Sport

Australian football: from rectangles to ovals

Australian football: from rectangles to ovals

September 22, 2023

Ask a librarian, Sport:

As we enter AFL Grand Final week it is a good opportunity to look at a key moment in the game’s development. Beginnings Football began being played in Melbourne in… Read More ›

Country tennis in Victoria

Country tennis in Victoria

February 8, 2021

Sport, Such was life:

The Australian Open came via courts in paddocks in rural towns and coastal getaways, built to attract tourists, inspire social events and to hold tournaments.

Player payments and the great bribery scandal

Player payments and the great bribery scandal

May 5, 2020

Sport, Such was life:

In 1900, the VFL prohibited player payments. The upshot? Shady dealings with players, investigations, suspensions- and a pay rise.

Hang ten with Rennie Ellis

Hang ten with Rennie Ellis

April 2, 2019

Our stories, Sport:

Rennie Ellis combined his two true loves of surfing and photography when he captured the thrills of the annual Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. A dozen of Ellis’s surf photographs are featured in The changing face of Victoria exhibition, ranging from 1970 to the mid-’80s.

It’s just not cricket… or is it?

It’s just not cricket… or is it?

January 10, 2017

Sport, Such was life:

On Wednesday 23 March, 1895 a large crowd gathered at the East Melbourne cricket ground for an unusual event – a ladies’ cricket match. The ladies had been practising in secret and speculation was rife over what they would wear…

List betting men on the flat

Murder at the Grand National

October 24, 2016

Sport, Such was life:

On Saturday 14 July, 1906 the Grand National race meeting was held at Flemington. During the afternoon young bookmaker Donald ‘Big Mick’ McLeod was beaten to death by an angry crowd after failing to pay out on winning bets. This shocking event gave great impetus to the strident anti-gambling campaign.

Did Daylight really come second?

Did Daylight really come second?

October 26, 2015

Sport, Such was life:

Did daylight ever really come second or is it just another part of Melbourne Cup folklore?

Carlton’s bluebirds

Carlton’s bluebirds

September 24, 2015

Sport, Such was life:

In the 1970s and 80s, the Carlton Bluebirds added a touch of glamour and excitement to Carlton home games with their high leg kicks, cheeky dance routines, and dedicated pom pom waving.

A bohemian football match

A bohemian football match

March 31, 2015

Sport, Such was life:

The costume football match in 1881 featured players dressed as characters from opera, tragedy, comedy, farce and pantomime.

Before it was the Australian Open it was the…

Before it was the Australian Open it was the…

January 27, 2015

Sport, Such was life:

The first Victorian tennis championships took place in 1880 just three years after the first Wimbledon tournament.