A Brief History Of Croquet

The Middle Ages

The first known mallet and ball games were played in England and Europe during the middle ages; one game known as "Pall Mall" was played in London and from which the well known street is named. These games usually involved hitting a single ball through very wide hoops.

The Present Game

The modern game is quite different and is reputed to have started in Ireland and taken to England during the 18/50s. No-one seems to know how it started in Ireland! It became an instant success, one reason being because it provided the first opportunity for women to participate in an outdoor sport on an equal basis with men. Over the next 30 years uniform rules were established and national competitions commenced.

The first national headquarters was the Wimbledon All England Croquet Club in what was later to become the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

The game spread rapidly in particular to Australia and New Zealand and many other British colonies, but well before the end of the century it had become overshadowed by the introduction of another new game - lawn tennis!

Where Has It Got To?

At the start of the 21st century, the major croquet playing countries are Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the USA.

In Australia, for example, there are nearly 7,000 registered players which is a similar number to Olympic sports such as boxing and rowing.

On the subject of the Olympics, croquet was played in the 1900 Olympics.

Over 20 countries are now members of the World Croquet Federation and the game is found is countries such as:

• Japan - where a similar game but using teams of 5 players called gateball is also played
• Egypt - where the main game is golf croquet which is a simplified form of Association croquet
• Russia - Tolstoy had a court in his garden in Moscow and the astronauts are reported to have played as a relaxation on their return from space
• China - where it is played by many people of different age groups; a picture in the Illustrated London News of 1938 showed Revolutionary guards playing the game!

In the USA, two forms of the game are played, Association croquet and American rules. The latter uses the same equipment and lawn lay-out, but has a number of variations to the Association croquet rules. Many of the top players in America play both games. In addition there are some garden sets which have 9 hoops and 2 pegs!

America also boats some of the most well know croquet fanatics such as Samuel Goldwyn, Tyrone Power, Averell Harriman and Harpo Marx.

Interest in croquet has fluctuated during this century however of the last 20 years there has been a resurgence of interest especially by younger people who have seen the challenge of the sport and who now dominate at the international level.

In Australia

The earliest evidence of the game being played in Australia was advertisements in the Tasmanian 'Walch's Literal Intellegencer in 1861 and photos of play at Government House in Perth in about 1863. Apart from the group based at Perth's Government House. the first croquet club was formed in Kyneton, Victoria in 1866 and a year later a club was formed at Kapunda, the then second largest town in South Australia.

State Associations

The first State Association to be formed was in Tasmania in 1908. Other States followed with Victoria in 1914, South Australia in 1916, New South Wales in 1918, Queensland in 1922 and Western Australia in 1928.

National

In September 1949 the National Championships were held in Brisbane and the representatives from all the States decided to form the Australian Croquet Council to conduct the Australian Championships and represent Australian croquet overseas. Until then, the national teams had always been selected by the Victorian State Association, the largest of the State bodies.

In 1987 the Council became the Australian Croquet Association and in 1992 commenced operating under the name trade name of "Croquet Australia".

Membership throughout Australia has grown to nearly 7,000 although in addition there are many unaffiliated players who play garden croquet.