The club was formed in 1947 and was originally based at the Normanby Hotel. Before the recent change of ownership and refurbishment of the hotel, many of the club photos once hung proudly on the walls of the bars. 

In 1950, a team was first entered in the Shiftworkers League – a Sunday competition played at Hamilton and which in the early days was reputedly run by bookmakers including the great John McLeod who donated trophies to the winners. In this first year Normanby made the finals but went down to Sandgate-Nundah 23 - 6 in the minor semi-final.

The Shiftworkers competition consisted of teams from district worker groups, as well as the wharfies from Hamilton and provided popular Sunday entertainment for an otherwise dull day of rest. Crowds of up to 13,000 people attended Grand Finals and players often received more money in this competition than they did for their clubs on Saturdays.

In 1951 the club fielded A and B Grade teams both of which were competitive especially the B Grade which played in the mid-season Wight Shield and the Grand Final. Normanby played home games at Gilbert Park, Red Hill and regularly attracted crowds in excess of 1,000 at the ground. Normanby went on to win the Premiership in 1951.

Normanby formed an early connection with Western Districts and many Wests players backed up for Normanby in the Shiftworkers League. This caused friction in 1951 when the BRL had to schedule three weeks of match of the day fixtures on Sundays June 17, 24 and July 1, due to the use of the Brisbane Cricket Ground by other codes on the Saturdays. Tom Purtell (Wests President) told the Courier Mail, "We will hold our players on July 1".

This rift caused both the Shiftworkers League and the B.R.L. to seek a compromise and in 1952, the Shiftworkers League sought affiliation with the B.R.L. The terms of the affiliation were hotly debated and the application dragged on most of the 1952 season*. The club was always strong in Shift Workers, winning the 1952 A Grade premiership in this very tough League, defeating Hamilton 16 -14 in front of 12,000 spectators (Courier Mail Monday September 15, 1952). In this year they won a rare double also beating Hamilton in the B grade 21 -12. (*by 1953 things had settled and the League was affiliated with the B.R.L.)

Photo: The first A Grade Premiers, 1952

Early History....

The club was formed in 1947 and was originally based at the Normanby Hotel. Before the recent change of ownership and refurbishment of the hotel, many of the club photos once hung proudly on the walls of the bars. 

In 1950, a team was first entered in the Shiftworkers League – a Sunday competition played at Hamilton and which in the early days was reputedly run by bookmakers including the great John McLeod who donated trophies to the winners. In this first year Normanby made the finals but went down to Sandgate-Nundah 23 - 6 in the minor semi-final.

The Shiftworkers competition consisted of teams from district worker groups, as well as the wharfies from Hamilton and provided popular Sunday entertainment for an otherwise dull day of rest. Crowds of up to 13,000 people attended Grand Finals and players often received more money in this competition than they did for their clubs on Saturdays.

In 1951 the club fielded A and B Grade teams both of which were competitive especially the B Grade which played in the mid-season Wight Shield and the Grand Final. Normanby played home games at Gilbert Park, Red Hill and regularly attracted crowds in excess of 1,000 at the ground. Normanby went on to win the Premiership in 1951.

Normanby formed an early connection with Western Districts and many Wests players backed up for Normanby in the Shiftworkers League. This caused friction in 1951 when the BRL had to schedule three weeks of match of the day fixtures on Sundays June 17, 24 and July 1, due to the use of the Brisbane Cricket Ground by other codes on the Saturdays. Tom Purtell (Wests President) told the Courier Mail, "We will hold our players on July 1".

This rift caused both the Shiftworkers League and the B.R.L. to seek a compromise and in 1952, the Shiftworkers League sought affiliation with the B.R.L. The terms of the affiliation were hotly debated and the application dragged on most of the 1952 season*. The club was always strong in Shift Workers, winning the 1952 A Grade premiership in this very tough League, defeating Hamilton 16 -14 in front of 12,000 spectators (Courier Mail Monday September 15, 1952). In this year they won a rare double also beating Hamilton in the B grade 21 -12. (*by 1953 things had settled and the League was affiliated with the B.R.L.) (Photo: First A Grade Premiers - 1952)

The 1952 team swept the pool that year, winning the Scanlan Shield, Flem Hickey Cup, Waterloo Cup and the Norm Potter Memorial Trophy.