Sport has been played at MLMC for many years and still is today. Although we no longer have any tennis courts on-campus, we do have a strong history of tennis with some notable tennis players gracing our courts. This latest story celebrating 125 years of Mount Lilydale Mercy College focuses on 1969.
1969 — New tennis court
A College prospectus from the time noted that ‘special attention is given to sport’. In this era, a School Sports Day was held each year at the Croydon Monastery, until the oval was constructed, and this usually took place on a weekend so that parents could attend as well.
For decades Mount Lilydale College students had been playing basketball and tennis, two competitive games deemed acceptable for young ladies to participate in. Since the 1920s there were courts on the grounds of the school where these games could be played, however, tennis was listed as an extra and fees were charged for individual tuition.
In the early 1960s a hockey field was constructed on a flat area of land to the east near the railway line, and this became the school’s first oval. In the years that immediately followed athletics, marching and netball were taken up.
In 1969, new tennis courts were built at the school, located where Centennial Hall is now. When finished, these were officially opened by His Grace, Archbishop Knox, and soon after two of the greatest Australian tennis players, Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong, gave exhibition matches on the courts. Both players would become world No.1-ranked players, with Margaret Court going on to win more Grand Slam titles than any other player in history.
Margaret Court is pictured above in front of our grotto.
