Annual Report 2011/12 - Melbourne Cricket Club

and “Football & Fun: caricatures, comics
and children’s literature”. We also celebrated
the 150th anniversary of International
Cricket in Australia with Spiers & Pond’s
sponsorship of the tour by H.H. Stephenson’s
England XI for the 1861/62 season.
A significant development during the year
was finalisation of an MCC Archives Access
Policy, which sets out the procedures
relating to use of the archives by the public
as a research tool. Access commenced in
April, 2012.
Our volunteer personnel continued to
play a vital role in the ongoing delivery of
the NSM, MCG Tours, MCC Library and
MCC Archives. Their generosity of time
and commitment is sincerely appreciated.
PARTNERS/SUPPLIERS
The club is very grateful for the support of
the ground’s key commercial Icon partners
Coca-Cola Amatil, Herald & Weekly Times
and Foster’s Group. We also wish to
recognise National Australia Bank, whose
formal Icon partnership ended during
the year.
We maintained strong commercial
relationships with a number of licensees,
partners, contractors and suppliers. Among
them are Spotless/Epicure, Ticketek, Stadia
Media, The Promotions Factory, Patties
Foods, Cadbury, Tabcorp Holdings,
Treasury Wine Estates, Nestlé Peters Ice
Cream, Simplot Australia, Mars Food
Australia (Masterfoods), The Smith’s
Snackfood Company, Douwe Egberts
and Don KRC.
We also welcomed McDonald’s as
a new partner during the year.
TOP: The National Sports Museum at the MCG continues to develop into a top-class tourist attraction for
visitors of all ages. ABOVE: MCG Trust chairman John Wylie (left) and MCC president Paul Sheahan (centre)
accept the Tour de France yellow victory bicycle from Cadel Evans in the Long Room on December 13, 2011.
increase in after-hours functions in the
museum, and in tours by corporate groups,
has contributed strongly to the business.
We were delighted to receive a major
loan from Australia’s first Tour de France
champion, Cadel Evans, and his BMC
Racing team. Evans presented the iconic
yellow victory bicycle he used on the final
day of his July 2011 win in Paris. The loan
was arranged through MCG Trust chairman
John Wylie to mark the 150th anniversary
of the formation of the Trust.
The museum’s program of temporary
exhibitions and displays continued to
provide additional attractions for visitors.
In the ISS Exhibitions Gallery, the program
featured two major new exhibitions:
“Yilowa! Tiwi Footy” and “Hidden
History of the MCG”.
A range of themes was covered by focus
case displays. Among them was a tribute
to the career and life of boxing champion
Lionel Rose, Australia’s achievements in the
Tour de France, The Presidents Cup trophy,
a celebration of the 20 th anniversary of the
Wallabies’ first World Cup win and a tribute
to the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
A new acquisition was also displayed —
the shoes worn by Craig Alexander during
his October 2011 World Championship win
at the Hawaii Ironman.
Ms Ponch Hawkes, a Melbourne
photographer, commenced her National
Sports Museum Basil Sellers Creative Arts
Fellowship for 2011/12. The commitment
of Mr Sellers to the fellowship program is
much appreciated.
With support from the Australian
Communication Exchange, the museum
became the first organisation to introduce
Smart Auslan, an innovation that provides
an Auslan translation of the Museum’s
existing audio tour onto the screen of a
mobile phone. This is a breakthrough that
benefits deaf and hearing-impaired patrons.
MCC Library exhibitions during the year
featured the third phase of “The Crooked
Staffe: Four Centuries of Cricket in Print”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful for the assistance and advice
provided during the year by MCC president
Paul Sheahan and members of the MCC
Committee. I congratulate former treasurer
Michael Andrew for his contribution to the
club in his short time on the committee and
wish him well in his new role as
international chairman of KPMG.
I also wish to acknowledge the MCG
Trustees, led by chairman John Wylie, as
well as the State Government of Victoria
and our key sporting partners — AFL,
Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria.
The MCC management team, staff and
volunteers are to be commended for their
efforts during the year. It is a pleasure to
lead such a competent and passionate group
of people.
To our members, thank you for your
ongoing commitment to the club. May
you continue to enjoy all that our great
club has to offer.
Stephen Gough
Chief Executive Officer
8 MCC Annual Report 2011/12