Here is a bit of sporting trivia that comes from a discussion that was getting off topic in another area - does anybody know 1) what is the oldest played for sporting trophy in Australia 2) what is that sport 3) where is it now played ? Don't look up the answer before you have a crack because it may come as a bit of a surprise to a lot of you sporting gurus..
For those who haven't looked up the answer and why it's so unusual is because of the sport and where it's played -
Australian football commenced in Newcastle in 1883 the game had been brought to the Newcastle coalfields by ex gold miners from the Victorian fields especially Ballarat. When the VFA who were then responsible for running the game in Victoria heard about the strength of the game up in the Newcastle coalfields they commissioned a cup to be made. The "Black Diamond Cup" was presented to the NAFL in 1887 with black diamond being a reference to the coal. In those days anyone could challenge the holders for the cup which is now displayed in the Newcastle Regional Museum. Each year the cup is taken out and presented to the winner of the Black Diamond League (Newcastle/Central Coast AFL competition) then immediately returned to it's place in the museum. The competition was stopped in 1894 due to a depression and the resulting lack of funds it didn't really get going again until the NAFL league recommenced in 1948.
Whats really interesting is that a representative team made up of players from this pre 1900 competition actually beat Queensland, an English Rugby Touring side and a Maori Rugby touring side. In the 1880/90s Victorian teams such as Fitzroy and Port Melbourne also played games here. The Sydney Swans and the Western Sydney Giants maybe be happy with playing for a flag but we have a far more valuable 130 year old trophy to play for just up the road.
Correct DMaxer but the oldest sporting event was not the question i.e. What is the oldest played for sporting trophy in Australia ?
The small ceramic urn that reputedly holds the ashes of a wooden cricket ball has never been the official trophy of the ashes series. This urn was a gift given by a group of Melbourne women to the English Touring team captain Ivo Bligh in 1882/83 after England had beaten Australia in the series. It was in reference to what had been written by the English press the previous season about English cricket being cremated and the ashes taken back to Australia after we had beaten them for the first time in a test match at the Oval. The 1882/83 tour was jokingly being referred to by the English press as the quest to get those ashes back. The urn was donated to the MCC by Iva Blighs' widow in 1927 and is now permanently kept in their museum.
Don't know much about The Stawell Gift but as far as I know it has been a professional foot race held each year in Victoria since 1878 for prize money. I don't believe that they gave a trophy to the winner and even if they did it whether it is the same one that has been presented to every winner for the last 130 odd years ?
