Surrey Hills first played in 1888 against
a number clubs across Melbourne including Riversdale, Fitzroy Rovers, North Brunswick, South Park, Marylebone, La Mascotte,
South Yarra-Waverley, Kew, Camberwell, Fitzroy Imperial and South Melbourne Alberts.
In the early 1890’s a number of local clubs found it difficult to
field teams and in 1893 or 1894 Mitcham, Box Hill and Surrey Hills Football Clubs merged to form Nunawading Football Club,
playing in the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA) a fore-runner of the Victorian Amateur Football Association
(VAFA).
Mitcham and Box Hill broke away and reformed
few years later in 1896 but Surrey Hills continued to play as Nunawading purportedly until 1907. Notwithstanding this, Surrey
Hills did play a team representing The Argus, a prominent Melbourne newspaper of the day, on July 23 1904 at the Surrey Hills
ground, defeating Tte Argus team in a close match by three points.
Surrey Hills reformed and played in the Box Hill Reporter District Football
League, winning their first premiership in 1927. In 1928 they joined the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA)
again a fore-runner of the VAFA and were narrowly defeated in the Grand Final that same year. They continued to play in the
MAFA until 1933 when they joined the Eastern Suburban Football League (ESFL) delivering a premiership in 1937 and playing
in the league up until at least 1954.
In 1951 Box Hill Football Club made its debut in the Victorian Football Association and
in the mid to late 1950’s (certainly from 1956 – 1958) Surrey Hills and Box Hill established a relationship whereby
players not selected in the Box Hill side would play for Surrey Hills in the Croydon-Ferntree Gully Football League (CFGFL)
competition a fore-runner of the Eastern Football League (EFL).
After the relationship finished it is believed Surrey
Hills continued in the CFGFL until around 1965.
It is believed that Surrey Hills joined the Eastern Districts Football League
(EDFL) a fore-runner of the Eastern Football League (EFL) in 1965 winning the Division 2 reserve grade premiership in that
year. In 1966 Surrey Hills was defeated in the Division 2 Grand Final before tasting success in 1967 winning both the senior
and reserve grade Division 2 premierships. A Division 1 reserve grade premiership was delivered in 1970 before another senior
Division 2 premiership in 1987 and a senior Division 4 premiership in 1992.
In
1994, the Surrey Hills FC and the East Camberwell FC amalgamated, forming the Surrey Hills Football Club, with its Headquarters
at Surrey Park, just across the border from Mont Albert.
