Bowl the Maidens Over book launch

On 27 November 2021, friends, family and a guests joined me for my debut book launch at an event hosted by City of Greater Bendigo at the historic Bendigo Town Hall. The launch had been cancelled and rescheduled numerous times since June. It’s also taken ages to post! Because of the delay,  I’ve made an extra effort to make this post choc-full of pictures and extra info.

The Bendigo Town Hall was the perfect venue for the launch – I was very lucky indeed. The town hall was built in 1859 and extensively remodelled in the late 1800s, and in 2003 was restored to its original splendour by the City of Greater Bendigo. The venue captured the essence of the period in which Bowl the Maidens Over was set in.

Photos by Paul Sampson, unless otherwise noted. Above photo is courtesy Paula Boer.

Ceiling photo courtesy Rebecca Fraser, pre-launch photo courtesy Paula Boer.

Guests came from Melbourne, regional Victoria and even interstate. One thing’s for certain – Bendigonians really know how to stack on a turn. The room was well set up with refreshments and plenty of exhibits for the guests to look at. Enormous thanks to Jamie Cail from the City of Greater Bendigo for all her organising. The exhibits included many items  of cricket and late 1800s memorabilia. The exhibits were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! My only regret is that I didn’t have more time to look at everything.

The Bendigo Historic Society put on a display of clothing from the late 1800s, and it was a real eye-opener to A) see how small the women were; and B) think about them playing sport in all those long dresses! Women were not only shorter by today’s standards, but a lot more petite! I think I heard these dresses would have been fashioned for a ladies’ size 6 (or was it size 5?). Tiny either way.

Undergarments photo courtesy Rebecca Fraser.

Included in the display was Billy Midwinter’s bat. Midwinter was an Australian cricketer that played in the late 1800s. He had a rather unusual story, with an unfortunate and tragic end. You can read about him briefly here, or in more detail here. It was said that Midwinter leant this bat to his sister to play in the 1875 women’s game. The bat was provided for display by the Eaglehawk Heritage Society.

Stan Cue presented memorabilia from the former VCWA’s 5^th Test of the 1984/85 Bicentennial Ashes Series played at the Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo. Stan was the curator of the ground at the time. Stan also had a mini cricket bat that featured the player signatures.

Peter Scullie had an amazing array of artefacts from the period. I wish I’d been able to have a closer look! The display included books, cricket belt buckles – all the rage in the Goldrush era, apparently –  a skeleton pad, stumps and many other interesting bits and pieces. After the launch, I found a 7NEWS report about Peter’s amazing cricket collection here. Also on display was John Edwards’s bat and a baggy green cap, provided by Tony Edwards. John Edwards was a Bendigonian who played for Victoria and Australia between 1879-1890.

Midwinter's bat (in single glass case) photo courtesy Rebecca Fraser. Other displayed items: Stan Cue's stand, a newspaper clipping of Stan at the ground, a close-up of Stan Cue's mini bat (taken earlier!), Peter Scullie's cabinet, John Edwards's bat and a baggy green cap.

It was a real honour to having the City of Greater Bendigo host the book launch. The speeches by Councillor Mayor Andrea Metcalf and Councillor Margaret O’Rourke ( a former Mayor and also MC of the event), were strong and heartfelt. It was fantastic – and symbolic – to have women leaders launch a book that was about unrecognised women’s endeavours. The speeches reflected a strong sense of connection to and understanding of the Bendigo community, and provided a fascinating history of the Bendigo Town Hall, revealing it was  almost torn down rather than restored.

During the launch, I was truly overwhelmed with how the story of the ‘maidens’ had been embraced by the Bendigo community, and thankful that this piece of history had finally made its way back to such a welcome home.

A special shout out to Dennis Johansen, walking tour guide and pillar of the Bendigo community, who knows so much about local history. If it hadn’t been for Dennis and his introduction to the councillors, there wouldn’t have been a launch like this at all. Dennis was a guest speaker and shared some of his knowledge about Bendigo cricket and his plans for a local cricket museum. Bendigo has a fascinating cricket history and the museum will bring it to light.

Dennis Johanson; Councillor Margaret O'Rourke speaking and guests seated from left: Stephen Cordner, Dennis Johansen, Louise Zedda-Sampson, Mayor Andrea Metcalf.

There were so many other highlights for me at this event. Descendants of the stars of my book, the Rae family, attended the launch.  Stephen Cordner, a direct descendent of Nellie Rae, was a guest speaker and attended the event with his wife Bebe Loff and daughter, Orlanda. Stephen talked about the family’s past, noting they have footage of Nellie Cordner (nee Rae) – when she was in her ’90s – on a reel of film somewhere in the family archives. Fancy that! Footage of one of the first Australian women cricketers. I hope to see it one day.

Rohan Potter was also in attendance with his wife, Wendy. Rohan is a direct descendent of Barbara Rae. Wendy sent me a newspaper article about Barbara, and a picture of her gravestone in Bruthen Cemetery. It was lovely to connect with the descendants of the first women’s games and have them here, 147 years later, to finally share and celebrate their ancestors’ success.

Another descendant of Nellie Rae is Harriet Cordner. Harriet is an Australian women’s footballer, Vice-captain of Richmond football club and granddaughter of Brownlow medallist Don Cordner. As Harriet was unable to attend the launch in person, she kindly put together a few words by video link. Harriet talks about being a female sportsperson and what that means to her, reflecting on points in the book to highlight how things have indeed changed. You can listen to Harriet’s speech here.

From left: Deputy Mayor Matthew Evans, Dennis Johansen, Mayor Andrea Metcalf, Louise Zedda-Sampson, Wendy Potter, Rohan Potter, Councillor Margaret O'Rourke, Stephen Cordner and Orlanda.

Among the guest were Janice Parker (nee Wady) and Anne Gordon (nee Lonsdale), both Australian Test cricketers. Janice Parker played five Test matches for Australia between 1963 and 1969, and Anne Gordon played nine Test matches between 1968 and 1977. Anne was also a Test cricket captain of Australia, and played in the inaugural 1973 World Cup, and was the first Australian captain to lead the team onto the Lords Cricket Ground.

Several members from the Pioneer Victorian Women’s Cricket Association Inc. (the Pioneers) were in attendance, including the president Cath McLeod. The Pioneers have a very interactive Facebook Page full of photos and news items about the rich and sometimes not so well known history of women’s cricket. Through the group and their work they are making the lesser known history more available and recognised.

Group shot, from left: Janice Parker, Anne Gordon, Louise Zedda-Sampson, Roslyn Hyde, Cath McLeod; Janice Parker with the 1800s ladies' dresses; Anne Gordon with Louise Zedda-Sampson.

I was delighted so many people came to be part of the event, especially after all the restrictions. Here are some final photos from the signing.

Signing desk display, photo courtesy Rebecca Fraser.

The book is launched! My husband and I at the end of the day.