Inception and Early Days
Austral Volleyball Club Incorporated, more commonly know as the Austral Phoenix Volleyball Club, was founded in 1973, when it first entered a League and Reserves Men team in the South Australian Volleyball Association. Amongst the founding members, were such names as Ray Harris, Bob Bates, Brett Stirzacer, Allen Harris and Neil Butcher, who played in the first ever League team. In that inaugural year, Austral was ranked third in the competition. League and Reserves Women teams were established in 1975.
In 1973 the home base and practice venue was a church hall in Brougham Place, North Adelaide. As the Club grew, larger facilities were required and the training venue was relocated to the Findon High School Gymnasium, as a number of the players were also staff members of the school. A move to the southern suburbs, which was to become its current home, occurred in the late 80s, when the Marion High School Hall became available, providing a new catchment area for players. Two of whom included Darren Snell and Andrew Grantham who were later to become chosen as the best server and most valued player respectively for the 2001 League Men's Team of the Year.
In the early 90s when Marion High School was closed down and land subsequently subdivided and sold, the hall was preserved and offered to the community. Austral took a major stake in its use and consolidated its home at this location. Cosgrove Hall is now a junior training base for the Club.
Success and Achievements
Over the years, Austral can boast many achievements. We have won the Women’s League trophy in 1980, 1981, the Skip Cup (best club in all divisions) in 1980, 1982, 1985 and had Divisional titles in many carnivals including Wallabies (Melbourne), SA Open and Riverland. 2014 and 2015 saw the Austral League Women secure places in the State League Grand Final, unfortunately taking home the silver.
Our membership over the years have included some exceptional volleyball talents, many representing Australia at senior level. David Wright, Brian Low, Karl Neumann, Darian Stirzacer, Andrew Grantham, Conal McAinsh, Elliott Viles and Zachary Schubert are all Australian representatives. From our women’s teams we can boast an even more impressive line up of those that have worn the green and gold including, Marta Ostermeyer, Wanda Sipa, Cathy Lee, Dianne Biebrick, Kay Dowley, Karola Laventure, Leanne Rohde, Bea Daly and Beth Carey, three of whom captained Australia.
Judging by the enormous expansion of our junior contingent, mostly due to the extraordinary efforts of our Junior Development Officers, including Glenn Duffield, Anne-Marie McAinsh and too many volunteer coaches and parents to mention, it is certain that this impressive list of world class volleyballers will continue to grow.
Ray Harris was a visionary in establishing a fledgling Club that has subsequently grown into a major force in Australian Volleyball. In acknowledgement of Ray's role, we have established the Ray Harris Perpetual Trophy, awarded each year to the Club member who has made the greatest contribution. Recent worthy winners of the award include Harrison Paay (President and Player), Steven Marshal (Parent and Committee Member), Karola Laventure (Committee Member, Coach and Player) and Imogen Laventure (Junior Development Coordinator and Player). The dedication of these people to our Club along with others who support them is a true reflection of the commitment shown by the Harris Family.
Today
The Club currently boasts 10 senior teams and 14 junior teams with a total of over 250 members. We only expect this number to surge in the coming years, as we continue to expand our efforts in building our Junior Program and attract new members to the Senior Programs. 2022 also saw the opening of our new home, the Mitchell Park Sports and Community Centre, which houses our memorabilia and plays host to our senior training and State League home matches.
