1879 Night Footy at the "G"
The novelty of electricity was first sighted in Melbourne in 1867 when the incumbent Duke of Edinburgh visited Melbourne and five public buildings were lit for the occasion with the new medium.
The unsophisticated techniques of the time saw the carbon points of the apparatus rapidly burn out and heat and fumes of the combustion proven unpleasant - "We see little practical value in electricity yet - although it may have some future potential". (The Age, November 12, 1867)
By 1878, the first rudimentary light bulbs had been invented. Credit is popularly given to the American inventor, Thomas Edison, but in fact Edison's work was pre-dated by some 16 or 17 years by Joseph Swan in England. Despite the creation of one of the most common household items of today, it was the availability of carbon arc lighting that saw the first faltering steps towards sporting events under lights.
Alf Batchelder's "Pavilions in the Park" suggests that in December of 1878, a member of the M.C.C. Committee, George Gibson, was given use of the Ground "for the purpose of playing a cricket match under the Electric Light" but there is no evidence that a match took place.
In June and July of the following year, public interest in the new lighting medium was again stimulated, this time by a series of lectures "all packed to the doors" given by Mr. R. J. Ellery, the Government Astronomer where "... he illustrated his remarks with diagrams and experiments, the latter being arranged and conducted by Lieutenant Draper". (The Australasian, July 26, 1879)
Around the same time, the leading weekly journal reported the M.C.C. Committee had received an application from a Professor Pepper to play football "by electric light" after reports appeared in the Melbourne press of a night match played in New Zealand. The game was scheduled for August 5, when "a grand military football match will be played".
Whether "Professor Pepper" was really a "Professor" or even "Pepper" is not entirely certain. He claimed to be a member of the Royal Polytechnic Institute of London and while in Melbourne specialised in giving public lectures (admission from a shilling down to threepence for back stall seats) at which he gave "semi-scientific lectures in which amusement and instruction were happily blended". (The Argus, April 30, 1880).
For reasons unknown, Pepper was not able to make good on his plans.
Peter Pindar, Melbourne's leading football writer suggested before the cancellation the demonstration would "doubtless draw a big crowd" and "it would be better if football ore important part - say a match between the two leading metropolitan clubs" (then Melbourne and Carlton).
The following week, The Australasian announced that the keenly awaited demonstration of the new lighting would now be presented with "the considerable experience of Lieutenant Draper". Batchelder, with access to the M.C.C. Minute Books and other records, reveals the committee offered Draper a guarantee of £100 and "half the net proceeds of the gate and stands".
Pindar's first two predictions were to prove true, but his ideas on the teams proved remarkably wide of the mark.
The "GRAND EXHIBITION of the ELECTRIC LIGHT" as the historic event was billed was played between two "scratch" teams drawn from two of Melbourne's volunteer groups, the East Melbourne Artillery Corps and the Collingwood Rifle Corps - both well-known in military circles, but virtually unheard of so far as football prowess was concerned.
Despite the obscurity of the teams, the match proved an irresistible curiosity for the football public .
"The match by electric light was a great result in point of financial result and attendance, the latter numbering about 8,000 paying members, and another 10,000 outside on the free list, but from a light point of view, and football too, it was not so good, the illuminating being scarcely sufficient and its distribution hardly so judicious as it might have been - another light equal to 7,000 candles, we believe that used on the Gipps Land railway works, will increase the light by 50% for another match between Carlton and Melbourne on Tuesday evening next". (Peter Pindar, The Australasian, August 9, 1879)
The military teams drew with three goals each and returned a profit to the M.C.C. of round £149 (although not revealed at the time, presumably the Volunteers received a similar amount with Draper's £100 covering the set-up costs of what must have been an extensive exercise in logistics).
The clash "under the Electric Light" between the great rivals of the time in Carlton and Melbourne match was heavily advertised, but the general public seems to have been somewhat less enthusiastic than Pindar and the match proved a major disappointment.
Melbourne's weather seems to have changed little over the last hundred and twenty odd years and our modern appreciation of electricity at the flick of a switch may be a little premature.
On a cold and foggy night, Draper and his fellow "electricians" had to stoke a steam engine for an hour, the crowd being left to shiver in darkness until a somewhat feeble light finally penetrated the gloom at around 8.30 and "sixteen each of CarIton and Melbourne took the field and a motley crew they were, scarcely two of a side being similarly attired".
The players used a ball painted white which was moderately successful, but after about five minutes, it blew up and play continued with a tan-coloured ball that was difficult to see except when the ball passed under a bank of lights. Carlton's star George Coulthard kicked a goal with the coloured ball, and soon after, another white ball was produced to the relief of the players, spectators and undoubtedly the promoters. The Navy Blues adapted to the murky conditions scoring three goals (one with the tan ball and two with the replacement white) to Melbourne's solitary score. After the windfall of the Volunteers match, the M.C.C suffered a small loss on the second match, despite matches between the two leading teams usually attracting between 7,000 and 10,000 at the time.
Perhaps significantly, none of the contemporary press reports included crowd estimates. Some histories of the two games have suggested that they hosted the first commercial use of electricity in Melbourne, but this is not correct - arc light electricity having been used for night work at, oddly enough, a candle factory in Footscray in 1877.
The question that has puzzled casual historians over the years is, of course, just how or why did two teams from the Volunteer Corps feature in such a ground-breaking match?
Footnotes
Check out just why the military teams featured here.
Comments
This article does not contain any comments.
Login to leave a comment.