Melbourne Cricket Club: Membership Medallions

The medallions were introduced as a replacement for the membership tickets previously used to access the Members’ Pavilion at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

To gain access to the Pavilion, members were required to have their membership medallions visible to ground attendants, usually by attaching the medallion cord to a lapel, or belt loop.

The first membership badges of 1901/02 were designed and created by Bowman & Co of London.

They featured the unofficial “Advance Australia” coat of arms, popularised in the lead up to Australian Federation in 1901.

For subsequent medallions, the design was tendered out annually to manufacturers.

In the 1902/03 season a design by Mr Ashman of J.R. Gaunt & Sons in London was selected, producing a highly decorative gold and enamel badge.

These badges were the first to be dated, and to feature the Melbourne Cricket Club cypher.

Thomas Stokes & Sons designed medallions for the 1903/04 and 1904/05 seasons, becoming the first Australian manufacturer of MCC medallions.

This tradition of supporting local manufacturers remained in place until the membership medallions were discontinued.

Each year, the Club would welcome medallion design submissions from various medal and trophy manufacturers, before taking a final selection to a Committee vote.

Over the seasons, the designs of MCC membership medallions changed significantly, making each a unique souvenir.

Although the first medallions were introduced for Club members in 1901, Honorary Life Membership medallions had previously been produced, for those persons awarded by the Club.

Honorary Life Membership was introduced in 1881 as a means of recognising individual members who had made a significant contribution to the Club.

The design of Honorary Life Membership medallions has remained the same since the first medallions were created by Kilpatrick & Co in 1881.

Each medallion is handmade by a goldsmith, and today includes "Melbourne Cricket Club" engraved on the front and the recipient's name and year of appointment on the back.

Prior to the advent of Honorary Life Membership medallions, a limited number of Life Membership medallions were struck by the Club, and were available for purchase.

These paid-for Life Membership medallions came as a response to the discovery that the Club was £350 in debt, in 1860.

Members paid £10 (at the time, the equivalent of five years subscription) to purchase a Life Membership. There was a limit of 31 Life Members.

These purchased Life Membership medallions were discontinued by the Club in 1898.

Membership badges have long been collectible items and several collections have been donated over the years to the MCC Museum.

It was common for members to pass on the retired years' badges to family, which became treasured mementos handed down through the generations.

Retired badges were often altered for other uses, such as lapel buttons or as waistcoat fobs.

One of the more unusual second uses for these medallions was being converted into ladies hat pins, such as the one shown here. The early twentieth century was the peak era for extraordinarily large ladies hats. Hats spanning three feet or more were not uncommon, so a good hat pin was a necessity.

Other retired medallions were made use of around the house.

This silver teaspoon has been crafted to incorporate an MCC medallion into the handle.

The final membership badges were issued to MCC Members for the 1990/91 season.

Membership medallions were replaced by a barcoded membership card for the 1991/92 season.

This enduring medallion was presented to members following the discontinuation of membership medallions. It is purely symbolic, and carries no rights or privileges, but does continue the tradition of a membership medallion.