Bendigo Football Club

The Bendigo Football Club was an Australian rules football club based in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. The club played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1998 until 2014, under the nicknames Diggers, Bombers and Gold at different times. The club disbanded at the conclusion of the 2014 VFL season.

History

The club entered the VFL in 1998 as the Bendigo Diggers. It struggled for on-field success, winning only seven games in its first three seasons, and enduring successive winless seasons in 2001 and 2002.

Starting from 2003 the club formed an affiliation with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League, under which Essendon could field its reserves players in the Bendigo team. The Diggers mascot was changed to the Bendigo Bombers and the guernsey changed to black with a red sash, to match those of the Essendon AFL club. Over the following ten years of the clubs' affiliation, the club played finals five times, with its best finish and sole finals victory coming in 2005, when the club finished fourth. The club also endured another winless season during the affiliation, in 2009.

Bendigo

Bendigo /ˈbɛndᵻɡoʊ/ is a city in Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) north west of the state capital, Melbourne. Bendigo has an urban population of 82,794 making it the fourth largest inland city in Australia and fourth most populous city in the state. It is the administrative centre for the City of Greater Bendigo which encompasses both the urban area and outlying towns spanning an area of approximately 3,000 square kilometres (1,158 sq mi) and over 111,000 people.

The discovery of gold in the soils of Bendigo during the 1850s made it one of the most significant Victorian era boomtowns in Australia. News of the finds intensified the Victorian gold rush bringing an influx of migrants to the city from around the world within a year and transforming it from a sheep station to a major settlement in the newly proclaimed Colony of Victoria. Once the alluvial gold had been mined out, mining companies were formed to exploit the rich underground quartz reef gold. Since 1851 about 25 million ounces of gold (777 tonnes) have been extracted from Bendigo's goldmines, making it the highest producing goldfield in Australia in the 19th century and the largest gold mining economy in eastern Australia. It is also notable for its Victorian architectural heritage. The city took its name from the Bendigo Creek and its residents from the earliest days of the goldrush have been called "Bendigonians".

Bendigo (horse)

Bendigo (foaled 1880) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned by H. T. Barclay and trained by C. Jousiffe. He won the first running of the Eclipse Stakes, the most valuable race in Britain. He also won the Champion Stakes and was noted for his performances in the top handicap races.

Breeding

Bendigo was sired by Irish Derby winner Ben Battle. Ben Battle was a son of Doncaster Cup winner Rataplan. Bendigo's dam was Hasty Girl, a daughter of Lord Gough. Hasty Girl also foaled 1887 St. Leger Stakes winner Kilwarlin.

Racing career

1883: Three-year-old season

Bendigo did not run as a two-year-old. On 9 October 1883 he ran in the Cesarewitch Stakes at the Newmarket Houghton meeting. Carrying 6 st 7 lb he started a 40/1 outsider in the field of 22. He finished in about sixth place, behind winner Don Juan. Two weeks later he ran in the Cambridgeshire Stakes. He again started as an outsider, this time starting at 50/1. Carrying 6 st 10 lb he won the race by a neck from Tonans, with Medicus a further three lengths back in third place. Bendigo had drifted left so badly that many people did not see him at the finish.

Bendigo (disambiguation)

Bendigo is a city in Victoria, Australia.

Bendigo may also refer to:

Places

Other uses

See also