The Burnside Rugby Football Club was formed at a meeting of enthusiastic locals at Fendalton Community Hal on 28th August 1957.

Soon after the Inaugural Annual General Meeting was held on 19th September 1957.

The club colours were to be red and white jerseys, black shorts and red and white hoop socks. The club applied to the Canterbury Rugby Football Union for Fendalton Park to be the home ground.

At its First Annual General Meeting on 11th March 1958 the CRFU made the offer, which was accepted, of Burnside Park as the home ground for the club. The Burnside RFC entered nine teams in CRFU competitions in 1958, with the top team being the 4th grade side. A further offer of two grounds at Jellie Park was also later accepted.

By 1960 the clubs highest team was Second Grade and by the end of the season lights for one ground at Jellie Park had been installed at a cost of one hundred and eleven pounds, the CRFU met half the cost. Prior to that night training had been conducted under the street lighting from Memorial Avenue.

A building fund was started in 1961 and by 1964 it was decided to consolidate activities at Burnside Park and apply real energy to the clubrooms project. In June 166 the club became an Incorporated Society and its constitution registered with Internal Affairs Department.

1967 was a memorable year. Paul Mc Kay became the first Burnside player to achieve representative honours in the senior open grade. He was also selected for New Zealand Colts in the same year.

Work began on the clubrooms in February 1970 and the official opening of the building was held on Saturday 3rd October 1971. That season 32 teams were entered by the Club, twenty two of them in the school -age grades. Lighting facilities had been installed at Burnside Park and on 2nd May 1973 Burnside RFC had achieved its first win in senior grade competition, beating Sydenham, 21-10.

1975 saw the price of a jug increase to 50c, this at a time when thirty nine teams played under the Burnside banner, making it the largest in the South Island.

The highlight of the 1977 season was the Senior Team being holders with Albion of the DCL Shield. After only five seasons the Senior Competition this was a significant result and club set its sights on the CSB Trophy.

New Club extensions were opened in 1982. Special thanks to Len Hanser, who since his retirement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries had worked nearly full time at the clubrooms. Len was made a Life Member in 1988 and in 2002 the Len Hanser Room was named in his honour.

The 25th Jubilee celebrations were held over the weekend of 20-21st August 1982.