20 December 1870: The first intervarsity Cricket match and Boat race between the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney occurs in Melbourne. Melbourne win both matches.
2020 marked 150 years of intervarsity sport at the University of Melbourne. The state of affairs in the world prevented us from coming together to celebrate this milestone in 2020, however, 2021 featured a range of events to mark the anniversary.
Plans were in place to celebrate the milestone throughout 2021 with a packed intervarsity calendar that commenced in March 2021 with the Aon Uni 7’s Series, the PAC6 Tennis competition, the new University Basketball League and the Big Blue rivalry with Monash, where our 150th anniversary logo was proudly displayed, and history of intervarsity sport celebrated.
The 2021 Australian Boat Race and a T20 Cricket match with the University of Sydney were also held in October 2021 which provided a platform for the two universities to celebrate the inaugural competitions from 1870, while all Melbourne teams will celebrated the milestone at the 2021 UniSport Australia events, such as Uni Nationals.
We also hosted a gala event in the second half of 2021 for intervarsity sporting alumni.
On our dedicated 150th page, we’re looking to reconnect with our sporting alumni as we celebrate the milestone throughout 2021. If you have ever competed for the University of Melbourne, we want to hear from you.
Click here to let us know what sports and years you donned the University blue to help us build a robust database of the last 150 years. We would also appreciate your help in passing this link to other alumni you know who also represented the University.
Taken from The Ties That Bind: A History of Sport at the University of Melbourne by June E. Senyard (excerpt here)