The Mount Lofty District Football Club is an Australian rules football team based in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide which was formed in late 1978 as a merger between the former Stirling Football Club and Heathfield-Aldgate United Football Club. Adopting the moniker of "Mountain Devils", Mount Lofty initially joined the South Australian Football Association (SAFA) competition in the 1979 season and participated in that league until the end of the 1985 season. In 1986, Mount Lofty joined the Hills Football League and currently continue to field teams in both Senior and Junior grades in that competition.[1]
The Heathfield-Aldgate United Football Club was formed in 1967 from a merger of the Aldgate Football Club and the Heathfield Football Club. Initially competing in the Central Zone of the newly formed Hills Football League, Heathfield-Aldgate continued in Division 1 of the same competition from 1972 until its merger with Stirling at the end of the 1978 season. Heathfield-Aldgate still hold the record for most A-Grade premierships (9) in the Hills Football League.[5]
The Heathfield Football Club was formed in 1955 as a breakaway from the Stirling Football Club. Initially joining the Hills Football Association A2 competition, Heathfield transferred to the Hills Central Football Association A2 competition in 1962. In 1967 Heathfield amalgamated with the Aldgate Football Club to form the Heathfield-Aldgate United Football Club.[10]
The Stirling Football Club was formed in the 1800s, eventually joining the Hills Football Association in 1904. In 1921, Stirling transferred to the Mount Lofty Football Association before returning to the Hills Football Association in 1938. Stirling was a member of the Torrens Valley Football Association from 1962 until the formation of the Hills Football League in 1967. Stirling competed initially in the Central Zone of the Hills Football League and continued in Division 1 of the same competition from 1972 until its merger with Heathfield-Aldgate United at the end of the 1978 season.[11]
^Lines, Peter (15 April 2024). "Heathfield Aldgate". Encyclopedia of South Australian Country Football Clubs. Peter Lines. p. 101. ISBN978-0-9804472-9-3.
^Lines, Peter (15 April 2024). "Aldgate". Encyclopedia of South Australian Country Football Clubs. Peter Lines. p. 3. ISBN978-0-9804472-9-3.
^"Aldgate Premiers". The Courier and River Murray Advocate. 16 September 1927. p. 3. Retrieved 14 March 2016.