There was a report of a Melbourne Association lacrosse team that played the combined Bendigo and Sandhurst teams on Monday May 24, 1886 in the Upper Reserve Bendigo (The Bendigo Adevertiser May 22, 1886, p.3). But this was not the MCC. The MCC Lacrosse section was established in 1896 so any Bendigo v MCC match must take place in 1896 or thereafter.
It also seems that after the 1880s lacrosse in Bendigo went into hiatus until the late 1900s. It appears that a match between Canada and Victoria at the Upper Reserve, Bendigo on August 14, 1907 reignited interest in lacrosse in the city. The Bendigo Advertiser of Wednesday July 22, 1907 covered the visit of L.B. Gordon from the Victorian Lacrosse Association to Bendigo. Gordon met with the Mayor and representatives of the Bendigo Football Association to arrange the Canada v Victoria lacrosse exhibition match. The report included the following, “He [Mr. Barnett – one of the reps for the Bendigo Football Association] hoped that this game [lacrosse] would be started again in Bendigo, and that if this were done, it could be played prior to football , matches.” At the time of this 1907 match there appears to be no lacrosse teams in Bendigo. The Melbourne Argus of August 15, 1907 noted: “The final score was Canada 16 goals Victoria 5. The Victorians' weakness lay in want of combined play and poor defence in goal. As the outcome of the match, there is every prospect of lacrosse teams being formed in Bendigo.”
The following Autumn The Bendigo Advertiser of Wednesday April 29, 1908 noted: “All interested in athletics will learn with interest that lacrosse—the world-famous North American game—has been started in Bendigo. A movement is on foot to start several chubs, which will jointly be known as the Bendigo Lacrosse Association. To this end all interested in the game are invited to a meeting to-morrow (Thursday) evening at 8 p.m. in the Y.M.C.A. rooms, A.M.P. Buildings, View Point...”
It seems the Bendigo Lacrosse Club was established by 1909. The Bendigo Advertiser of Wednesday May 31, 1909 noted: “Lacrosse. This scientific winter sport, is obtaining a firm footing in Bendigo. Last year the Y.M.C.A. formed a club and enrolled 30 members. This season two distinct clubs are in the field, and there is every possibility of another, Webster's cricket team being in the running. On Wednesday last the first match for the season was contested on the Upper Reserve between the newly-formed Bendigo Lacrosse Club and the local branch of the Y.M.C.A. Although the latter won by a...”
On July 21, 1909 the Melbourne Cricket Club lacrosse team visited Bendigo and played a combined team of the Bendigo Lacrosse Association on the Upper Reserve (see The Bendigo Advertiser July 21, 1909, page 3). The Melbourne Cricket Club Annual Report of 1908/09 (page 27) noted: “With a view of fostering the game of Lacrosse in Bendigo, a representative M.C.C. team visited that city during the [1909] season and played a combined district team, winning by 17 goals to 3. The trip proved most enjoyable, thanks to the hospitality of the Bendigo Lacrosse Association.”
Investigated by Trevor Ruddell MCC Library 2013