Bert Renfrey

Who was Bert Renfrey?

Ethelbert Luxmore "Bert" Renfrey was an Australian rules footballer who played in the South Australian Football Association, Victorian Football League and West Australian Football Association.

Aged just 16 on his SAFA debut, Renfrey played for both North Adelaide and Norwood over six league seasons. During this time he represented South Australia at inter-colonial football.

Renfrey, a two time Stawell Gift runner-up, then played with West Broken Hill and was a member of their 1901 and 1903 Broken Hill Football League premiership winning teams.

After a season at Goldfields Football Association club Boulder City, Renfrey joined West Perth and participated in their 1905 premiership side. The following year, West Perth made another grand final, but Renfrey missed the game through injury.

In 1907 he competed in his fourth state, playing 15 games for St Kilda. His last game was St Kilda's historic semi final against Carlton, their first ever final.

He returned to West Broken Hill in 1908 and represented New South Wales in the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival, held in Melbourne that year. The founder of the Sturt Football Club, Arthur Thomas, met Renfrey at the carnival and convinced him to sign with them for the 1909 season.