Australian Football

Buchan was playing scratch matches against local rivals as early as the 1890s, but an actual club representative of the town does not appear to have begun to participate in organised competition until after the first world war. Details of the club’s early achievements are patchy although it is known to have competed for much of the inter-war period in the East Gippsland Football League.

After world war two Buchan transferred its allegiance to the Orbost District Football League in which it was successful in capturing a premiership in 1951. The following season saw the club switching to the Snow Valley Football League and promptly procuring a second successive flag. The side ended the 1950s in style with grand final appearances in both 1958 and 1959, winning the latter. It had been the most memorable decade in Buchan’s history up to that point but it was immediately followed by a dismal era during which the club was twice forced to disband for periods of four and eight years. When the club resumed for the second time in 1978 it affiliated with the Omeo District Football League in which it continues to compete to this day. Swiftly putting the traumatic memory of the preceding two decades behind them the Cavemen soon developed into a force in the competition, claiming the first of an eventual five senior grade premierships in 1983. Because of the low local population ODFL matches are contested between teams of 16 rather than 18 players.

The first few years after the turn of the century were the most successful in the club’s entire history, with consecutive flags in 2004 and 2005 the highlights. The Cavemen also reached the 2001 grand final, but lost to Swifts Creek. Their most recent appearance in a grand final was in 2015 when they went down by 47 points to Lindenow South. The last four seasons have brought sixth and last (2016), fourth (2017), fifth (2018) and third (2019) place finishes.After a season in abeyance because of the coronavirus pandemic the Cavemen will be hopeful of continuing their upward trajectory in 2021.