Our history 

Grovedale is an outer residential suburb of Geelong, situated 6km southwest of the city centre and around 15km from Torquay.

The region was originally known as Germantown because it was settled by several families of Lutheran German origin, who arrived at Corio Bay in 1849. By the mid-1860s, there were about 70 families of German origin settled in the area.

Grovedale Football Club was formed in 1908 as the Germantown Club and competed until 1912.

Due to anti-German sentiment during the early days of WWI, the name Germantown was changed by the council to Grovedale in 1915, after a nearby property bought by Alexander Pennell in 1847.

The next record of the club competing was in 1920 in the Freshwater Creek District Football Association.

In 1930, the club applied to play in the Geelong Football League. By 1947, a new club known as Marshall began. Until 1967, the club competed as Marshall/Grovedale in the Geelong and District Football League, thereafter as Grovedale. The club was a founding member of the Geelong Football League in 1979, along with Barwon, Bell Park, East Geelong, Geelong West Cricket & Football Club, Newtown & Chilwell, North Geelong, North Shore, St Albans, St Mary’s, St Peters and Thomson.

Until 1973, the club used the Recreation Reserve in Reserve Road Grovedale as their home ground, before moving to the current home at Burdoo Reserve.

With the assistance of the then-South Barwon Council, the club was able to erect clubrooms, amenities and a well-equipped gymnasium.

- From Cat Country, history of football in the Geelong region, by John Stoward (2008).