pb_history

The MCG history 1838 was the year that Cricket came to Melbourne. It was the year the Melbourne Cricket Club was founded, when the town was only three years old. Today we know Flinders Street as a prime spot for businesses, but back then it was a little more than a swamp. Collins, Elizabeth and Bourke Streets were seen as ideal places to start businesses and build homes. Aborigines basically roamed everywhere doing jobs for the white men, asking for food and money. Even at these times cricket became the first sport to be played in the colony. Melbourne Cricket Club's first meeting was held on November 15, 1838 followed by their first cricket match which was on November 22, 1838. They played on a military paddock that is now the Royal Mint on Williamss Street. Soon they found something better, a clearing which is now the site of Southern Cross Railway Station. When Melbourne Cricket Club was first formed, they weren't professional players; just ordinary retailers, artisans, tradesmen and called themselves as the 'Melbourne Union Cricket Club'. Back then in the early 1800's, there was no particular uniform to be worn whilst playing cricket as it is today, and they could pretty much wear whatever they wanted.

The club moved again to Batman's Hill in 1839, after the death of John Batman, which is now the current spot of the Royal Botanical Gardens. This wasn't their last stop either. They had to move again as the Yarra, which was down the hill, became rather odourous from all the rubbish dumped by the civillians. Governer La Trobe, relocated the ground to the Yarra Park as a better place for the citizen's recreation in 1846. They moved to a 10 acre land which now we know it as South Melbourne.

On 1854, the first railway train in Australia, ran from Melbourne to Sandridge( presently known as Port Melbourne). It had a top speed of 25kmph and most of the leading citizens travelled on the first run. Despite it's significance, it sadly ran through the heart of the MCC's ground. The club had been shattered, they'd spent thousands of pounds on the maintenance of what they'd thought as their permanent ground. Seeing this, Governer La Trobe offered a choice of two sites to set up their new club in the Police Paddock. The club chose the site that had a diameter of 250 yard. It was from that day, a colosseum was to be born, the MCG.

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