Brisbane Charity Cup soccer sporting trophy
Production date
1894
Country
England
State/Province
South Yorkshire
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Object detail
Description
Trophy for Brisbane Charity Cup soccer competition 1894-1927. Silver cup, lid missing. Cup handles imitate soccer goalposts. Heavily ornamented with floral motifs - roses, thistles, clover, etc. Two small soccer balls are placed at opposite sides of upper cup, between each goalpost. Engraved illustrated panels of a soccer game in progress, a woman with a horn of plenty and a woman with child. Proofmarks are for Walker and Hall Silversmiths, Sheffield, 1894. (W&H on a flag, crown, lion passant guardant, a small case letter b in gothic script.)
Classification
TROPHIES AND AWARDS Sports
Maker
Production date
1894
Production place
Measurements
L200 x W180 x H355 mm
Media/Materials description
Sterling silver
Signature/Marks
BRISBANE CHARITY CUP \ In connection with \ Queensland British \ FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION\ WON BY \ ROSEBANKS. FC 1894 \ NORMANS.FC 1895 \ ROVERS. FC 1896 \ ROSEBANK. FC 1897 \ BUSH RAT. FC 1898 \ BUSH RAT. FC 1899 \ BLACKSTONE ROVERS B 1904 \ WELLINGTON .FC 1905 \ WELLINGTON. FC 1906 \ BUSHRAT. FC 1909
BULIMBA \ RANGERS \ 1911 \ BULIMBA RANGERS 1912 \ TOOWONG \ FOOTBALL \ CLUB \1913 \ CORINTHIAN. FC \ 1914 \
BUSHRATS. FC 1910 . BRISBANE CITY. FC 1916 . BULIMBA RANGERS 1919 . PINEAPPLE ROVERS 1920 . THISTLE FC 1921 . PINEAPPLE ROVERS 1922 . LATROBE FC 1925 \ LATROBE FC 1927
BULIMBA \ RANGERS \ 1911 \ BULIMBA RANGERS 1912 \ TOOWONG \ FOOTBALL \ CLUB \1913 \ CORINTHIAN. FC \ 1914 \
BUSHRATS. FC 1910 . BRISBANE CITY. FC 1916 . BULIMBA RANGERS 1919 . PINEAPPLE ROVERS 1920 . THISTLE FC 1921 . PINEAPPLE ROVERS 1922 . LATROBE FC 1925 \ LATROBE FC 1927
History and use
This Brisbane Charity Cup represents the beginnings of first grade, district wide competition soccer in Queensland. It was made in 1894, just five years after the formation of the Queensland British Football Association; the Charity Cup concept at the time was deliberately borrowed from Britain. Soccer, which was referred to then as British Football, had grown rapidly to become the second-most popular sport in Queensland (after Australian Rules) with regular fixtures having commenced only a decade earlier. The Brisbane Charity Cup was then one of the State's most important, and longest running soccer competitions, having been contested almost continuously for thirty-two years with a few exceptions, notably during 1916-1918. Between six and nine clubs would typically compete for the Cup in any one year; the Bulimba Rangers, the Ipswich North Royals, the Corinthians, the Toowong Caledonians and the Pineapple Rovers are to name a few. The demise of the Brisbane Charity Cup after 1927, owes partly to the sport's growing professionalism, the competition's rapid expansion and ongoing disputation within the code (notably between Brisbane and Ipswich clubs).
Made by Sheffield silversmiths Walker & Hall, the Cup has an urn-like shape, is richly decorated with sporting imagery including goal posts for handles with two small soccer balls resting on the top sides, figures of footballers in costume, a soccer game and floral symbols including the shamrock, rose, thistle and passionflower which point to the game’s British origins. The Cup's inscriptions indicate names of the winners on the bottom of the bowl. The cup originally stood 17 inches in height overall and included a decorative lid and an ebony base.
The Cup also relates to one of Queensland’s most devastating natural disasters, the Brisbane flood of 1974. It was carried downstream by floodwaters to the donor’s backyard in Kooringal Street, Jindalee and it is uncertain how far it had travelled let alone who its last carer was. The object stayed in the care of the Jindalee resident for forty-two years before it was donated to the Queensland Museum in 2016.
The object allows for the interpretation of both sport and natural disasters which are important recurring Queensland themes.
Made by Sheffield silversmiths Walker & Hall, the Cup has an urn-like shape, is richly decorated with sporting imagery including goal posts for handles with two small soccer balls resting on the top sides, figures of footballers in costume, a soccer game and floral symbols including the shamrock, rose, thistle and passionflower which point to the game’s British origins. The Cup's inscriptions indicate names of the winners on the bottom of the bowl. The cup originally stood 17 inches in height overall and included a decorative lid and an ebony base.
The Cup also relates to one of Queensland’s most devastating natural disasters, the Brisbane flood of 1974. It was carried downstream by floodwaters to the donor’s backyard in Kooringal Street, Jindalee and it is uncertain how far it had travelled let alone who its last carer was. The object stayed in the care of the Jindalee resident for forty-two years before it was donated to the Queensland Museum in 2016.
The object allows for the interpretation of both sport and natural disasters which are important recurring Queensland themes.
Associated person
Registration number
H48992
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