Lacrosse on the BIG screen
Thursday May 3, 2012
by Doug Fox
With the release of the new feature lacrosse film http://crookedarrows.com/ starring Brandon Routh (also played Superman) we asked
Doug Fox if we have ever seen Lacrosse on the big screen in
Australia. Well, sure enough, Doug went to great lengths to
get the answer, which in itself was a surprise.
Nowdays we take for granted the opportunity to watch live
televised sport or review past events with the aid of film or video
copies. Camcorder devices are inexpensive and easy to use so
there is plenty of lacrosse footage available for people interested
in seeing what the game looks like.
The showing of animated silent movies in public theatres
commenced in Australia around 1911-12 and lacrosse featured as one
of the early news items in the weekly Pathé's Gazette.
Pathé's Gazette was a newsreel compilation covering topical local
events and international news and was screened alongside comics as
support material to the feature films of the day.
The newsreel listing for the Princess Theatre in Launceston for
the 15th October, 1913 included the following:
"Interstate lacrosse, Adelaide v Sydney; the new Zoological
Gardens; Interstate Hockey, South Australia v Victoria; big fire in
Auburn NSW; docking the cruiser Melbourne; football Association
game, Melbourne v Brunswick; Olympic games; Yachting season;
£40,000 racehorse; bank holidays; preparations for the Cowes
regatta; Princess Mary and Prince Albert by the seaside;
railway smash; on board H.M.A.S Australia and the Australian flag
and ships".
The lacrosse match referred to was the South Australia v NSW
match which took place in Melbourne on the 13th August
1912 as part of the second Australian Interstate Carnival. SA
won the match by 14 goals to 1.
Frenchman, Charles Pathé was the pioneer of the moving image in
Paris in the 1890's. By 1910 Pathé's Gazette was being
produced in London on a bi-weekly basis. Sound was not added
to the newsreel productions until 1930.
Some titles from the Pathé Gazette have been
preserved in the Australian Film Archives but, unfortunately, the
lacrosse match is not one of these. So far as we can tell,
the earliest preserved moving film of lacrosse in Australia comes
from the 1959 Australia v USA match played before 10,000 spectators
at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
If our readers have in their possession other historical
lacrosse film or video we would be pleased to hear about it so that
we can help with its preservation - email Lacrosse Victoria
(Prepared by Doug Fox)
Your comments