Ten things you almost definitely didn’t know about The Melbourne Cricket Ground… and if you did, you’re a certified sports nut.
Everything there is to know about one of Australia’s most treasured sporting arenas? We assure you, the beloved “G" has plenty of secrets, and we’re here to divulge just a few…
1. The record crowd crammed into the ground was more than 130,000 – but not for a sporting event. It was for a religious event led by Billy Graham in 1959.
2. The G holds the world record for having the highest light towers.
3. The Melbourne Cricket Club had to move from their original ground because the government decided to plan a route for a steam railway straight through their oval.
4. While best known for cricket, the MCG also holds the record for the highest attended baseball match, which happened during the 1956 Olympic Games.
5. The incomparable Don Bradman averaged a whopping 128 runs per Test innings at the MCG.
6. During the first ever cricket game held there, there was a dispute, with the NSW team insisting, as visitors, that they had the right to choose whether to bat or field first.
7. In 1977, Australia played England at the ground to celebrate 100 years of Test cricket. Remarkably, the result was the same as in the first clash – Australia winning by 100 runs.
8. During WWII, the ground was taken over by US troops and nicknamed “Camp Murphy."
9. The wickets and goalposts originally ran from east to west, but were changed so that it was north to south in 1881.
10. Though looking nothing like a velodrome, the first bicycle race in Victoria was held at the ground in July 1869.
The passionate community that saved Bendigo Tramways has kept the story of this city alive for generations.
It was an absolute steal: a fleet of 23 trams for just $1. But such a fortunate purchase didn’t happen easily. It was 1972 when the Bendigo Trust handed over a single buck for the city’s historic collection of battery, steam and electric trams, which had transported locals since 1890.
Bendigo Tramways is a historic transport line turned tourist service. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)
The city’s tram network had been declared defunct since 1970 due to post-war shortages in materials to upkeep the trams and declining passenger numbers as motor vehicles were increasing. However, determined locals would not hear of their beloved trams being sold off around the world.
The Bendigo Trust was enlisted to preserve this heritage, by converting the trams into a tourist service. The Victorian government approved a trial, however news spread that the Australian Electric Tramways Museum in Adelaide had acquired one of the streetcars for its collection.
A tram on its way to Quarry Hill in 1957. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)
An impassioned group rallied together to make this physically impossible. Breaking into the tram sheds, they welded iron pipes to the rails, removed carbon brushes from the motors, and formed a blockade at the depot. The community response was extraordinary, and a $1 deal was sealed.
A new chapter for the city’s fleet
The old Tramways Depot and Workshop is one of the stops on the hop-on, hop-off service. (Image: Tourism Australia)
Today, Bendigo Tramways welcomes some 40,000 passengers annually, operating as a hop-on, hop-off touring service aboard the restored trams. Fifteen of the now 45-strong fleet are dubbed ‘Talking Trams’ because of the taped commentary that is played along the route. The trams loop between Central Deborah Gold Mine and the Bendigo Joss House Temple, which has been a place of Chinese worship since 1871, via other sites including the old Tramways Depot and Workshop.
The fleet comprises 45 trams that have been restored. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)
Keeping things interesting, throughout the year visitors can step aboard different themed trams. Tram No. 302 becomes the Yarn Bomb Tram, decorated both inside and out with colourful crochet by an anonymous group of locals.
During the festive season, Tram No. 15 operates as a tinsel-festooned Santa Tram, and the big man himself hides out somewhere along the route for excited children to find. And on selected dates, the adults-only Groove Tram runs nighttime tours of the city, accompanied by local musicians playing live tunes and a pop-up bar.
Visitors can hop on and off to see the city’s sites such as the historic post office turned visitor centre. (Image: Tourism Australia)
As well as preserving the city’s history, however, the continuation of the tram service has kept the skills of tram building and craftsmanship alive in a practical sense. Bendigo’s Heritage Rail Workshop is world-renowned for restoring heritage trams and repurposing vehicles in creative ways.
Locally, for example, Tram No. 918 was transformed into the Dja Dja Wurrung Tram with original Aboriginal artworks by emerging artist Natasha Carter, with special commentary and music that shares the stories and traditions of Bendigo’s first people. You can’t put a price on preserving history. Nonetheless, it was a dollar very well spent.
