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March 2012 | No. 150 | ISSN 1322-3771<br />
CAFÉ UPGRADES MEMBER PROFILES NEW FUNCTIONS<br />
MCC News
mcc.org.au to check that we have your<br />
co rect contact details.<br />
MCC CONTACTS<br />
Members’ Dining Bookings www.mcc.org.au or (03) 9657 8888<br />
Servicing, standards and regulations 5<br />
Etihad Stadium acce s 5<br />
Dre standards 6<br />
Fixture of MCG matches 8<br />
1<br />
CLUB NEWS<br />
A piece of sporting history:<br />
MCG Trust chairman John Wylie<br />
(left) and MCC president Paul<br />
Sheahan (centre) accept the Tour<br />
de France yellow victory bicycle<br />
from Cadel Evans in the Long<br />
Room in December.<br />
ABOVE: Cadel rides the streets<br />
of Paris celebrating his<br />
momentous win.<br />
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MCC Contacts<br />
Mail PO Box 175, East <strong>Melbourne</strong>, VIC, 8002<br />
T (03) 9657 8888 F (03) 9650 5682<br />
Country and interstate 1300 367 622<br />
Web www.mcc.org.au<br />
Twitter www.twitter.com/MCC_Members<br />
Facebook www.facebook.com/<br />
melbournecricketclub<br />
Email <strong>member</strong>ship@mcc.org.au<br />
Editorial contact communications@mcc.org.au<br />
Publisher News Custom Publishing, a division of the<br />
Herald and Weekly Times Pty Ltd. ABN 49 004 113 937,<br />
HWT Tower, 40 City Road Southbank VIC 3006.<br />
Photography Unless otherwise credited,<br />
images provided by MCC, SDP Media,<br />
HWT Library or Getty Images.<br />
Copyright Editorial material in<br />
MCC News is copyright and may<br />
not be reproduced without prior<br />
permission from the Publisher.<br />
Our Cover<br />
March 2012 | No. 150 | ISSN 1322-3771<br />
CAFÉ UPGRADES MEMBER PROFILES NEW FUNCTIONS<br />
MCC News<br />
<br />
<br />
Shane Warne unveiled<br />
his Australia Post Avenue<br />
of Legends statue outside<br />
the MCG on December 22.<br />
See full story on pages<br />
12 and 13.<br />
More reserved seats at footy<br />
More reserved seats have been set aside for<br />
<strong>member</strong>s and their guests at all home and<br />
away matches during the 2012 AFL season.<br />
The club will pre-sell up to 5000 reserved seats<br />
on levels 1 and 4, with the remainder of the<br />
Members Reserve still accessible on a walk-up<br />
basis. Unsold seats in the reserved areas will also<br />
be available to <strong>member</strong>s and guests. Last season,<br />
4000 seats were available for most<br />
games, with two or three matches<br />
warranting additional sales.<br />
Visitor tickets and reserved seats<br />
went on sale on Wednesday February<br />
29. There is a limit of four visitor<br />
tickets per <strong>member</strong> for all matches<br />
except Anzac Day (two).<br />
Further details are contained in<br />
an eight-page guide on the website.<br />
<br />
YOUR GUIDE TO THE 2012 AFL SEASON AT THE MCG<br />
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FOOTBALL 2012<br />
STAY INFORMED<br />
Some details in this guide are subject<br />
to change. Members can ge the latest<br />
information via the club’s website, our<br />
Facebook and Twitter pages as well as<br />
regular email updates. Make sure you visit<br />
INDEX<br />
Visitor tickets and reserved seats 2<br />
Members Reserve acce s and seating 3<br />
Catering 4<br />
Office (03) 9657 8888 Country/Interstate 1300 367 622 (local ca l fee) Facsimile (03) 9650 5682 Matchday Inquiries (03) 9657 8888<br />
Website www.mcc.org.au Facebook www.facebook.com/<strong>Melbourne</strong><strong>Cricket</strong>Club Twi ter www.twitter.com/MCC_Members<br />
Email <strong>member</strong>ship@mcc.org.au Postal Address PO Box 175, East <strong>Melbourne</strong>, Victoria 8002<br />
2 MCC NEWS <br />
Visitor Tickets and Reserved Seats – Ticketek 1300 136 961 or www.ticketek.com.au<br />
MCC MEMBERS’ GUIDE
CLUB NEWS<br />
From the President<br />
<br />
Since assuming the presidency in<br />
February 2011, I have come to an<br />
even greater realisation of how<br />
wonderful our club is and how many<br />
opportunities present themselves for<br />
enjoyment, challenge and achievement.<br />
Through the Christmas period, the<br />
Boxing Day Test against India and the New<br />
Year, time and again the club excelled itself<br />
in modestly but emphatically displaying its<br />
virtues. Members and guests alike (many<br />
from interstate and overseas) were in awe<br />
of not only what transpired on the field but<br />
also the treasures that MCC has in both its<br />
own museum and the peerless National<br />
Sports Museum.<br />
The fact that it attracted favourable<br />
comment brings credit to many. We are<br />
blessed with a splendid chief executive<br />
officer, Stephen Gough, and highly capable<br />
senior management across the board but,<br />
without in any way diminishing their<br />
brilliance, I want to pay tribute to the ground<br />
staff who prepare the surface in such an<br />
immaculate manner. Gone are the days<br />
when the MCG was attacked by captains<br />
and players for its shortcomings. Now the<br />
surface is rated the best in the country –<br />
a far cry from my days as a player!<br />
The special little touch of mowing<br />
designs into the outfield, especially the<br />
map of Australia (with Tasmania!),<br />
underlines their skill. They are unsung<br />
heroes and they deserve our special thanks<br />
because their work is visible to all and it<br />
takes only one mistake for them to become<br />
the topic of much criticism.<br />
With all of these things in mind, it pains<br />
me to report that there are still <strong>member</strong>s<br />
who declare their love for the club but who<br />
are prepared to run the gauntlet with their<br />
<strong>member</strong>ship as a result of themselves or<br />
their guests indulging in outrageous behavior<br />
in the Members’ Reserve from time to time.<br />
Too many find their way before the<br />
Disciplinary Sub-committee and then are<br />
aghast at the penalties brought down on<br />
them. Most of these incidents are fuelled<br />
by the consumption of alcohol, I hasten<br />
to add.<br />
On a brighter note, we were delighted<br />
with the presentation of the bike that<br />
the marvellous Cadel Evans rode into<br />
Paris as the first Australian winner<br />
of the Tour de France. At a dinner to<br />
celebrate the 150th anniversary of the<br />
MCG Trust, Trust chairman John Wylie made<br />
the presentation to the club and the National<br />
Sports Museum in the presence of the great<br />
man himself – Cadel – and we are extremely<br />
grateful to the Trust for its generosity.<br />
The two <strong>new</strong> committee <strong>member</strong>s –<br />
Charles Sitch and Mark Smith – have<br />
attended their first meetings and have<br />
acquitted themselves very impressively.<br />
We look forward to utilising to the full the<br />
skills and experience they bring to the table.<br />
Since the New Year and before football<br />
begins again in earnest, limited-overs cricket<br />
has been dominant and we have been<br />
pleased to host the <strong>Melbourne</strong> Stars in the<br />
national Big Bash League and both T20 and<br />
50-over matches on the international stage.<br />
Whether T20 is here to stay remains to be<br />
seen but there is no doubt there have been<br />
some extraordinary games and some<br />
extraordinary individual performances.<br />
Perhaps the form of the game that is<br />
struggling to find its place in the “mosaic”<br />
is the 50-over model.<br />
We are looking forward to playing our part,<br />
along with other venues in Australia and New<br />
Zealand, in hosting the 50-over ICC World<br />
Cup in 2015. There has been a rather<br />
misguided comment that the final might be<br />
played in Sydney! This is not only a ridiculous<br />
suggestion but it flies in the face of where<br />
most players will want that final to be played.<br />
ABOVE: MCC president Paul Sheahan (right)<br />
and <strong>Cricket</strong> Australia chairman Wally Edwards<br />
(left) accept some significant cricket artefacts<br />
pertaining to India’s first tour to Australia in<br />
1947/48 from Mr and Mrs Mohinder Amarnath.<br />
See page 10 for details.<br />
Rest assured that we will do all in our<br />
power to ensure that the ’G hosts the final.<br />
Finally, along with general manager<br />
(Heritage and Tourism) Margaret Birtley,<br />
I spent a fascinating week in India in<br />
February as part of a Special Tourism<br />
Mission, an initiative of the Victorian<br />
Government and the importance of which<br />
can be seen from the fact that Premier<br />
Ted Baillieu accompanied the mission.<br />
Our itinerary took us to New Delhi and<br />
Mumbai only. Given our strong links with<br />
India, we will be encouraging cricket-mad<br />
Indian visitors to ensure that the MCG and<br />
the NSM are firmly on their itineraries when<br />
they come to this part of the world. I last<br />
toured India in 1969 as a <strong>member</strong> of the<br />
Australian team under Bill Lawry’s captaincy<br />
so, apart from official business, it was<br />
interesting to see how the two cities had<br />
developed over the intervening 43 years.<br />
The football season will be upon us in an<br />
instant. Best wishes to your club and enjoy<br />
the season…in a manner that allows<br />
maximum amenity for all spectators!<br />
<br />
Charles Sitch<br />
Mark Smith<br />
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3
CLUB NEWS<br />
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LEFT: Paul Sheahan<br />
exchanges gifts<br />
with <strong>Cricket</strong> Club of<br />
India tour manager<br />
Sundeep Guljrani.<br />
FAR LEFT: The CCI<br />
team pose at the<br />
official pre-game<br />
dinner at the MCG.<br />
MEMBERS ON SAFARI IN SOUTH AFRICA<br />
The sights and sounds of South Africa,<br />
including an eventful Test match in<br />
Cape Town, were just part of the experience<br />
savoured by a group of <strong>member</strong>s who took<br />
part in the <strong>Cricket</strong> and Adventure Tour<br />
in November.<br />
The party endured a delayed departure<br />
due to the Qantas shutdown before enjoying<br />
10 days of sightseeing, cricket watching and<br />
making <strong>new</strong> acquaintances.<br />
First up was a six-hour drive to the<br />
Buffalo camp in Kapama, located in Kruger<br />
National Park, where they were greeted<br />
upon arrival by a rhinoceros and her calf,<br />
as well as a zebra and, to everyone’s<br />
excitement, a lioness. A fine way to settle<br />
into life on the Veldt.<br />
Next day saw two safari tours, where our<br />
tourists were lucky to see four of the “Big<br />
Five” – a lion, African elephant, cape buffalo<br />
and a rhinoceros. Only the leopard would<br />
elude on this occasion, although tour<br />
manager and MCC assistant to CEO,<br />
Peter French, reports that enjoying<br />
cocktails at sunset watching a herd of<br />
elephants drink at a natural water hole<br />
was considered adequate compensation!<br />
After some R&R at a golf resort in<br />
Sun City, Johannesburg, including a<br />
trip through Drakensberg Mountains<br />
and the native villages, the group<br />
headed to Soweto and enjoyed a wonderful<br />
tour of the settlement, part of which still<br />
remains as it was when established 40 years<br />
ago. Of particular interest were viewings of<br />
the residences of Archbishop Tutu and<br />
Nelson Mandela.<br />
The cricket beckoned and the game will<br />
long live in the memories of those who<br />
witnessed it. Australian captain Michael<br />
Clarke’s breathtaking 151 would sadly be<br />
overshadowed, as 23 wickets fell on the<br />
second day, the fourth most in Test history.<br />
Unfortunately 14 of those wickets were<br />
Australians, part of a calamitous 47 all<br />
out that would ultimately lead to an<br />
eight-wicket defeat.<br />
An early finish to the Test allowed the group<br />
to visit the wonderful wineries at Stellenbosch<br />
and Franschhoek before returning home<br />
full of wonderful memories and top-notch<br />
hospitality. It is a continent that is sure<br />
to entice the club to return.<br />
MEMBERS’ ASHES<br />
TOUR AWAITS<br />
If previous MCC <strong>member</strong>s’ tours of the<br />
UK are any guide, the club’s next venture<br />
to the Old Dart in the middle of next year<br />
shouldn’t be missed.<br />
We’re now calling for expressions of<br />
interest to join us in support of Michael<br />
Clarke’s team and its bid to atone for<br />
Ashes defeat on the last visit to English<br />
soil in 2009. There’ll be plenty of<br />
sightseeing in between the cricket<br />
action and it’s a great opportunity to<br />
meet fellow <strong>member</strong>s.<br />
Tour details, including an itinerary and<br />
costs, are still to be finalised. However,<br />
we welcome expressions of interest via<br />
email to <strong>member</strong>ship@mcc.org.au or<br />
phone (03) 9657 8888.<br />
4 MCC NEWS
6 MCC NEWS <br />
CLUB NEWS<br />
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MEMBER PROFILE<br />
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ne key road project on the RACV<br />
radar sure to interes thousands of<br />
motorists and MCG visitors is a major<br />
upgrade of Hoddle Street/Punt Road.<br />
Plans to improve traffic flow on this<br />
major arterial connecting the Eastern<br />
Freeway and Nepean Highway links<br />
alongside the MCG seem to revolve<br />
around either a tunnel from the Eastern<br />
Freeway end to south of Swan Street<br />
or a series of grade separations<br />
(underpasses).<br />
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Plan to punt traffic from Hoddle St<br />
While he acknowledges that individual<br />
grade separations would cause “massive<br />
disruption” during construction and a tunnel<br />
would have a large cost, Brian Negus says<br />
that action is we l overdue.<br />
“We’ve got a southern bypass to the city, as<br />
we l as a western bypass,” he says. “There’s<br />
nothing in the north — hence our push for the<br />
tunnel in our transport plan — and in the east<br />
there’s nothing. So Punt Road is the key route.<br />
“We need grade separations a the<br />
Johnston Street, Victoria Street, Bridge Road<br />
Club <strong>member</strong> Brian Negus says mobility and choice<br />
are key elements of our transport dilemmas.<br />
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and arguably Swan Street intersections or a<br />
tunnel under the lot. If you can ge the major<br />
through traffic down by dropping Hoddle St/<br />
Punt Rd, not only does the through traffic<br />
benefit, bu the cross-traffic, including<br />
buses and trams, benefits as we l.<br />
“In the context of the MCG, it would mean<br />
the above-ground route could more readily<br />
cope with access/egress from places like<br />
the ’G and surrounding areas, because the<br />
through traffic is underneath. There also<br />
needs to be pedestrian overpasses on the<br />
south side of the MCG to get people directly<br />
to Richmond station.”<br />
Time wi l te l.<br />
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MCC NEWS<br />
5
CLUB NEWS<br />
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Stand upgrade hits top pace<br />
The operational impact of the Great Southern<br />
Stand refurbishment on patrons visiting the<br />
MCG will take full effect this football season, as<br />
the major component of the works proceeds.<br />
Building firm Construction Engineering has<br />
been on site since last year’s AFL Grand Final,<br />
with the majority of summer spent demolishing<br />
rooms and building <strong>new</strong> amenities. Some of<br />
these will be available for use by Round 1.<br />
An AFL dining room is the marquee facility<br />
to come on stream. It replaces corporate suites<br />
and offices on the second level, offering AFL<br />
<strong>member</strong>s a prime viewing function room.<br />
A sports bar and <strong>new</strong>-look Barassi Café<br />
will be a feature of Level B1, while the Hassett<br />
Room and Ryder Room have been upgraded<br />
LEFT: Work continues on a <strong>new</strong> AFL dining<br />
room (top) and upgrading the Jack Ryder<br />
Room (bottom) in the Great Southern Stand.<br />
substantially and are back in business. The<br />
most significant change for the majority of<br />
patrons, however, will be revamped gates<br />
5 and 6 as well as upgraded food courts on<br />
levels 1 and B1. The gates will afford a more<br />
inviting entry to the stadium and a smoother<br />
flow of pedestrian traffic.<br />
With the above works completed, attention<br />
now turns to the Wills, Legends and Miller<br />
rooms, which will be unavailable for a large<br />
part of the 2012 AFL season as they undergo<br />
extensive renovations.<br />
In addition to works to other food courts, Gate<br />
4 (a public entrance) and Gate 7 in the AFL<br />
Members Reserve will also be affected by works<br />
during the football season. They will, however,<br />
be in use on major match days and the MCG<br />
website is the best place for patrons to keep<br />
abreast of developments during the season.<br />
6 MCC NEWS
CLUB NEWS<br />
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MCC NEWS<br />
7
MEMBER PROFILES<br />
Ray Weinberg (far right)<br />
on the way to victory in<br />
the British Championships<br />
of 1952.<br />
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8 MCC NEWS
MEMBER PROFILES<br />
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Mike ABOVE: Sheahan, XXXXXX still XXXXXXXXXXXXXX<br />
kicking career<br />
goals XXXXXXXXX after a working lifetime<br />
writing RIGHT: football. XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXXXX<br />
XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX<br />
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MCC NEWS<br />
9
SPORTS HERITAGE<br />
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10 MCC NEWS
SPORTS HERITAGE<br />
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Tennis fashion<br />
on show at NSM<br />
The National Sports Museum was<br />
pleased to receive a collection of<br />
tennis fashion over summer from top<br />
Australian player Judy Dalton.<br />
The collection includes more than 20<br />
unique tennis garments, all created for<br />
Dalton by British designer Ted Tinling in<br />
the 1960s and 70s.<br />
Dalton played on the world circuit from<br />
1957 to 1977 and was a pioneer on the<br />
women’s tour. As one of the original<br />
players on the Virginia Slims Invitational<br />
circuit in 1971, she was among those<br />
who paved the way in equal pay and<br />
opportunities for women in both amateur<br />
and professional ranks.<br />
“It’s wonderful to see these garments<br />
being preserved at the National Sports<br />
Museum for future generations,” Dalton<br />
said at a handover in January. “I have many<br />
happy memories of these dresses and I’m<br />
so proud to share them with the country.”<br />
The donation includes 14 bespoke tennis<br />
dresses with five matching cardigans, a<br />
lace jacket and a pair of lace tennis briefs,<br />
all designed by Tinling. Each garment<br />
features intricate detailing from tennis<br />
racquet motif lace to embroidery inspired<br />
by old eight-hole punch computer tape.<br />
The lace tennis briefs are reminiscent<br />
of the pair Tinling created for Gertrude<br />
“Gussie” Moran in 1947, causing a scandal in<br />
the press at Wimbledon that year. Tinling was<br />
instrumental in bringing colour, style and<br />
femininity to tennis wear in the post-war era.<br />
“This is an internationally significant<br />
collection of tennis fashion, representing<br />
a pioneering time in women’s tennis,” said<br />
museum curator Helen Walpole. “The<br />
dresses are haute couture in their own<br />
right. Each item shows Tinling’s trademark<br />
humour as well as reflecting Dalton’s<br />
bright personality.”<br />
Dalton also donated a Slazenger tennis<br />
racquet that was used for a significant<br />
portion of her early international career.<br />
The racquet is decorated with a gold<br />
monogram of Dalton’s initials before<br />
she was married.<br />
A special selection of the <strong>new</strong> items<br />
is set for display later this year.<br />
<br />
MCC NEWS<br />
11
SPORTS HERITAGE<br />
CRICKET ICON IS NUMBER O<br />
“This was his theatre and<br />
he seemed to know to<br />
reserve his best for it.”<br />
With those words Gerard Whateley<br />
introduced formalities at the<br />
unveiling of Shane Warne’s<br />
statue on December 22, aptly describing<br />
the relationship between one of Australia’s<br />
greatest cricketers and his home ground,<br />
the MCG.<br />
Warne joins an illustrious group of<br />
sportsmen and women in permanent<br />
residence outside the spiritual home of<br />
Australian sport. The 2.5-metre bronzed<br />
sculpture capturing him in classic leg-spin<br />
pose is the first statue commissioned<br />
by the MCC in the Australia Post Avenue<br />
of Legends program.<br />
The joint initiative will see a minimum of<br />
five statues placed in Yarra Park, extending<br />
from the MCC <strong>member</strong>s’ entrance along an<br />
avenue towards Wellington Parade. The next<br />
statue will depict Australian football legend<br />
Norm Smith and is due to be unveiled in<br />
late-September.<br />
Warne was surrounded by former<br />
teammates, his family (including parents Keith<br />
and Brigitte, brother Jason, fiancé Elizabeth<br />
and children Brooke, Damien, Summer and<br />
Jackson) and hundreds of adoring fans as he<br />
unveiled the impressive Louis Laumen work.<br />
He later spoke of his pride at having a<br />
permanent home at the MCG.<br />
“It’s a great sculpture and I think Louis<br />
Laumen has done a wonderful job,” Warne<br />
said. “It’s a pretty amazing walk down to the<br />
MCG for whatever it is you’re doing there,<br />
so to have a place where people can say<br />
‘I’ll meet you at the Shane Warne statue’<br />
will be nice.”<br />
Warne’s captain for much of his Test<br />
journey, Mark Taylor, paid tribute to the<br />
leg-spinner’s stellar career, recalling how<br />
Warne brought a sense of fun and flair to<br />
the Australian team.<br />
“When Warnie came into the side in the<br />
early 1990s the game was dominated by fast<br />
bowlers,” Taylor said at the ceremony. “We<br />
had a guy who could, at the end of the game,<br />
make as big an impact as the West Indies fast<br />
bowlers could at the start. No matter how<br />
many runs we had on the board, with Shane<br />
Warne in the side we could still make (that<br />
score) enough to win the game.”<br />
Sculptor Laumen spent hours studying<br />
images of Warne in his classic bowling pose<br />
before casting the cricket legend in bronze.<br />
It took six months to complete his creation,<br />
moulded carefully in Laumen’s backyard<br />
studio after quite literally sizing up Warne<br />
at the MCG earlier in the year.<br />
“It was a challenge for me because<br />
Warnie is so fresh in everybody’s memory<br />
and I guess everybody has their opinion<br />
of what it should look like,” Laumen said<br />
prior to the unveiling. “You couldn’t do<br />
it the way he is now. He is a different<br />
figure and has done a lot of work to get<br />
as trim as possible. But I have tried to<br />
be as respectful as possible. It is a very<br />
striking pose.”<br />
MCC president Paul Sheahan said that<br />
Warne deserved his place among the<br />
pantheon of greats who have a permanent<br />
place at the MCG.<br />
“Shane Warne is undoubtedly the best<br />
spin bowler in Australian cricket history,”<br />
said Sheahan, who played 31 Tests for<br />
Australia. “His record itself is phenomenal,<br />
but he also revived the art of leg-spin and<br />
inspired a generation. We are most grateful<br />
12 MCC NEWS
SPORTS HERITAGE<br />
NE IN AVENUE OF LEGENDS<br />
to Australia Post for supporting the sporting<br />
and cultural heritage of the MCG and<br />
surrounding precinct.”<br />
Selection criteria for the Australia Post<br />
Avenue of Legends series are that candidates<br />
must be Australian, renowned for their<br />
sportsmanship and that they or their sport<br />
played is connected with the MCG.<br />
Warne joins 10 sporting greats with statues<br />
outside the MCG. <strong>Cricket</strong>ers Sir Donald<br />
Bradman, Keith Miller, Bill Ponsford and<br />
Dennis Lillee, Australian Rules footballers<br />
Ron Barassi, Leigh Matthews, Dick Reynolds<br />
and Haydn Bunton and athletes Shirley<br />
Strickland and Betty Cuthbert were honoured<br />
as part of the Tattersall’s Parade of the<br />
Champions program.<br />
The <strong>new</strong> statue is appropriate recognition<br />
at Australia’s home of cricket for one of the<br />
greatest players in the history of the game.<br />
WARNE INDUCTED<br />
INTO HALL OF FAME<br />
The accolades for Warne’s career<br />
continued to roll on as we went to print<br />
with his induction into the Australian<br />
<strong>Cricket</strong> Hall of Fame (ACHOF) at the Allan<br />
Border Medal dinner on February 27.<br />
Warne’s inclusion brings to 35 the<br />
number of players to be honoured since the<br />
MCC established the hall of fame in 1996.<br />
Selection philosophy focuses on a<br />
player’s status as well as their outstanding<br />
statistical records. Potential inductees<br />
must have been retired from international<br />
cricket for a minimum of five years to be<br />
eligible for selection.<br />
“Warne’s contribution to cricket has been<br />
enormous,” said ACHOF selection chairman<br />
David Crow. “He combined accuracy with<br />
variety and enormous turn, even on<br />
unhelpful pitches. It was the timing of his<br />
performances – in addition to his sheer<br />
weight of wickets – that further underlined<br />
his legendary status.”<br />
This shrine to Australia’s cricketing<br />
greats is on permanent display in the<br />
National Sports Museum. It is well worth<br />
a visit.<br />
<br />
MCC NEWS<br />
13
CLUB SPORT<br />
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Above, president Paul Sheahan and his plate<br />
with Alan Lee at Royal <strong>Melbourne</strong> in November.<br />
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Kensington CC<br />
tradition resumes<br />
The annual match between MCC and<br />
Kensington <strong>Cricket</strong> Club was played at<br />
the Albert <strong>Cricket</strong> Ground on December 27,<br />
with the hosts regaining the sought-after<br />
Bob Lloyd Shield after a thrilling encounter.<br />
The club has been alternating hosting<br />
duties with its South Australian counterpart<br />
for more than 40 years. Anticipation was<br />
high after the disappointment of 2010, when<br />
the fixture was abandoned because MCC<br />
couldn’t muster a side to cross the border.<br />
As is tradition, the host side batted first<br />
and it took an outstanding innings from<br />
one of the club’s regular tourists, Justin<br />
Graham, for the MCC to post a healthy 251<br />
from 40 overs. Graham scored 122 off 105<br />
balls and flayed the Kensington bowlers<br />
to all corners of the Albert Ground.<br />
In reply, the visitors got off to an<br />
unbelievable start and at one stage were<br />
on track to reach the MCC’s target in just<br />
25 overs. Jake Brown, captain of “The<br />
Browns”, smashed a rapid-fire 83 (63 balls)<br />
and took the score to 1/118 before being<br />
caught in the deep.<br />
However, from that point on the Demons<br />
regained control of the innings through<br />
some quality spin bowling from Sam Brewin<br />
and Will Ryan. MCC held on to record a<br />
26-run victory in the 38th over.<br />
As always, the post-match festivities<br />
were characterised by the harmony and<br />
respect shared between the two clubs.<br />
The young MCC side is looking forward to<br />
travelling to South Australia at the end of<br />
this year to defend the shield named after<br />
a man who made a significant contribution<br />
to both clubs.<br />
14 MCC NEWS
CLUB SPORT<br />
Finals beckon<br />
for Demons<br />
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Top coaching duo netted for tennis<br />
The MCC Tennis Section has appointed<br />
two of its pennant players as joint<br />
coaches of the section and what a top-line<br />
double they’ve landed.<br />
Michael Logarzo and Tass Vasiliadis both<br />
boast outstanding playing and coaching<br />
credentials. Michael was the top ranked<br />
Australian junior in under 16 and under 18<br />
competition and represented his country in<br />
the World Youth Cup. He later was ATP<br />
ranked and served as a hitting partner with<br />
Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and John McEnroe.<br />
His coaching career includes a stint as<br />
head coach at New York’s Chris Lewit Tennis<br />
Academy and his accreditations in his field<br />
are many and varied.<br />
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Tass was also an elite junior and as a<br />
professional earned an ATP career-high<br />
ranking of 360. He represented Greece in<br />
Davis Cup competition for nine years and<br />
has coached extensively in Australia and<br />
Europe, so his rounded experience brings<br />
much to the section.<br />
Section chairman Peter Richardson said<br />
he was delighted that Michael and Tass<br />
had taken on the senior coaching jobs<br />
“particularly because they’re terrific with<br />
our younger players.”<br />
In other tennis <strong>new</strong>s, MCC and Kooyong<br />
have established an annual competition in<br />
memory of a popular and much-respected<br />
<strong>member</strong> of both clubs. The inaugural Tony<br />
Ryan Cup was conducted at our Junction Oval<br />
courts in November and MCC hopes to do<br />
better this year!<br />
Those wishing to know more about MCC<br />
Tennis Section coaching are welcome to<br />
call Tass Vasiliadis on 0414 094 738.<br />
March brings us to the pointy end of<br />
many sporting seasons, most notably<br />
for our cricketers and the baseball and<br />
bowls sections, and as we went to press<br />
many of our teams were preparing for<br />
finals action.<br />
With two rounds to play, our topsyturvy<br />
First XI was still inside the final<br />
eight, despite an outright loss to fellow<br />
finals aspirant Camberwell Magpies. The<br />
Second XI was holding on to a top four<br />
spot while our lower grades were both<br />
in sixth position and with their season’s<br />
destiny in their own hands.<br />
Following Alex Keath’s call up to the<br />
Victorian Bushrangers one-day team in<br />
February, Jack Paynter was elevated for his<br />
First XI debut. A recent initiative is to have a<br />
former player present the debutant with his<br />
MCC cap and on this occasion it was former<br />
premiership player, club captain and coach<br />
Peter King who handed over the “hoops”.<br />
Finals also beckoned for our bowlers, with<br />
four of their eight pennant teams qualifying<br />
for the finals in late-February. It is also<br />
pleasing to report that none of the remaining<br />
four teams is faced with relegation.<br />
The section’s annual <strong>member</strong>s’ day will<br />
be held on March 18 at Swinburne Avenue.<br />
This is an excellent opportunity to learn<br />
more about the game of lawn bowls and<br />
meet your fellow <strong>member</strong>s. For more<br />
details, please visit www.mccbowls.org.<br />
Meantime, our baseballers were well<br />
placed for a tilt at the premiership in the<br />
2011-12 VBA Men’s Summer League.<br />
Their impressive 20 wins and six losses<br />
had them third on the ladder with three<br />
matches remaining.<br />
BELOW: Former MCC captain and coach Peter<br />
King presents First XI debutant Jack Paynter<br />
with his club cap in February.<br />
A top tennis family at the Tony Ryan Cup: Neale<br />
Fraser, Allan Stone, Cedric Mason, Judy Ryan,<br />
Barbara Richardson and husband Peter.<br />
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MCC NEWS<br />
15
INTEREST GROUPS<br />
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FROM TOP: Old Bottle Day<br />
winner Gordon Spence with<br />
the perpetual trophy, Brian<br />
Humphris (left) with wine and<br />
food master Paul Kinross,<br />
and the star of the show,<br />
Jeremy Oliver, on his rounds<br />
of the table.<br />
Changes at the helm<br />
The club’s sporting sections and<br />
special interest groups are capably<br />
administered by a band of hard-working<br />
committees and volunteers. They’re often<br />
the unsung heroes in MCC ranks and we<br />
record below some leadership changes<br />
that have come about recently.<br />
Barry Minster has stepped down<br />
as chairman of the MCC War Veterans<br />
group and has been replaced by Frank<br />
Webb. Our Young Members Club has also<br />
undergone change with Alexandra King<br />
replacing Caroline Coggins as chairperson.<br />
Kerri Spillane stepped into the<br />
chair during a busy period for the Women<br />
of the MCC group, presiding over the<br />
Women in <strong>Cricket</strong> Test Breakfast followed<br />
by a highly successful Women in Wine<br />
function on February 22 in the Long<br />
Room. She replaces inaugural<br />
chairperson Clare Cannon.<br />
The Long Room Wine and Food Society<br />
also has changed presidents with Alex<br />
Gillon replacing Stuart Stockdale<br />
following a ballot announced at the<br />
AGM in November.<br />
On the sporting front, as reported in our<br />
last edition Barry Nugent has stepped<br />
down as chairman of the Lacrosse Section<br />
after a lengthy stint. His shoes have been<br />
filled by Peter Allen. The club thanks these<br />
outgoing chairpeople for their contribution<br />
and wishes each successor well.<br />
We encourage <strong>member</strong>s to become<br />
involved in any of our sports and special<br />
interest groups. With a wide array of<br />
activities on offer, there is bound to be<br />
something appealing. For further details,<br />
please visit mcc.org.au or contact the club<br />
during business hours.<br />
BELOW: New Women of the MCC chairperson<br />
Kerri Spillane addresses the Women in<br />
<strong>Cricket</strong> Test Breakfast on December 27.<br />
16 MCC NEWS
INTEREST GROUPS<br />
Great camaraderie and good cricket have been<br />
a winning combination for XXIX Club <strong>member</strong>s<br />
for more than half a century.<br />
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Old pals meet as <strong>new</strong> 50-year <strong>member</strong>s<br />
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It was a proud day for many loyal MCC<br />
<strong>member</strong>s at the New 50-Year Members’<br />
Luncheon in December.<br />
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MCC NEWS<br />
17
FUNCTION NEWS<br />
18 MCC NEWS
FUNCTION NEWS<br />
Dinner gong<br />
deserves a medal<br />
The annual Members’ Dinner on<br />
December 9 was a stand-out event<br />
among myriad luncheons and dinners<br />
on offer to <strong>member</strong>s over summer. This<br />
black-tie, <strong>member</strong>s-only affair has featured<br />
an impressive roll call of speakers since<br />
inception in 1994 and the 2011 edition<br />
maintained the high standard.<br />
Former Marylebone secretary and current<br />
SACA CEO Keith Bradshaw proposed the toast<br />
to cricket and few could be better qualified<br />
to respond than Greg Chappell, Australian<br />
captain, champion batsman, international<br />
coach and now charged with talent<br />
identification for <strong>Cricket</strong> Australia.<br />
Bradshaw, a Tasmanian who became the<br />
fourteenth secretary in Marylebone’s 224-year<br />
history, was welcomed to the job by The Times<br />
with the headline “The Enemy Within”. Things<br />
got better, however, and he thoroughly<br />
enjoyed his five years at Lord’s.<br />
A favourite story was the day world<br />
champion miler – and the man in charge of<br />
London’s Olympic Games this year – (Lord)<br />
Sebastian Coe was invited as special guest<br />
of the Marylebone president at a Test match.<br />
Alas, Coe turned up at the W.G. Grace Gate<br />
without his passes.<br />
He tried explaining the situation to the<br />
attendant but his pleas fell on deaf ears. No<br />
ticket, no entry was the stoic gateman’s firm<br />
position despite Coe’s many attempts to<br />
identify himself. Time was running out when<br />
finally came: “Well, if you are who you say you<br />
are, it won’t take you long to nick around to<br />
the North Gate and buy a ticket to get in.”<br />
Greg Chappell roamed far and wide in<br />
recounting many fascinating tales of his<br />
career which included his first Test, at the<br />
WACA. Ian Redpath was in full flight (171 in<br />
484 minutes) despite John Snow bowling at<br />
his furious best.<br />
A.P. Sheahan, batting at six, had been run<br />
out for two, so there was no nervous wait for<br />
Chappell, who followed. But it took him 48<br />
minutes to record his first run, courtesy of<br />
a courageous shielding job by the intrepid<br />
“Redders”, who took the brunt of Snow’s<br />
onslaught. Greg proceeded to make 108<br />
on debut.<br />
Touching on the dearth of post-Warne<br />
spinners, Chappell noted that since World<br />
War II only three spinners have taken 200 Test<br />
wickets. “They’re hard to find.” On the game<br />
generally, he said cricket’s great challenge<br />
was to get the three formats in balance. “I<br />
can’t think of any other sport that manages<br />
three formats at the highest level.”<br />
The Members’ Dinner was surrounded by a<br />
luncheon for <strong>new</strong> 50-year <strong>member</strong>s (see page<br />
17) and two <strong>functions</strong> to accommodate our<br />
growing band of 50-year <strong>member</strong>s and their<br />
guests. The combined attendance was 600<br />
and we now have nearly 2800 on the 50-year<br />
list, which has doubled since 2005.<br />
Sports of all sorts were well represented.<br />
Former The Age chief football writer Ron<br />
Carter was there, as was Bill Woodfull’s<br />
biographer Alan Gregory. Also saddling up<br />
were racing’s John Dillon and Rod Johnson.<br />
But perhaps the star of the <strong>functions</strong> was<br />
lawn bowler Roy Komode, who had turned 95<br />
a week earlier and had clocked up 501 games<br />
for MCC to that point! For many years Roy<br />
organised the Wednesday social bowls<br />
competition for the club.<br />
The Boxing Day Breakfast in the Members<br />
Dining Room ushered in the start of the Test<br />
for around 450 <strong>member</strong>s and guests. Former<br />
Indian all-rounder and ESPN TV commentator<br />
Ravi Shastri gave us an entertaining insight<br />
into Indian cricket, while arenas manager<br />
Cameron Hodgkins took a short break<br />
from drying out the outfield to explain the<br />
intricacies of pitch preparation. MC Damien<br />
Fleming and impersonator Andrew Startin<br />
added plenty of humour to the occasion.<br />
On day two of the Test, the Women in<br />
<strong>Cricket</strong> Breakfast was again ably hosted by<br />
Angela Pippos. Former Pakistan great Wasim<br />
Akram put on quite a show for the audience,<br />
including signing a cricket bat which was<br />
auctioned for charity. Vic Spirit captain Emma<br />
Inglis and young superstar Meg Lanning also<br />
took part in proceedings.<br />
The Australia Day Luncheon this year<br />
featured one of the country’s most feted<br />
sportsmen, Australia II skipper John<br />
Bertrand, who wrested the America’s Cup<br />
from the Yanks in 1983.<br />
Currently chairman of the Sport Australia<br />
Hall of Fame (which is housed at the National<br />
Sports Museum), Bertrand spoke of the<br />
critical role mateship and vision had played in<br />
his crew’s success. He traced the thinking that<br />
led to this most unlikely of victories.<br />
The skipper had already competed at two<br />
Olympics and noted how virtually every sport<br />
improved over the four-year span. “So we<br />
decided to try to do what we thought might be<br />
possible in 20 years’ time,” he told us. Hence<br />
the famous winged keel designed by the<br />
brilliant Ben Lexcen.<br />
In a thoughtful delivery, mateship was an<br />
overriding theme, referencing our resilience<br />
from fires, floods and so on. “People from<br />
elsewhere can’t believe how tough we are,”<br />
he said, recalling that his Australia II crew<br />
<strong>member</strong>s were heroes during a period of<br />
drought and recession.<br />
The Australia Day Luncheon in the Long<br />
Room at the MCG is a fine initiative by our<br />
volunteers who agree with Bertrand that sport<br />
is such a unifying aspect of everyday life. The<br />
link between our national day and the<br />
cathedral of sport is a given.<br />
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MCC NEWS<br />
19
FUNCTION NEWS<br />
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Young Members’ Anzac Eve Ball returns<br />
The club’s most popular event for young <strong>member</strong>s, the annual Anzac<br />
Eve Ball, will be held on April 24 in the Members Dining Room.<br />
The evening includes pre-dinner drinks and a three-course dinner with<br />
beverages, followed by a night of reflection, entertainment and dancing.<br />
Members and guests aged 18-40 are eligible to attend and there is<br />
a limit of four guests per <strong>member</strong>.<br />
Bookings open on March 5, so we suggest you move quickly to<br />
secure a table.<br />
MCG FOOTY SEASON<br />
LAUNCH LUNCHEON<br />
WHEN: Wednesday March 28<br />
TIME:<br />
12.00pm for 12.30pm<br />
WHERE:<br />
Members Dining Room<br />
COST:<br />
$90 (<strong>member</strong>s) and<br />
$100 (guests)<br />
YOUNG MEMBERS’<br />
ANZAC EVE BALL<br />
WHEN: Tuesday April 24<br />
TIME:<br />
7.00pm for 7.45pm<br />
WHERE:<br />
Members Dining Room<br />
COST:<br />
$100 (<strong>member</strong>s)<br />
$115 (guests)<br />
FUNCTIONS CALENDAR<br />
DAY DATE FUNCTION VENUE<br />
Wednesday March 28 MCG Footy Season Launch Luncheon Members Dining Room<br />
Saturday April 14 MFC/MCC Game Day Function (Rich v Melb) Jim Stynes Room<br />
Thursday April 19 Long Room Dinner with Shannon Bennett Long Room<br />
Friday April 20 Comedy Blockbuster at the ’G Members Dining Room<br />
Tuesday April 24 Young Members’ Anzac Eve Ball Members Dining Room<br />
Saturday May 19 Young Members’ Footy Function (Ess v Rich) Hans Ebeling Room<br />
Sunday May 27 MFC/MCC Game Day Function (Carl v Melb) Jim Stynes Room<br />
Tuesday June 5 Norm Smith Oration Members Dining Room<br />
Saturday June 23 Young Members’ Footy Function (Coll v WCE) Hans Ebeling Room<br />
Friday July 6 Comedy @ the ’G (Carl v Coll) Hans Ebeling Room<br />
Saturday July 7 MFC/MCC Game Day Function (Melb v Rich) Jim Stynes Room<br />
Saturday July 14 Women in Football Luncheon Committee Room<br />
Saturday July 21 Young Members’ Footy Function (Coll v Haw) Hans Ebeling Room<br />
Saturday August 11 MFC/MCC Game Day Function (St Kil v Melb) Jim Stynes Room<br />
Wednesday August 15 Annual General Meeting Members Dining Room<br />
Friday August 24 Comedy @ the ’G (Rich v Ess) Hans Ebeling Room<br />
Monday August 27 The Bradman Luncheon Members Dining Room<br />
Monday September 24 Sporting Sections Grand Final Week Luncheon Members Dining Room<br />
Monday September 24 Brownlow Dinner with the Coodabeens Members Dining Room<br />
Friday September 28 Members’ Dining – Grand Final Eve Members Dining Room<br />
For bookings and the latest information on club <strong>functions</strong>, please visit mcc.org.au or contact the club on (03) 9657 8888.<br />
20 MCC NEWS
FUNCTION NEWS<br />
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Anthony “Lehmo” Lehmann, Denise Scott,<br />
Trevor Marmalade, Brian Nankervis and<br />
Greg Champion will perform at the Comedy<br />
Blockbuster at the ’G on April 20.<br />
COMEDY BLOCKBUSTER<br />
AT THE ’G<br />
WHEN: Friday April 20<br />
TIME:<br />
8.00pm<br />
WHERE:<br />
Members Dining Room<br />
COST:<br />
$40 (<strong>member</strong>s)<br />
$45 (guests)<br />
Vue de Monde comes to the Long Room<br />
Be spoilt by acclaimed Australian chef<br />
Shannon Bennett’s culinary delights<br />
as he and his team at Vue de Monde<br />
design and prepare a magnificent<br />
three-course meal for <strong>member</strong>s and<br />
guests in the Long Room on April 19.<br />
Members may bring one guest and they’ll<br />
enjoy a three-course dinner and canapés,<br />
with matching wines for each course.<br />
A booking period will be open from<br />
Monday March 5 at 9.00am until Thursday<br />
March 8 at 5.00pm. Should bookings<br />
exceed capacity, a ballot will be conducted.<br />
There is an MCG link with this worldclass<br />
restaurant which began in 2005 when<br />
Shannon and his team moved to their Little<br />
Collins Street premises. Keen on cricket,<br />
the culinary maestro used old seating<br />
timber from the Ponsford Stand for flooring<br />
and two central tables were a feature of the<br />
restaurant, replete with seat numbers<br />
from the old pews.<br />
And as a youngster he tried out for the<br />
MCC Dowling Shield team, being driven<br />
to and from practice regularly by the<br />
unforgettable Clive Fairbairn.<br />
Now quartered with spectacular views<br />
in the Rialto building, the restaurateur<br />
promises a fine dining experience not<br />
to be missed!<br />
LONG ROOM DINNER<br />
WITH SHANNON BENNETT<br />
WHEN: Thursday April 19<br />
TIME:<br />
6.45pm<br />
WHERE:<br />
Long Room<br />
COST:<br />
$160 (<strong>member</strong>s)<br />
$170 (guests)<br />
STOP PRESS – NORM SMITH ORATION<br />
After the success of the inaugural Norm Smith Oration last year,<br />
this major football function will return on Tuesday June 5 in the<br />
Members Dining Room.<br />
Essendon champion and current coach James Hird has agreed<br />
to propose the toast to football. AFL commissioner and former<br />
trade union chief Bill Kelty will respond.<br />
Further details about the function will be published on the<br />
club’s website as soon as they become available.<br />
MCC NEWS<br />
21
MEMBERS’ NEWS<br />
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Are you MCC’s<br />
best footy tipster?<br />
The MCC website’s AFL tipping<br />
competition gives <strong>member</strong>s a chance<br />
to pit their tipping skills against fellow<br />
<strong>member</strong>s and win some great prizes.<br />
Last year’s winner Mark McCluskey will<br />
no doubt be keen to return to the winner’s<br />
podium, but there is bound to be plenty of<br />
opposition. While the final prize list was<br />
still being confirmed as our deadline<br />
approached, you can be assured the list<br />
of goodies on offer will be enticing.<br />
Entry is free and registrations is open<br />
to all MCC <strong>member</strong>s from March 1.<br />
Re<strong>member</strong>, you’ll need a valid email<br />
address in order to register. Simply visit<br />
www.mcc.org.au and log in with your user<br />
name and password to be taken to the<br />
tipping registration page. (If you have yet to<br />
create your login details, you’ll need to do<br />
this on the website first.)<br />
Almost 3000 <strong>member</strong>s took part in last<br />
year’s competition and we hope to exceed<br />
that number in 2012. Good luck to all those<br />
who enter.<br />
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22 MCC NEWS
MEMBERS’ NEWS<br />
Many <strong>member</strong>s<br />
honoured on<br />
Australia Day<br />
The Governor of Victoria, Mr Alex<br />
Chernov, led a strong contingent of<br />
MCC <strong>member</strong>s honoured on Australia Day.<br />
Awarded the AC for services to education<br />
and the judiciary, Mr Chernov has been<br />
a <strong>member</strong> for more than 25 years.<br />
Appointed to the Supreme Court in 1997<br />
after a distinguished career as a barrister,<br />
he was elevated to the Court of Appeal<br />
in the following year. His considerable<br />
contribution to education included terms<br />
as deputy chancellor and chancellor of the<br />
University of <strong>Melbourne</strong> from 2004-10.<br />
Rex Harcourt, whose work as honorary<br />
research librarian of the club for 20 years<br />
from the late 1970s was invaluable, joined<br />
his son and fellow <strong>member</strong> Peter, a sports<br />
medicine innovator, as an OAM.<br />
Rex was honoured for his services<br />
as an author, researcher and historian,<br />
particularly of the founding and early days<br />
of <strong>Melbourne</strong> and Victoria.<br />
Notably a co-author of <strong>Cricket</strong> Walkabout,<br />
a significant work that traces Aboriginal<br />
cricketers of the 1860s and their pioneering<br />
touring team to England in 1868, Rex very<br />
generously donated his personal collection<br />
of 550 books and reference papers to the<br />
MCC Library in 2006.<br />
Also among the OAM recipients were<br />
prominent XXIX Club <strong>member</strong> Jack<br />
Huxtable (for services to Australian Rules<br />
football and the community of Morwell)<br />
and Malcolm Daubney, whose contribution<br />
over 40 years to Vision Australia and its<br />
work for the blind and vision impaired has<br />
been outstanding. Malcolm is a Long Room<br />
Wine and Food Society <strong>member</strong>.<br />
MCC <strong>member</strong>s honour roll<br />
AC (General Division)<br />
CHERNOV, Hon Justice Alex<br />
AO (General Division)<br />
MACINTYRE, Professor Stuart Forbes<br />
NEWTON, Stephen Hibbert<br />
UREN, William James<br />
AM (General Division)<br />
CAPP, William Barrett<br />
HUGHES, James Forrest<br />
MEREDITH, Ian Thomas<br />
RENARD, Ian Andrew<br />
STEWART, Robert James<br />
STREET, Edward Richard<br />
WITTNER, David<br />
OAM (General Division)<br />
ARTHUR, John Bernard<br />
BARROW, Brian Stirtevant<br />
CLINCH, Norma Veronica<br />
COLEMAN, Murray Leslie<br />
DAUBNEY, Malcolm Carey<br />
HANSEN, Peter<br />
HARCOURT, Arnold Rex<br />
HUXTABLE, Jack<br />
KOSTOS, Loula<br />
PAYNE, Thomas<br />
POLLOCK, Robert James<br />
RANDALL, Brian Charles<br />
VESM (Victoria Emergency Services Medal)<br />
LOVELL, Gary John<br />
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MCC NEWS<br />
23
MEMBERS’ NEWS<br />
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Vale, Peter Wallis<br />
It is with much sadness that<br />
the club advises that events<br />
staff <strong>member</strong> Peter Wallis<br />
passed away in late-February<br />
after a lengthy battle with cancer.<br />
Many of our 50-year <strong>member</strong>s k<strong>new</strong><br />
Peter well. He was a regular host in the<br />
John Landy Room, for many years looking<br />
after the needs of our 50-year <strong>member</strong>s and<br />
guests on match days. He was extremely<br />
well liked and respected for the wonderful,<br />
caring and efficient service he provided.<br />
He will be sadly missed by his colleagues<br />
at the MCC and all 50-year <strong>member</strong>s who<br />
attend matches at the ground.<br />
24 MCC NEWS