YESTERDAY'S WOMEN

The convicts of Macquarie Harbour.

Jessie Street

How many people play hockey in Australia? There are close to 80 000 registered players with the two main bodies. And then there are those playing at schools and other places that do not require registration. A lot isn't it? Have you ever wondered how hockey got started in Australia? Well there is one woman who played a big part in the early development of the sport.

Her name, at the time, was Jessie Mary Gray Lillingston. Born in north-eastern India on 18 April in 1889 she was the oldest of Mabel and Charles Lillingston's three children. Jessie spent her first seven years living in India until her mother inherited a cattle property on the Clarence River in New South Wales.

The family returned to Australia and moved into their new home 'Yulgibar'. Here Jessie, as she grew up, spent much of her time swimming in the river with local Aboriginal children. She became a strong swimmer and learnt to hold her breath under water for long periods of time just like her companions. This was excellent training for her future sporting activities.

Jessie was educated at home by a governess but much preferred to be out on horseback mustering cattle than sitting inside learning her lessons. Despite this she did well enough to gain entry to an exclusive girls' school in England. This allowed her to continue with her physical activities, but now in organised sport, which was a compulsory part of the students’ education. Here she took part in lacrosse, hockey, tennis and golf.

Jessie was accepted at the University of Sydney where she embarked on an Arts degree in 1908. Keen to continue with her sporting interest Jessie was disappointed when she found the university only had tennis courts. There were no other sporting facilities. She was not alone in her dismay as she hooked up with other women who came from similar backgrounds in school sports. They joined the women’s tennis club where they worked on improving the standards of playing conditions.

Not content with this Jessie went about forming a hockey club. Fifteen women joined up but this was not enough to play a proper game, so men were invited to become part of the club and Jessie coached the team. She was also captain of the side. At this time there was not a men’s team at the university.

The next problem was getting somewhere to train and play. The men’s sports union refused to allow women to practice on the university oval. The union was so sexist that they called the women hockey players the 'Newtown tarts' referring to the suburb of Newtown and its working class background. Not to be deterred the hockey club hired an oval outside the university grounds.

Around this time the New South Wales Women’s Hockey Association was formed and the University Women’s Hockey Club became affiliated with them in 1909. Jessie was appointed selector and honorary secretary of the state team. When the first New South Wales team was picked to tour Melbourne in September of 1909 Jessie was selected to play as the team’s centre forward.

It was not an easy achievement playing in the required uniform of the day. The skirts the players wore were just over 15 centimetres shorter than those worn in public but still this was well below the knee.

There were four sporting clubs at the University of Sydney, hockey, tennis, swimming and athletics, with hockey the most popular. These sports were now played in most universities and in 1910 Sydney’s four joined forces to form the Women’s Sports Union with Jessie as the honorary secretary. One of their first tasks was to have a ground made available for the hockey and tennis clubs. This was achieved and they had change rooms, with showers. They also introduced a sports blazer in the university colours.

But they continued to battle the men’s team who wanted to take over their ground. The men then suggested that they amalgamate with the women but due to unfair voting rights this was rejected.

At the same time hockey was gaining strength in other states and went on to become one of Australia’s top sports. During her time at the University of Sydney Jessie played a big part of the development of the sport into what it is today.

While at university Jessie became engaged to law student Kenneth Street and they later married in a secret ceremony. From here Jessie's life took off in a different direction but that is another story all together.

* See Bonzer! archives, issue 44, June 2005, Cascades Female Factory.