Front Row Seats to Australia's Sporting History

The membership of the Sydney Cricket Ground is held in high esteem, carries a wait of more than 13 years and is seen by many as a great privilege. The SCG Museum preserves an almost complete set of membership tickets and badges dating from the early 1880s to current times. In this exhibit, a selection of the collection is highlighted along with a brief history that has led to these unique items becoming collectable commodities.

Fees for membership returned to the previous sum of £2.2s, or two guineas. This included two ladies' tickets as pictured with a love heart design and the signature of SCG secretary SH Fairland.

These sketches show the initial designs for the SCG's first metal membership badges. They were produced by Sidney Herbert Fairland, the ground's secretary from 1884 to 1913. His handwritten notes propose colour combinations and layout of the badge's design.

These minutes of a February 1974 meeting of Trustees note that women be admitted as members in their own right. Prior to 1974, full membership was offered only to men. Women were admitted to the ground on ladies tickets, now known as guest passes.

A new dual venue gold membership was launched in 1986 to raise money for the construction of the original Sydney Football Stadium (opened in 1988). Gold members paid a larger joining fee, had access rights at the SCG and SFS, bypassing the lengthy waitlist.