Burradoo Polocrosse Club
A Short History of Polocrosse and the Burradoo Club
The purely Australian amateur horse sport of polocrosse derived from an equestrian exercise in England. It is a combination of polo, lacrosse and netball.
During a visit to England in 1938, Brigadier Edward & Mrs Marjory Hirst, of Sydney, who were both keen on horse breeding and horse sports, read an article on "Polo La Crosse" in a riding magazine. Wanting to find out more about the exercise, they visited the National School of Equitation at Kingston Vale, near London, where it had been developed to supplement the work at the riding school and to make riders take better charge of their horses. It was played with two-a-side, indoors and with markers on the walls from which the ball bounced back into play. The goals were elongated basketball nets on the end walls. The sticks were old polo mallets that had the mallet removed and replaced with a squash racquet head. This had a shallow string net, which they used to scoop up the ball. The idea was to scoop up the ball, which was a little larger than a tennis ball, ride with it to the end of the arena and drop it into the net to score.
Realising the possibilities of it as an outdoor horse sport, Mr & Mrs Hirst returned to Australia with sticks, balls and rule books, where they sought the assistance of Mr Alf Pitty, a well-known and experienced horseman and polo player. After many hours of discussions, practising and much trial and error and with constant revision of the rules, the three of them finally came up with a new and exciting game, which they thought would be ideal for Australian conditions. They called the new game "polo crosse".
Mr Pitty then helped them to give what would appear to be the first polocrosse demonstration at the Ingleburn Horse and Pony Club grounds, near Sydney, N.S.W., in 1939. He showed those present how to pick up the ball and the idea of the game. Such was the immediate interest and enthusiasm, that it was not long before all the club members were practising the new game. A short time later, a meeting chaired by Mr Jack Tanner, was called to form the first polocrosse club, at Ingleburn, near Sydney, 1939. At this meeting the first book of Rules of the Game was established.
During World War II, the game suffered a set-back, but a few keen enthusiasts of Ingleburn Club kept it alive. In 1945, Australia's second polocrosse club, Burradoo, was formed near Bowral and in 1946, the first inter-club game was held between Ingleburn and Burradoo Clubs.
An original photograph has come to light of the “Inaugural Meeting – Burradoo Polocrosse Club at Ray & Connie Battye’s Home – Bong Bong Park” in 1946. Those in the photograph are Margo Smith, (nee Finlayson), Carma Minnett, (nee Nathan), Annette Stogdale, Blake Kelly, Betty Pockley, Mrs (“Chicky”) Nathan, Ray Battye, James Whipple, Connie Battye, Dick Pockley, Keith McDonald, Eve Beresford Grant, Sam Stirling, Ted Pockley, Bill Beresford Grant and an unknown attendee. The photograph was taken by Cynthia Stirling, (nee Maddrell.)
Inaugurated in 1946, the Alice English Cup was keenly contested by women's teams and records show that the finals were contested between the two foundation clubs – Ingleburn and Burradoo.
Also in 1946, the “Wynyard Battye Cup for Annual Competition between Burradoo and Ingleburn Polocrosse Clubs” began its existence and it is believed that this trophy was for men’s competition. These two trophies are possibly the first and therefore, oldest, trophies for polocrosse.
Burradoo Polocrosse Club has its place firmly positioned in the annals of the sport, as the oldest continually-running club in the world. (The original Ingleburn Club ceased playing in the late 1960's). Burradoo Club was formed by Mr & Mrs Tom H. Kelly, Mrs “Chicky” Nathan and Mr Ivor Walker.
The first Burradoo Club playing field was on Mrs Nathan's property, "Haling ", on the eastern side of the Burradoo Railway Station. Since the Nathan's land was adjacent to Burradoo railway station, the Club has retained this name, even though the Club has been re-located to Bowral, then Berrima and more recently, back to Bowral.
The game spread like wildfire and with such success and enthusiasm that Mrs Hirst, the President of the Ingleburn Club, felt that there should be a controlling body made up of representatives of all the existing clubs. These clubs were Burradoo, Ingleburn, Nowra, Parrakeets and Wollongong.
Accordingly, on 17th October, 1946, Mrs Hirst convened a meeting at which all these clubs were present and the result of the meeting was that the Polocrosse Association of Australia was formed. As a fitting tribute to her vision and enthusiasm, Mrs Hirst was elected an Honorary Life Member of the Association. (Mrs Hirst died in 1992).
From 1946 on, polocrosse spread to the country districts of N.S.W.; some of the first country clubs forming in the west of the state at Mudgee and Wellington. Also, Ku-ring-gai, Parramatta and Dubbo were formed in the 1950's. It then spread to Queensland, with Toowoomba and Bundaberg being amongst the first clubs formed and then to the other states.
Burradoo players were a force to be reckoned with from the early days, with its women's section of three members, Delicia Throsby, Margo Smith and Hilda Chambers, who established a remarkable record at the Club during its earliest years of being undefeated when they played together.
The three invincible Burradoo girls formed part of the country team that played against the metropolitan team in 1949 in the first polocrosse match played at Sydney Royal Show, then located at Moore Park.
Other talented players from Burradoo Club's early years include Messrs Vin Cluff, John Mansell, Jack Minnett, Blake Pelly, Ted Pockley and Ivor Walker, while Jean McLean and Joan Throsby took on the roles of timekeepers and scorers for more than twenty years.
One of the first state carnivals held was for the O'Shea Cup and following the tragic death of one of Burradoo's lady players, the Joy Munro Cup was played in her honour.
Other coveted trophies included the Stanley Thompson and the Venour Nathan Championship trophies. The former was for senior teams and the latter for juniors.
One of the Club's most renowned members was the late Max Walters, A.M., M.B.E., E.S.M., one of the youngest players on the winning team at the Australian Championships in 1953. He represented N.S.W. in the Australian Interstate Championships from 1953 to 1956; was Australian Chief Umpire for two years; Councillor of the Polocrosse Association of Australia for forty-two years and President of the Polocrosse Association of Australia for thirty-two years. Mr Walters was also the National Coaching Director for thirteen years and responsible for putting the National Coaching Accreditation scheme in place.
Burradoo continued to spawn great talent, including the likes of Neville Gilpin and Graeme Spackman. "Local coverage" commented on Graeme: - "The young Burradoo attack, playing his first match, after very little practice, played a wonderful game. His catching of the ball over the line and his goal throwing were marvels of accuracy and he should develop into an outstanding player."
The two dominated the polocrosse scene, both Australian and international, for more than twenty years.
Graeme's horse, "Elmwood Leeway", (bred by Neville & Carol Gilpin), won the prestigious Max Walters Trophy for the Best Horse in the Australian National Championships on four consecutive occasions, making him the best horse in Australia for an impressive eight years.
By the 1960's, Burradoo Club was acclaimed as one of the largest and most successful clubs in Australia.
In 1966, "Werrington", the Club's headquarters, opposite Chevalier College, Burradoo, was sub-divided and "our Club moved to the new location of De La Salle College, also in Burradoo and currently the location of Oxley College."
In 1968, "the first truly interstate carnival" was held in Dubbo. This was the first time New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia had met together at one carnival. Every second year since 1968, the Australian National Polocrosse Championships are held, at which all states are represented.
Due to the interest and growth of polocrosse in several countries, the International Polocrosse Council was formed on 19th June, 1976, with Mr Max Walters, M.B.E., of Australia, as its first President.
In 1977, Burradoo Club moved its location to Neville & Aileen Parmenter's property at Berrima.
The first ever International Test Series was held in Canberra in 1983, with representation from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe. Neville Gilpin was named Captain of the team and Graeme Spackman was also selected to play.
In 1984, a special tribute to show appreciation for long-service to the Club was publicly acknowledged by the presentation of Life Membership to Mrs Marie Cluff, Mr Arthur Gilpin, Brian & Muriel Rudder and Gordon & Elsie Spackman.
In May, 1985, "the first official Australian team travelled to Rhodesia, (now Zimbabwe), competing in five matches, two of these being Test Series. Burradoo was justly proud that of the nine selected players, representing every state, two of the players were from Burradoo, namely Neville Gilpin, (Captain) and Graeme Spackman. The Australians won all their matches."
They also represented Australia in South Africa.
In 1991, a very memorable event was the bestowing of Life Membership upon Neville and Carol Gilpin, Annette O'Donnell, Jenny Jones, Graeme Spackman, Audrey and Stephen Stuart, with similar honours being granted in 1994 to Margie Engelbach.
In May, 1994, Burradoo Club "joined with sixty other clubs to participate in the Club Championships, staged by Holbrook Club at Albury. Not only did Burradoo win the Club Championships with sixty points, (with the nearest rival Tumut accumulating twenty-nine points), but our home Club had six teams reaching the finals and also, won the Best Presented Team. In the men's division, Burradoo took all the horse awards", with Graeme Spackman winning the Best Horse and Rider Combination and the Champion Horse of the Carnival.
Polocrosse is typical of the Australian seeking a hard, fast sport, played outdoors, with plenty of room for clean enthusiasm. It also uses the animal that this country depended on greatly for its progress. Polocrosse has made a very valuable contribution to Australia's re-awakened and steadily growing interest in horses and horsemanship.
Polocrosse is referred to as "The King of the One-Horse Sports".
With acknowledgement and gratitude to the late Carol Gilpin, with references used from her "History of Burradoo Polocrosse over our Fifty Years, 1945 to 1995"
