Shortly before 1pm on Saturday 7 March Sydney University Hockey Club's men's team took to the field to play Melbourne University. This game marked 100 years of competition between the clubs. Then, some 90 minutes later, the Women's teams took to the field: their game marked 98 years of competition between the women's teams from the clubs.

It is the longest running team sporting competition in Australia where men and women play in the same colours, under the same rules, and with equal billing. These teams are also amongst the best in their respective States.

The Men's match was won 4-1 by SUHC. It was a slightly ragged affair as both teams were still in pre-season form. The players also struggled to come to terms with the slowness of the newly laid Olympic turf. SU had numerous early short corners but they were unconverted. That changed when E-tag resorted to his older, lighter stick for drag-flicking and scored a goal straight away. Brendan O'Connor was very impressive in attack, and would have been unstoppable if the new turf hadn't caused a few slips.  Scott Laird claimed to be jet-lagged and underprepared after a few months in Africa, but his new Kenyan middle-distance speed meant he looked as fit as the rest. Khevvy was hoping for another hat-trick, but MU was not having any of that and he was closely marked for most of the game. Phil Grey and Scott Heappey were also in good form.

The Women won 3-0 and looked in contol all the game. Emma Scriven was a constant threat to the MU goalie, and KP and others created a number of good attacking moves down the sidleines that meant she was never far from the ball. Cara Simpson showed Laird-like speed and was a real asset. Jess Blake had already played a game when she filled in for MU against UTS, and still showed enormous strength and commitment. And when Soph Brownhill wasn't being thumped in the knee by the ball she was playing well and creating opportunities.

SUHC has therefore won the Centenary Cup for 2009. This Cup has been donated by Mebourne Uni and is to be awarded each year to the club with the highest aggregate score from the Mens and Womens games.  In 2009, its inaugural year, the Centenary Cup was presented to SU President Khevyn Williams by Jane Fitzherbert of MUHC.

The matches between MU and SU were a great hit-out this year and we intend to make the Centenary Cup games part of our pre-season regime from now on.

Sydney University Chief Operating Officer and  Deputy Vice Chancellor Bob Kotic was invited to present Centenary medals to each of the men and women from SU and MU who played in the matches. He also presented them to the umpires and to the Clarke boys from the Junior club, who did a great job as ballboys. Many thanks to Bob and Lily Kotic for coming to the games and for undertaking these formalities with such good humour. It cannot be easy to remain cheerful and engaged when so many grown people are on their knees pleading for help in securing a home turf! It was much appreciated. Thanks too to Rob Smithies and Michelle Nancarrow from SUSF, who showed good support for the Club on this important occasion.

Fred Etter from SUSF volounteered to spend the day photographing the games, and took some great photos of the players in action. Many thanks, Fred. Click here on Fred Etter's Centenary Games photos to see them, and contact us at webmaster@suhc.asn.au to find out how to buy copies of these shots.

In the other games the Men beat UTS 2-0, and the Women drew with UTS 1-1.

The Club was honoured to have two players from the early 1930s as special guests for the Centenary Games. Malcolm Stening (now 96) and Ruthven Blackburn (now 97) played together from 1930 and vividly remember travelling by train to Melbourne for the 1934 MUHC game. Malcolm went on to represent Australia, and told the Men's team of some of his great hockey memories, including playing hockey on an aircraft carrier. We can only be grateful he did not go over the sideline, as others did.  Ruthven staggered us all by his speed even now: do not challenge him to a stairclimb!

We were also honoured to have many of the great players from the late 1950s in the crowd, including several from the team that played MUHC in 1959. These included Bruce Pryor, Richard Barnard (c), Bill Barclay, Roger Pegrum, Don Kerr, John Copland, Bruce Collins and Bill Crowley. Other club greats there included Ken Mayman (Captain of the Australian Over 75 veterans team), Janice Jacobs, Lisa Clarke, Michael Irby and Paul Barrett. It was also good to have Jenny Pryor there - she has probably attended more SUHC games and functions over the years than any other non-player, including even Anne Simmons. It is a curious twist to note that both Malcolm Stening and Ruthven Blackburn became pre-eminent medical scholars, and taught many many of the players from the late 1950s at SU.

Finally, thanks to Anne Simmons, Jess Blake, Khevyn Williams, Chloe Hardwick Jones and Andy Andy Elton for organising the day, to Cameron Whittaker and Brian Fitzpatrick for helping as chauffeurs and to Jane Fitzherbert from MUHC, who organised the MUHC contingent. Events like this do not happen without a huge effort from a small band of dedicated people, and your efforts were greatly appreciated. Many thanks as well to UTS for some tough games and for helping making the day a worthwhile one for us and for MUHC, and to Jess, Stefan Hese, Ian Lo and others who volounteered their services as umpires.

SUHC is one of Auistralia's oldest hockey clubs, and our longest-standing opponent is Melbourne University. SUHC played a number of teams in those early years, but Melbourne University is the only one that has stood the test of time and still exists as a hockey club.  Our first inter-varsity game was against MU in 1909, and nigh on a hundred years of competition between the two clubs is an extraordinary achievement. What makes it even better is that the MU players are very similar to us, and the small geographic dislocation is just an interesting way of dividing us up.  Off the field its a party where everyone gets on brilliantly...but on the field we are fierce competitors: a real battle between brothers, of Olympian or even Lobseyian dimensions. 

So every year, when a cohort of SU players put on the blue and gold to play at the Australian University Games, the freshers are fired by the same passion and inter-varsity rivalry that has inspired great games for 99 years. Over that time we have taken on MU and every other hockey-playing university in the country and we have had more than our fair share of victories. Those other universities can only dream, though,  of a history of on-field battle and off-field celebrations like the one we share with MU.

SUHC and MUHC both celebrated centenaries in 2007, and our next milestone is the keenly anticipated Centenary of Inter-Varsity Hockey Match between MUHC and SUHC in Sydney in 2009. MUHC won in 1909, and even though SUHC won in 1910, we'd like to think its our turn to win the big one(s) next year too.

As a lead up to the Centenary match we organised two special 99 year games for the Mens and Womens teams as an adjunct to the Australian University Games that are currently on in Melbourne.  The games were played at MU on Sunday 28 Sptember. For the history books, SUHC was represented by:
 
Women:
Alexander Julien
Alexandra Griener
Amanda Hese
Amelia Parker
Annabel Probert
Ella Shannon
Hannah Stanley
Helen Hathaway
Holly Sheer
Jess Blake
Katie Burgess
Kirsty Andersen
Rebecca Reardon (C)
Sophie Brownhill
Sophie Curtin
Stephanie Anderson
Victoria Johnson

Men:
Andrew Elton
Andrew Tulloch
Ezra Lock (GK)
Garth Lawrence
Henry Keeling
Liam Dixon
Michael Johnson
Phillip Schacht
Rhys Gray
Rishiv Rathore
Scott Laird
Stefan Hese
Thomas Lobsey (C)
Wouter Leurnik
 
Again for the history books, SU won the Men's match 5-4, while in the Women's game we had a narrow 5-2 loss (goals to Amanda Hese and Bec Reardon). The proposed barbeque was transformed into a much nore entertaining pub session. Watch us do better on every front in 2009.

Many of the SU players are continuing on at the Australian University Games, and hoping to match or exceed their successes from last year. Good luck to the teams and to the individual players when it comes to Australian rep selection time.

The Centenary Dinner was held on Saturday 4th August 2007 at the Great Hall. Some 300 current players, former players and supporters were fortunate enough to attend it and the very long party afterwards.

Our guests at the dinner included Sir Laurence Street, the son of Jessie Street (the Captain of the first Women's team in 1909) and nephew of a Hockey Blue from 1911 who died at Gallipoli, as well as the Vice Chancellor of Sydney University, Professor Gavin Brown, and his wife Diane. Others guests were Emeritus Professor Ruthven Blackburn (a hockey Blue from 1932), Greg Harris, Head of Sydney University Sport, Bob Kotic and many others from Sydney University and Sydney University Sport.  Apologies were sent by her Excellency, Professor Marie Bashir, the Chancellor and State Governor, by Hockey NSW and Hockey Australia, and by Dr Malcolm Stening, who played with Prof Blackburn in the 1932 First Grade team.

There were also 6 members from the men's team of 1957 at the dinner as well as 4 of the girls from the A grade team of the same year.  Legends are growing even now - there were also three of the four Lobsey brothers in their Blues jackets leading the celebrations with the current players. In addition, almost all today's first grade Men's and Women's teams were there.

The highlight of the evening was the opportunity to talk to the very sprightly 94 year old Emeritus Professor Blackburn. He played First Grade for the Club and for Combined Universities (now "the Green and Gold" from AUG) long before the parents of most of the current players of the Club were born, let alone the players themselves!

The speakers and guests spanned all 100 years of the Club's history: Sir Laurence Street is the son of Jessie Street, who was the first Women's team captain some 100 years ago. Prof Ruthven Blackburn played first grade for the Club 75 years ago. Bruce Pryor played for the Club in 1957 gave a fantastic speech (click on it to read it) about the blood, sweat and friendship from his years playing with and leading the Club in the 1950s and 1960s. Steph Newby spoke of the highlights and lowlights of the 1970s and 1980s, and Nappy Gunner, the current Club president, spoke at times eloquently of the changes in hockey in recent years, the challenges today, and the things that stay the same - like Club spirit and mateship.

Every birthday party has a cake, and we had a huge 100 year birthday cake. It was cut by Prof Blackburn and Harriet Moore (who is 19, a mere 75 years younger), along with the Vice Chancellor, Professor Gavin Brown AO, and Greg Harris, the head of Sydney University Sport. Prof Blackburn won a Blue in 1932 and played for Australian Combined Universities in the 1930s, whilst Harriet won a Blue last year and has just been selected in the Australian Youth Olympians.  Just how much talent can one club have??

During the research for the Dinner it was discovered that Vanessa Kingsford had never received her Blues pin. Vanessa was one of four sisters who played for the Club and won a Blue in the 1980s. Sadly, Vanessa died in childbirth in Africa some 10 years ago. We were therefore proud that the Dinner was the occasion to present Vanessa's Blues pin to her sister Nicky on behalf of her family.

The Centenary Committee assembled a vast array of photos and trophies from the last 100 years which were on display in the Hall. Trophies first awarded to the Club in 1911 sat beside others that have been awarded to the Club and its stars in more recent decades. There were photos of teams every decade since 1907, while others were screen projected. Many thanks to Mac Chambers from Sydney University Sport for his assistance in collecting and preparing these items, and to Lisa Clarke for collecting hundreds of photos from the modern era.

The Origins

The Sydney University Sports Union was established in 1890 with five founding Clubs: Athletics, Boat, Cricket, Football and Tennis. Whether hockey was being played in an organised competition at this early stage has not been confirmed.

Currently, the earliest reference to the Hockey Club appears in the Sports section of Hermes on July 1, 1908.

"The inception of this game into the circles of University sport has been marked with unparalleled enthusiasm. Last year there were barely enough members to run one eleven; while this season the membership roll shows that four or five teams could be put into the field. The difficulty which faces the N.S.W. Hockey Association is that of obtaining the necessary grounds for the matches on Saturday, and so the number of teams each club can put into the field has to be restricted....."

This suggests that the Club's inaugural year was 1907 although it may have been earlier.  The text refers to "last year" so it is quite possible that the Club formed prior to 1907.  To date, readings of pre-1907 editions of Hermes have not revealed the truth of the matter.

As an aside, the June 1907 edition of Hermes makes the following reference to Inter-Collegiate Sport:

"Sir Henry Rawson has presented a fine Challenge Cup for competition amongst the Colleges.  It will be held by the College which wins the greatest number of the year's sporting events: rowing, football, cricket, tennis, athletics and shooting."

So although hockey was being played in an organised way, it was not yet part of the Rawson's Cup.  This seems to undermine an early theory that the Club evolved from the Inter-Collegiate competition.

The Women's Club began as a separate club the following year.  Its first captain was a first-year Women's College student called Jessie Street, who became famous not only for her sporting prowess but also because of her leadership of the suffragette movement in Australia.  She was also the matriarch of a family dynasty of NSW Chief Justices.

The First Inter-'Varsity Competition

In the May, 1909 edition of Hermes, the Club makes the following announcement:

"An invitation was received from the Melbourne University to send a team over some time during the season, which was accepted after due consideration by the committee.  It is probable that the visit will take place during the June vacation and a match en route against Wagga or Wangaratta may be arranged."

A later report in June, 1909 covers the Melbourne trip in detail and is an excellent historical reference to the players, results, opponents and institutional structure of hockey at the time.  Of particular interest is the direct reference to the award of Half-Blues to Melbourne Uni players and the institution of an annual inter-'Varsity competition.  It is important to note that at this time the Hockey Club was not yet affiliated with the Sydney University Sports Union and yet the S.U players are awarded Honorary Membership of the M.U.S.U.  This is perhaps an unprecedented event and almost certainly resulted in the favourable consideration of the Club's application for affiliation with the S.U.S.U referred to in May, 1909.

Past and present members will be pleased to know that in the return inter-'Varsity match of 1910, Sydney University were victorious defeating M.U.H.C 5 - 3! Hughes scored three whilst Terrey and Green completed the rout.

It is believed that the third inter-'Varsity took place in 1911 again in Melbourne.  This time, the competition included the Adelaide University.  Unfortunately, reference to the result has not been found but the Sydney University Women were victorious in what is believed to be their first foray into I.V.

Misses L and N Meares were also noted as inter-state representatives in the season summary of October, 1911

The Blue

The introduction of the inter-'Varsity competition seems to coincide with the award of the first Hockey Blue at The University of Sydney.  Records indicate that this honour was bestowed on G.C.Willcocks who was awarded multiple Blues in the years 1909 to 1913.  Notably, Willcocks was also a member of the S.U.C.C. First XI and was a member of the University's first Championship team in 1909.

At this point, we are somewhat confused by the Blues records available to the Club.  It is not until 1922 that the next Hockey Blue is recorded and yet we know that the inter-'Varsity competition was under way and that University men are receiving representative honours with the N.S.W.H.A.

In May of 1909, the Club refers to the unavailability of A.L.Butler "who gained inter-state distinction last year". Then in August 1909, Hermes congratulates A.S.Lloyd and L.C.Terrey upon their selection to represent New South Wales against Victoria.

In fact, Terrey seems to be a strange exclusion from the Blues list because he was also a member of the inaugural inter-'Varsity team, bowled in the S.U.C.C. First XI of 1909 and represented N.S.W in Hockey!

Early Committees, Membership and the Competition

The earliest source of information regarding the administrative structure of the Club is once again from Hermes, May 1909.  The committee consisted of either seven of eight office-bearers and there were 50 members enrolled.  The report makes no reference to a President and there is the possibility of a typographical error in the reference to an A.A. Lloyd - this could be the H.A of N.S.W.H.A.

Notwithstanding these uncertainties, the structure is not dissimilar to that of today's Club with the Captain and Vice-captain holding responsibility for match-day issues: selections and association delegates.  These officers were also the leading or senior players of First XI.

The Hon. Treasurer at the time, N.K. Robertson, might be Rutherford N. Robertson, President of the Club 1946-49 and Senior Lecturer in Botany.

Around 1910, S.U.H.C was affiliated directly with the N.S.W.H.A. and it is likely that the Club was a founding member.  The first-grade competition in 1908 seems to have comprised five clubs: University, Corinthians, Sydneians, Bandits and Fleet, with Corinthians fielding three teams.  Dalgety's also competed in second and third grade.  The competition was arranged into two rounds similar to the current structure.

We have not yet made use of the records and archives of St.Paul's College or the New South Wales Hockey Association but we are confident that these will prove to be a valuable resource.

Later, perhaps in the 1920s, the Sydney clubs separated into the Metropolitan and Northern associations. Sydney University competed in the Metropolitan competition.

The Club's Board of Management is working with senior past players to document and publish the Club's History. Contact has been made with the University's Archives division, the Sports Union archives and the Colleges.  One of the significant challenges is that records are not centralised and often the references to hockey are not catalogued.

This is an important and significant task and we would be pleased to hear from any past or present members that can be of assistance.  Importantly, if you have knowledge of other past members or significant sources that might assist, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We are also interested in re-establishing ties with all past members and are rebuilding a comprehensive database for distribution of a regular newsletter.

If you have Information or want to assist in this project please contact the Club President (details on the Home page). 

Today

Today, the Men are affiliated with the Sydney Hockey Association (SHA) whilst the Women are affiliated with the Sydney Women's Hockey League (SWHL), Eastern Districts Women's Hockey Association (EDWHA) and Sydney North Women's Hockey Association (SNWHA).  The Juniors play in the North Area competition of Sydney Junior Hockey Association (SJHA).  For the mature players, the Sydney Veterans' Hockey Association provides a strong and well administered competition for Over 40's.

SUHC men field seven teams competing in Premier A, Premier B, and Third Divisions whilst two veterans' teams compete mid-week.  The Women field three teams in the SWHL and four teams in SNWHA and have enjoyed considerable success over recent years.  The Juniors have four teams in the SJHA competitions in age groups from Under 11 through to Under 15 and two U18 girls' teams competing in SNWHA.  Opportunities also exist for young players to participate in a development program through the Senior Club for both females and males. 

In the summer months, the Club competes in Indoor competitions which run from September to February.

Student members of the Club are eligible to represent the Sydney University at the annual Australian University Games.  SUHC Women were the Australian University Champions from 1999 to 2003, winning an impressive five consecutive titles.

The Junior division of the Club was formed in 2001 when SUHC absorbed the North Sydney District Junior Hockey Club.  On April 1, 2003 the men's and women's clubs amalgamated.  Together with the Juniors, they are now one of the largest clubs at the University of Sydney. 

Members of the Sydney University Hockey Club enjoy a mix of top class hockey, social hockey, and a plethora of social events throughout the entire year. If you are interested in joining the Club, or require information, please contact the Club Secretary.