Of course, it is not surprising that occasionally, the two umpires could not agree on a decision, and so the need arose for a neutral observer, the "referee".  The first mention of the referee occurs in 1880. He was appointed by mutual agreement of the two clubs.  He was required to "keep a record of the game" and act as timekeeper.  He had the power to caution players who were guilty of ungentlemanly conduct without consulting the umpires (though any such caution was made with the umpires present).  If a player continued to transgress or was guilty of violent conduct, the referee could send him off and report him, even if he offered an apology.

The referee was given greater powers in 1889/90 when they were allowed to award a free kick for foul play without waiting for an appeal.  It was only at this point that I suspect he needed a whistle!  The well-known story that the referee's whistle was first used at a Nottingham Forest v. Sheffield Norfolk game in 1878 seems not to stand up to scrutiny!  Forest didn't play Norfolk in 1878, and the referee did not need a whistle anyway!

Football and Referees used to meet in the mess hall of the railway workshops near the Clyde football field, which was called Clyde stadium. This was east of Garside Park, where Mitsubishi now is. The stadium and field were built on railway land. They had a magnificent grandstand and were fully fenced, a better ground than Parramatta stadium. This complex was bulldozed in 1939 when the Second World War broke out to enlarge the railway workshops. Granville Association and the referees then moved to Lidcombe Oval during the war.

The mayor of Granville, who was the coach of Granville Magpies, asked the association and referees to move to Garside Park.  This field was called Macarthur Park.  We met in the tin shed changing rooms before the clubhouse was built.  Granville Council existed until sometime in the 1950s.  We then moved to the Club Merrylands Bowling in about 1994.

In the early years, the Granville Association covered 35% of the metropolitan area, extending from Gladesville to the Nepean River and Hornsby to Bankstown. The NSWSAF (now called Football NSW) formed a number of new associations in the 1950s to cater to the growing number of teams in the local areas.

We used to wear a white uniform, but this was changed to a black uniform in the late 1960s. Our socks were black with white tops until about 1995 when we switched to all-black socks.

In the late 1970s, the NSW body, the AA, brought all associations under one banner and told us not to wear the Granville badge. We objected because we are Australia's oldest referee’s association, so we did not join the new body. Eventually, we were asked to join again, and we were allowed to wear our Granville badge at our own association matches.

We have always supplied referees for up to four fields on one day for the Inter-District and Youth League games. We also supply referees for school competitions and the Federation.

Thirty years ago, we refereed from under 7 to all ages. Now, we do from under 9 to Premier League and 50’s. At one time, North Rocks had enough teams to run their own under-6 competition, just as Pendle Hill and Winston Hills do now.

We had a referee’s team participate in a knockout competition one year but did not venture into this again.

We also supply referees to do club gala days.  Some of these are recognised Statewide.

The Blacktown Association was formed in the mid-70s, and we lost a lot of ground. Ashley Brown at Seven Hills and Lynwood Park, to mention a couple.

The girls’ competition started in the late 1980s, and we supplied referees to these games.

Holroyd George Cross was our first ethnic team.  Hellas and Colo Colo were other ethnic teams.  Granville does not now allow ethnic names for clubs.  We had teams from places of work; one was Firestone, and another was the Police.

We did the Seven-Day Adventist competition for a while.

We had a big wet that cancelled the Granville competition in 1989.  We offered our services to Southern Districts, Blacktown, and Gladesville.  Gladesville (now North West Sydney Football) was the only association to accept our offer, and we started doing AA Division 12. Still, it was not long before we were doing their Premier League.  Such was the quality of Granville Referees.  We obtained some good ideas on an evaluation form and made many friends.

About 30 years ago, one of our referees was called 10 Yard Sid. Another used to caution known naughty players before the game started. Another was called the hatchet man. Another was the one-arm bandit, who always dropped his coin and lost it during junior games. This gentleman lost his arm in a work incident but was an excellent referee.

We used to use two referees in the Banks' competition during the 1970s, a system that FIFA is now investigating.

The Treasurer used to put the cash for the match fees in little envelopes and pay the referees at the meetings.

We needed an incentive for our junior referees, so the Harry Berle, Bill Mare, and Jack Newhouse trophy was introduced for the most improved referee. Game control, attendance at meetings, availability, and personality were all used to assess the award recipient.

One of our referees was accidentally hit with a ball in the back of the head after a game and suffered a serious injury.  With our association members' help, he fully recovered and returned to refereeing—a good lesson in perseverance and stamina.

Only a few of our referees have been assaulted on the field, and the Granville Football Association has dealt with these swiftly. Sadly, this is occurring more often.

One of our junior referees caught a train to the Blue Mountains one year to fulfil his appointment.  He used to catch multiple buses to his games.  This was only a few years ago.

Lynwood Park had a set of twins, and we had trouble on the second caution.  Fred Batt’s system was to mark one of the twin’s arms with his pen at the start of the game; this worked well.

A few years ago, a dinner was held for all existing life members and their wives. This was a first. They came from up to 250 kilometres to attend this meeting.

Our association has many dual-registered members who also referee with Football NSW and their State League matches. We also used to have several dual-registered Amateur Association referees.

We have had some outstanding referees go through our ranks. Simon Micallef’s father, Dennis, used to referee, and Simon used to run his lines from age 12.  He obtained his local badge, went to the State League and National Leagues, and is now a retired FIFA referee.  He was also on the Olympic panel.

Greg Leverton started with Granville and became a top national referee, including selection on the paraplegic Olympic panel.  Unfortunately, due to an injury, Greg had to retire early.

Brian Seymour started with Granville and was a top national assistant referee.

Heidi Calder was our top lady referee, doing National and State League ladies' games.

Some of our other achievements are: -

• Fred Batts      NSW ---USA ladies international 1988

• Granville School Boys Vs Japan High School Boys

• 1982 Granville – Germany Army team, a curtain raiser for an international game.

• John Kemp did a NSW U16 Vs Korean U16 touring team.

• Belinda O'Connor, our first lady referee, did the Australia-New Zealand girl's international game at Valentine Sports Park.

Fred Batts is now north of Newcastle and is the branch coach there.  He was our secretary for many years. 

We are currently represented by many members on the Women's Premier League and Premier Youth League Panels. In recent years, we have also had members honoured with selection on various National Referees Panels. These are Nicolas Backo, who has been selected on the National Youth League Panels as an Assistant Referee, and Kris Griffith-Jones, who was selected on the A-League panel as a Referee. 

We have done many champion-of-champion games and ladies' state titles, sent referees to the representative games and participated in the state titles each year with referees and assessors.

Granville has supplied many assessors to the State League and National matches; three of the top people are Geoff Leverton, Alan Townsend, and Paul Micallef. George Alexander, Alan Townsend, and Geoff Leverton are now retired. Joe Rovella and Richard Baker are current NSW State League Football Referee Assessors.

The Cottom Cup is the oldest trophy for knockout competition in Australia, and the Challenge Shield is the oldest soccer trophy in Australia.

We have run referee courses in bowling clubs, RSL clubs, football clubs, and backyard garages. Our buddy system is a great innovation to help new referees. We also have Ordinary Members on the Management Committee who represent members with no questions asked. This is an avenue for members to ask questions that may embarrass them or where they wish to be anonymous.

Training courses and fitness tests are approximately 20 years old now.  Before that, we used to train with clubs where possible.  The new system is a better way of getting fit and preparing for the season.

Referees must attend a seminar before the season starts to become familiar with any new rule changes.

We have consistently supplied referees to assist at judiciary meetings.  We attend the Granville general and executive meetings.  We attend the AA meetings (now called Football NSW State Referees Technical Committee).

Referees' fees were fixed by discussion with Granville and us; Football NSW now sets them.

Did you know that FIFA referees are not paid for World Cup games? They are only paid expenses.

In line with current terminology and policy, the Granville District Soccer Referees Association (GDSRA) changed its name to the Granville District Football Referees Association (GDFRA) at the 2010 AGM.

This history was put together by a retired Branch Coach, Mr. Charles Yendle, with the kind assistance of his friends, Geoff Leverton, John Kemp, and Fred Batts.