Prior to European settlement, the area around Portarlington was inhabited by the Bengalat balug (clan) of the Wathaurong tribe.
January 1802 saw the arrival of the first European explorer, Lieutenant John Murray, who was soon followed in April by Captain Matthew Flinders. William Buckley, the famous escaped convict, became the first European inhabitant in 1803. He lived with the local indigenous people, who believed he was the reincarnation of a dead leader of the clan, until 1835, when the area was surveyed by Wedge and Gellibrand.
European settlement saw the construction of a flour mill and brickworks which, along with fishing, constituted the town's main areas of employment. The area was originally known as Drayton, but was renamed in 1851 in honour of Lord Arlington.
The Portarlington Football Club was formed in 1874 by the way of a special meeting held at the Bayview Hotel Portarlington. The club consisted of twenty-seven members, with Mr. H. Kelly appointed as President and Treasurer and Mr. Robert Graham as the Honorary Secretary.
From the time of formation the Club did not experience a great deal of success and played in several leagues around the district. The Clubs first premiership came in 1947 when they were Premiers and Champions of the Geelong & District Football League.
The Clubs golden era came in the 1950's, in this time they achieved three Premierships 1953, 1958 and 1959 as well as Premiers in that year they were also Champions.
The Club joined the Bellarine Football League upon formation in 1971 and has experienced various successes in that time.
In 1973 the Under 13 team won the Premiership followed by the 2nd XVIII in 1977 followed by the senior side in 1978.
The early 1980's saw a lot of great sides fielded but were unable to prevail as Premiership holders. The late 80's did not see a great deal of success, but the club was running strong.
Then in 1992 after a long drought the club was back on the winners list. The taste of success had well been waited for. The Club completed a double in both the Seniors and Reserves Premierships. These Premierships produced one of the most successful years in the Club history.
From 1995 until 1998 saw the Club battle both on and off the field in the financial area as well as a considerable drop in the supporter and sponsorship base, however much character building was shown during this time considering there was only a limited players list.
The years from 1999 to 2002 saw a big improvement financially to the club, and concentrated its efforts in development of a youth policy with the formation of the Under 10s, 12s and 14 teams. The Clubs youth policy is paying off with a large number of juniors having moved through the ranks and are now playing in the Senior sides. This youth policy is the future of the Club and will be carried again as our centre theme this season and beyond.
Lean times were ahead of the football club over the last 10 to 12 years but the club has worked tirelessly to ensure a junior program was put in place to progress the club forward in the future. The netballers continued to grow and achieve on-field success during this period. There were also a number of junior football premierships and final appearances in the juniors during this time. Finally the hard work by all is starting to translate onto the field with our most successful year in 5 years in 2014. With the adoption of a five year strategic plan, the continued focus on junior develpoment plus having a stable financial base, the future looks promising for the 2015 season and beyond.