August - Melbourne Cricket Club

TO THE SAME OLD TUNE
fallen at Gallipoli were conducted on the MCG
Matilda, one of three stirring tunes
played at reveille. Sixty-two years later,
that’s quite some association and one of
which we all should be very proud.
The uniforms are on display in the
Members Reserve foyer and the new
MCC Museum showcases both the
ground’s wartime involvement and the
military service of club members.
Another little-known link between the
MCG and the military is the 1917 war
memorial (top) erected in Yarra Park
behind the old Grandstand. For several
years this was the city’s most prominent
venue for remembrance services.
Indeed, Anzac Day commemoration in
Melbourne had its genesis at the MCG
when services were held on the arena in
1916 and 1917 to mark the anniversary
of the Gallipoli Landing.
During the Great War the MCG also
hosted a number of war effort fundraising
events ranging from social cricket
matches and the auction of memorabilia
to the Patriotic Carnival held over a
fortnight in October 1917.
Returning to the modern-day Anzac
ceremony, a bumper crowd of 90,508
attended the MCG’s 2007 blockbuster
and the service was conducted in pindrop
silence. There was plenty of noise
from Collingwood supporters at the end
of the game, however, when they held off
the Bombers to win by 16 points.
Faces in the Anzac Day crowd, anticlockwise
from left: Will Fowles (right)
with committee guests Neil Wood (Coca
Cola) and wife Janne; Ken and Shirley
Fraser with John and Rasa Bertrand; former
secretary John Lill (left) with new Cricket
Victoria CEO Tony Dodemaide and his
wife Dale; Michael Niall, Jason Cronshaw,
Owen Saunders and Richard Troy in the
Blazer Bar; vice-president Bob Lloyd;
members of the MCC Veterans’ Group in
the Hans Ebeling Room; committeeman
Peter Mitchell with Paul McNamee and the
Hewitt sisters, Linley (left) and Lauren.
august 2007 MCC NEWS 13