1891
Devon Football Association (DFA)
Formed on 4th May 1891 at Latrobe, the Association operated for three seasons with the following member clubs: Brittania, Devonport, Latrobe Juniors, Latrobe Seniors, Railton, Sheffield and Ulverstone.
Latrobe club won the first two premierships in 1891 and 1892. Unfortunately, there is no information available as to which club won the last premiership played in 1893.
1894
NWFA Clubs
Foundation teams included: Mersey, Latrobe, Devonport, Wesley Vale, and Ulverstone.
1910
NWFA
Four sides involved in the competition, namely Wesley Vale, Premiers, Devonport Juniors, Runner’s -up, Don and Commercials.
1910
NWFU
The NWFU became responsible for the management of football in the North-West region.
Competing clubs in the inaugural season were: Burnie, Latrobe, Mersey, and Ulverstone.
It appears that several teams joined at varying times thereafter namely: A.P.P.M., Circular Head, Cooee, Devonport, Diggers, East Devonport, Penguin, Smithton and Wynyard,
1911
NWFU Clubs
The make-up of the NWFU had chanced from the previous season ie: Mersey, Latrobe, Ulverstone and Devonport joined from a local Junior association. Penguin withdrew from the Union and entered the Burnie Football League.
1924
Leven Football Association (LFA)
Founded in 1924, Leven is a small tourist centre known locally as Leven Canyon. It’s located on the North-West Coast line of Tasmania and is 42 kilometres from the town of Ulverstone.
Leven was built on the banks of the Leven River, which runs through 300-metre limestone cliffs, carved through the Loongana Range.
The LFA was formed in the first instance to cater for teams in the Ulverstone Municipality. Over time the LFA became a solid feeding-ground for clubs in both the NWFU and NTFA, but equally as important, for Ulverstone. After 92 years the LFA folded in 2016.
Clubs that joined the competition over the seasons included the following: Castra, Devonport Saints, East Ulverstone, Forth, Gawler, Kindred,Mersey Valley Workers Club, Motton Rovers, Motton-Preston, North Motton, Preston, Railton, South Riana, Sprent, Turners Beach, Ulverstone Juniors, Ulverstone Rovers, Upper Castra, West Ulverstone, Western Juniors, Wilmot and Zeehan,
1981
Tasmanian Greater Northern League (TGNL)
The NTFA had several disruptions over the years it operated in the Northern region of the State. One major change took place in 1981 when the NTFA merged with the NWFU to form the Greater Northern League (TGNL).
The TGNL came about by a merger of Northern Tasmanian Football Association and the North Western Football Union in 1981.
The concept was to have the top teams from the two major Northern competitions (NTFA & NWFU) play in one strong competition (TGNL). However, the move quickly found it had several challenges, such as a financial strain for both the Leagues and its clubs. Logistical problems of extensive travel across the Northern region of the State, and a lack of support from clubs and governing bodies. As a consequence of this, the TGNL folded after two seasons.
The TGNL competition was supported by the following competing clubs:
From NTFA:
City South Redlegs, East Launceston Demons, Launceston Blues, Longford Tigers, North Launceston Robins, Scottsdale Magpies.
From NWFU:
Burnie Tigers, Cooee Bulldogs, Devonport Magpies, East Devonport Swans, Latrobe Demons, Penguin Two Blues, Ulverstone Robins, Wynyard Cats and Smithton Saints.
1987
TFL State Wide League new clubs
In 1987 the TFL State Wide League was extended to ten clubs when NWFU clubs namely Burnie Hawks (later became Burnie Dockers) and Devonport Blues (later became Devonport Power), joined to complete a true State Wide competition.
2000
AFL Tasmania
At the conclusion of 2000 Football Tasmania was absorbed by AFL Tasmania, the new controlling body of football in Tasmania. It immediately ceased the State Wide League competition to focus on a Tasmanian team in the VFL. This move forced the former State Wide League clubs to return to their respective regional competitions.
2015
NWFL clubs
In 2015, both Burnie and Devonport Clubs had rejoined and by this time there were 8 teams in the NWFL.