreres logo carved in high relief, depicting the much loved flying Hawk carrying the football in its claws adorned the top of each honour board.   The honour boards were to garner much ongoing discussion with the patron’s of the Social Club as they debated the merit’s of the list of the players who had won the Confreres prestigious award.

With the closure of the Social Club when the Club moved to Waverley in 2006 the Confreres honour boards were placed in storage.  However, all was not lost.  When the Hawks Museum created the Stairway of Memories in 2009 for the then popular ‘Tours of the Stadium’ hosted by Club Legend and Captain of the Hawks’ first Premiership team, Graham Arthur, the Confreres honour boards were rehung on the stairways.  The Confreres honour boards became a silent reminder to visitors of the ‘Golden Days of the Social Club’ when their history was explained to interested visitors.  

Current Confrere member, Craig Williamson when visiting the museum was pleased to learn that the Confreres honour boards had survived the move from Glenferrie and could be seen on display at Waverley.  However, he was appalled to see that the honour boards were not kept up to date with the names listed finishing at 2003.  Not one to stand idle Craig contacted fellow Confreres, David Booth and Ed Sill addressing his concerns of the current state of their honour boards.  Craig received the blessing to go ahead and get the boards refurbished and brought up to date.

The Confreres honour boards have now been refurbished and updated to include all the missing names from 2015.  When checking the archives of the Confreres it was discovered that their Annual Players Award actually started in 1977, not 1988 as initially listed on the honour board.  Players to have previously won this award now called The Confreres’ Best & Fairest include such illustrious names of the like, Leigh Matthews, Michael Tuck, Terry Wallace, Russell Greene and Johnny Platten.

For the members of the Confreres and to future visitors to the museum the honour boards can be readily seen as part of the display on the Stairway of Memories that start from the foyer on level one that houses the Legends Portraits.   Also seen on the stairway are the Club’s original Life Members Honour Boards, the Social Club Honour Boards, the poem dedicated to Peter Crimmins that hung in the gym plus many other items of historical significance from the Past Players Rooms in the Dr Ferguson Stand and Social Club.

The origins of the Confreres

Before the start of the 1961 season, several members of the Committee discussed with Sir Henry Winneke the desirability of establishing an organization comprised of professional and businessmen as a medium to assist the Club.  Sir Henry proved to be a most conscientious campaigner for this project and recruited a number of influential men who offered valued service to the Hawks for many years.  At the inaugural meeting, Sir Henry, whose son John was to play a vital role in the 1961 Premiership, was appointed Chairman and Norman Gibbons was elected to the role of Secretary-Treasurer.

The Confreres’ first function was a dinner to show their appreciation of the players’ efforts in making the final four.  The dinner was held in the Fiesta Room, Dennis’s Hotel, who was a major Club Sponsor during the 1960s and 1970s. A very successful evening was enjoyed with this event shadowing the enormous contribution that the Confreres would offer the playing group and the Club in the following years.

The Confreres today

The Confreres is a group of mostly business and professional people brought together by a great love for the Hawthorn Football Club and a desire to be more involved.

The Confreres is essentially a social group which meets every ‘home’ game at the MCG where they have their own private dining facilities.  Various other social functions are held though-out the year.  Many Confreres also make time available to assist the Club professionally.  The Confreres is a family group that encourages its members to involve their whole family in the Club.

For further details, contact the Hawthorn Football Club / Corporate Sales and Coteries