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Message from the Chairman


A Canadian by the name of Lambton Mount founded lacrosse in Australia in 1876 and, through his leadership and vision, the game expanded prolifically throughout Australia. The game in Australia was significantly bigger in 1914 than it is now. It was played in places like Kalgoorlie and Rockhampton as well as major cities.

Accordingly, we have chosen his name for our new lacrosse club, a club for former female and male lacrosseurs, whether they be players, officials, administrators, or supporters.

Our objectives are simple: we want to help grow lacrosse in Australia by reconnecting or connecting former lacrosseurs with the past (history), present and future of lacrosse in Australia. We also, where possible, want to help the game in Australia, whether that be through personal contribution or financial assistance, and facilitate growth of lacrosse in Australia.

We are not a state based club, we are a nationally focused club, which we hope to grow to 1,000 members within the next 2 years, including women and men, and all forms of lacrosse. This will make us the largest lacrosse club in the world.

We have recently become affiliated with the Australian Lacrosse Association, and thus we have a connection with all state bodies.

We hope to consistently and with reasonable frequency provide you with historical information about our great game in Australia and well as update you as to what is going on in lacrosse around Australia and overseas.

Attached is an application to join our new club along with an invoice. I am confident that after you have joined you will appreciate the value for money of your membership, which is only $25 per year.

If you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact me by email on nolanj@bigpond.net.au or by phone on 0408038823.

Yours in lacrosse
 
John Nolan

In this edition


 

Did you know?
 

Did you know that there are only two lacrosse players in the National Hall of Fame housed at the  MCG Museum? Brian Griffin and John “Kekka” Butkiewicz.

This is a disappointing  statistic, particularly given that we don’t have any women in the hall of fame.

We need to think about this nationally and locally – are we doing enough to market our great game?

Are we presenting potential candidates in the appropriate manner to maximize the opportunity for entry into the Hall of Fame.

When you visit next, have a look how many hockey players there are!

Our finest deserve recognition at the highest level – think about it, do something!

The club officer bearers

  • John Nolan - Chairman
  • Bill Gray - Secretary
  • Karen Meredith - Treasurer
  • River Bradley - Membership officer
  • Sue Clerk - Publicity officer
  • Doug Imlach - general committee
  • Allan Gandy - Patron
  • Female patron - we are currently actively seeking a suitable candidate for this role.

The news in photos


Jan Jackson, ALA, and Jeremy McEarchern, Asst Curator of the National Sports Museum, with the Garland  McHarg Trophy which  is over 100 years old, and is awarded to the winning senior  men’s team at the national championships. The trophy is being considered to be housed at the National Sports Museum at the MCG.

Who was Lambton Mount?


Lambton Le Breton Mount was born in Quebec, Canada in 1836, and arrived in Australia with his family in 1853. He lived in the Ballarat goldfields until the family moved to Melbourne in 1873. In the late 1850’s and early 1860’s he became well known as a champion runner in Melbourne and Sydney, including match races for the Championship of Victoria against H.C Harrison, the father of Australian Rules Football. He became a member of the MCC Sports Committee, and was known all over Australia as the “Canadian Stag”.

In 1876 Mount started the game of lacrosse in Melbourne. By 1901 lacrosse was played in all Australian states and in 1907 Australia hosted a Canadian lacrosse team with games being played in various states. 16,000 spectators attended a match at the MCG, a large crowd considering there were only 1 million people living in Victoria. He was a pioneer of the glass-making industry in Melbourne, Sydney, New Zealand and Argentina, and later in Leeds and Manchester in the UK. He was the inventor of numerous devices relating to the industry.

He became president of the Victorian Chamber of Manufacturers and was on the Commission for the Centennial International Exhibition in 1888. Lambton Mount’s friends and business associates included the famed poet Adam Lindsay Gordon, Alfred Felton (of the Felton Bequest which so ably supports the National Gallery of Victoria), and Frederick Grimwade, a businessman and politician who had a close association with Melbourne Grammar School (the school’s Grimwade House was named after family members).

Highlights of Lacrosse in Australia 1876-1930

* Lambton Mount calls a meeting of persons interested in playing lacrosse at the Port Phillip Club Hotel on 12 April 1876 and on 14 July 1876 the Melbourne La Crosse Club was formed. Two teams were formed and played each other that year.

* Lacrosse was played by the four member association on the MCG in 1879

* Lacrosse was being played at Ballarat, Bendigo and Sandhurst in Victoria (The gold rush) in 1886.

* By 1887 lacrosse was now being played in South Australia, NSW and Queensland. South Melbourne club plays matches against 3 South Australian club teams in Adelaide and Noarlunga, with one match being played at the Adelaide Oval.

* First inter-colonial match played in Victoria against a visiting team from Adelaide in 1888.

* First inter-colonial match played in Adelaide against a visiting Victorian team.

* Melbourne Lacrosse Club (most of whom’s members were members of the MCC) became the lacrosse section of the MCC in 1896.

* In 1897 inter-colonial tournament in Melbourne between Victoria, South Australia and NSW.

* Lacrosse established in Western Australia in 1897 with the formation of the Perth and Fremantle lacrosse clubs.

* In 1898 clubs were formed at Kalgoorlie, Coolgardie, Menzies and Boulder and the WALA had increased to 4 clubs with the inclusion of Cottesloe and Mercantile.

* Inter-colonial match in Melbourne draws a crowd of 5,000. The Government Administrator in his opening address described lacrosse as, “the sport of thoroughbreds”.

* Last inter-colonial match was played at the MCG in 1900 between Victoria and South Australia. Federal electorate boundaries were drawn up that year.

* Population of Australia in 1901 was 3,773 601

* Lacrosse was growing in Queensland and a club was formed in Rockhampton in 1904

* WA participates in the national championships for the first time. The first match to determine the Champion Club of Australia was played between Essendon and Port Adelaide.

* In 1904 women’s lacrosse was introduced by Miss Gwyneth Morris, a physical education teacher at Merton Hall, Melbourne Church of England Girls Grammar School, as part of the school’s commitment to team sport participation.

* Lacrosse is introduced into Tasmania in 1906, with a visit from the Northern Tasmanian Association to Victoria to play matches

* After many years of planning and negotiation, a Canadian team tours Australia in 1907, to play WA, SA, Victoria, Queensland and Australia (NSW did not participate due to ground availability and financial reasons). At the match against Australia in Melbourne, played at the MCG, 16,000 spectators witnessed the game, with 12,000 witnessing the game at Adelaide Oval. This was the first time a team was selected to represent Australia. The issue of defining “amateurs and professionals” was rearing its head.

* In 1907 ladies were practicing lacrosse in the Kalgoorlie goldfields under the tutelage of men!

* First national championship to include a team from each state was held in Melbourne in 1912, with the WA team arriving by ship. 5,000 spectators attended the opening day.

* A pistol shot echoed around Sarajevo, and WW1 started. A German ship was fired at leaving the heads at Portsea in Victoria. Interstate matches were abandoned and the world was in chaos.

* The only good news of 1914 was that 4 women’s teams had been formed in NSW and a competition was in place, but suspended in 1915 due to the war.

* With many players volunteering for the armed services the 1916 playing season in Victoria was seriously depleted due to enlistment and eligibility issues. In order to be eligible to play lacrosse during the war, players were required to apply for enlistment or provide evidence of being unfit for service, or the requirement to stay in Australia.

* In 1926 the triennial Conference of State Associations formed the Australian Lacrosse Council. Amateurism and professionalism were hotly debated topics. Sportsmanship and conduct were becoming issues of concern.

* The first triennial carnival played in WA was in 1929, the centenary year of WA, with all mainland states participating. The proposed constitution of the Australian Lacrosse Council was adopted.

* The effects of the Great Depression were starting to be felt in 1930, seriously impacting numbers in all states. Negotiations were taking place with the Olympic Games committee to have lacrosse included in the 1932

Vic

 Pictured in the white skirt, Joy Parker, Vivienne Parker-White's mother, Albert Park, Melbourne in 1936
W.A.

S.A.

Membership


Annual membership for the Lambton Mount Lacrosse Club is only $25. 

To join, please complete the application form, the payment details are shown on the subscription form. While some  members may have previously completed an application we require the attached application form to be completed and signed in order to admit to membership.

All members who have previously completed a form are requested to complete, sign & return this form so as to comply with our constitution.  All new membership applicants are requested complete, sign & return the form.

Application form
Subscription form

For any enquiries, please contact Chairman, John Nolan on nolanj@bigpond.net.au or by phone on 0408038823.

Stories from the states

We have not yet received any news from NSW, Queensland or Tasmania, but we are very keen to hear what is happening in those states.

Victoria

Victorian Awarded 2015 O.C Isaachsen

Chris Plumb, of the Footscray Lacrosse Club, was awarded the 2015 O. C. Isaachsen Trophy after an incredible 2015. Chris has become the 17th Victorian to achieve this award and is the second Footscray Lacrosse player after Lindsay Ovens (1993).

New Lacrosse Club in Melbourne

The Wyndham Lacrosse Club has joined Lacrosse Victoria in 2016 and will look to field junior teams in Under 11 and potentially Under 13.  The introduction of this new club signifies an exciting time as lacrosse looks to capitalise on the growing population of Melbourne’s west.

Newport wins 24th State League Premiership

The Newport Ladies’ Lacrosse Club maintained their incredible run of state league grand final appearances in 2015, competing in their 42nd consecutive grand final.  They outclassed a determined Footscray outfit 8 – 6 in an enthralling game of lacrosse.

South Australia
Lacrosse SA - Mad March LaxFest & Golf Day 2016

The 4th annual Mad March Lacrosse Tournament will be held at Sturt Lacrosse Club – Adelaide,  on Saturday 19 March. 

Participation and spectators are vital to the success of the tournament, as well as great preparation for the upcoming season, while supporting our senior state teams, state and national representatives.  Why not go along and watch our best in action and support the game.

The Lacrosse SA Mad March Ambrose Golf Day will be held on Sunday 20th March at Blackwood Golf Course from midday for 1.00pm tee off and registrations are now open for teams of 4 or individuals. For further details please contact Paul Freeman Paul.Freeman@ruralbank.com.au (0438 020 590).


Western Australia

The 2016 season kicks off on Anzac Day, preceded by the ALA Under 18 National Championship from 21-24 April, which will be held at East Fremantle’s home ground  at Preston Point.

Kuljak Club – the Kuljak Lacrosse Club was formed in 1963 following the return of the WA members of the 1962 Australian men’s first overseas lacrosse touring team. The WA contingent was impressed with the reception received from the Centurion Club at the House of Commons Dining Hall along with the support that the club gave to lacrosse in England. Kuljak Lacrosse Club was formed after the inaugural function in 1963 and had 79 former players, officials and supporters attend their inaugural function.

Kuljak is a word from the Nyungar language from Western Australia, and means Swans.

Message and news from ALA


Magic March International Competition 

ALA proudly presents Magic March International Competition for 2016.

Come down to Footscray Hockey Centre to show your support.

CLICK HERE for daily match schedule.


Message from ALA

Dear John & Bill, 

Congratulations upon getting the LMLC launched.

The Lambton Mount Lacrosse Club - as a recently formed club  for past players, officials and  supporters of both women’s and men’s lacrosse nationally - is a positive and forward looking initiative for lacrosse in Australia. With your main aim being to reconnect past players and supporters of women’s and men’s lacrosse it is of potentially high interest and great value to our lacrosse fraternity.  It certainly complements some key initiatives of the ALA - particularly the annual Recognition Dinner, Senior National Past Player (with more to follow) unique identification and the launch this quarter of the Lacrosse Australia Foundation Ltd.(LAF).

The LAF is a capital protected foundation formally registered with ASIC whose prime objects and formation are: 

(a)                To raise funds by donations, bequests, fundraising programs, grants and other means for the purpose of building a capital-protected Fund;

(b)                To use the investment earnings from the Fund to assist and support the work of the ALA for lacrosse development programs and promotions in Australia for all forms of the game and both genders by means specified in these Objects;

(c)                As a key priority, to support lacrosse participation development programs and projects with particular emphasis on junior development.

The initial Board of the LAF will be :

(1) Directors  determined as representatives provided by the ALA and the three largest Member Associations, calculated by reference to the number of registered players in the immediately preceding financial year (being Lacrosse South Australia Incorporated, Lacrosse Victoria Incorporated and Lacrosse Western Australia Incorporated, at the time of establishment).

(2) those representatives shall each be entitled to appoint two (2) representatives who shall have had Primary Involvement in one of women’s lacrosse and the other of men’s lacrosse.

The LAF is currently planned to commence its operations from late in Q1 of 2016.

On the weekend of 20-21 Feb 2016 the 4th ALA National Conference was held in Fullarton SA (led by Andrew Harris, the ALA Marketing Director in conjunction with,and aided by, Lacrosse SA and Living Choice).  The objective of this event was to provide the education and share the experiences that establish and improve the standard of Playing, Coaching & Officiating lacrosse in Australia. 

This event had great Key Note Speakers - particularly Jen Williams  (a recent author of "Think, Prepare, Play like a Champion" and renowned sports psychologist and SA Sports Hall of Famer). Other top presenters were Dr Shane Pill with"What is the concept of game based practice" and Director James Selby of the ASC with "Play Sport Australia (re Participation) & Sporting Schools program".

There were also focused streams for club development,coaching & officiating. Also held within that event were the  Australian Lacrosse Leadership Forum ( a meeting of  State Presidents or their representatives) plus the Growth Advisory Council meeting (to launch the National Participation Framework project). In summary there were 75 attendees, 20 speakers, 34 sessions and representatives from all 5 mainland lacrosse states. Make it a goal to attend next year's National ALA Conference  to progress your lacrosse development.

The ALA looks forward to being associated with LMLC in developing interest and providing information to Australia's lacrosse community.

Regards

Mike Slattery

ALA President