There’s the fading sepia image of the club’s first secretary of 1864 Tom Power; the glorious pen and ink on parchment of the club’s annual report of 1865; and the fading team photograph of the 1868 team, widely considered the first known photo of an Australian sporting outfit.
But maybe, just maybe, you have an item of memorabilia to rival these precious artefacts? If so, the Carlton Football Club would be most interested to know.
As Carlton’s archive continues to gather momentum into its 151st year, the club is once again calling on collectors with a dark Navy Blue bent to make contact in respect of their precious items.
The club is not actively seeking and does not offer financial remuneration for the handover of precious items, but it is seeking to learn more about what is actually out there.
Though the ’65 annual report has always been in Carlton’s possession, the Power photograph only came to light when Tom’s great great grandson Cameron Power made contact on the strength of an article about ol’ Tom that he’d viewed on the club website.
The team photograph, taken when players gathered beneath the gum trees of Royal Park, was sourced from an old scrapbook which had been in storage at Visy Park for some time.
Though many items of significance sadly disappeared in the days when security was not of a premium, items of unique historical significance do remain in the club’s keep – like the old time clock and time bell, the latter having recently rung out over the ground for Members within earshot on the ghosts of Princes Park tours.
The Carlton Football Club's old time bell. (Photo: Carlton Football Club)
Although some bells were heard only faintly above the roar of the crowd, the Carlton bell, rich and strident, never gave cause for complaint.
The bell, cast in iron by famed founders and engineers Thomsons of Castlemaine, was originally rung at the “Triangle” ground, situated between Melbourne University and Princes Park, from the 1880s. It was later used at Princes Park from 1898 to 1950 when the VFL standardized its sirens.
Club records indicate that the wind-up timeclock was donated by Messrs James Murray & Co. “who had for some time supplied the club’s trophies”.
In 1898, when the temporary permissive occupancy of “The Triangle” was deemed by the government to have run its course after 33 years, the pavilion, (with its clock fixed to the top of the roof) was relocated in an area adjoining the present Gardiner Stand until it was demolished in 1933 to make way for the press box.
Carlton’s clock (converted from mechanical to electrical) and the old bell adorned the press box until 1983. Both the clock and the bell were refurbished the following year and for the next 30 years graced the foyer wall of the Carlton Heroes (formerly John Elliott) Stand.
Significantly, these two historical items of Carlton Football Club memorabilia – the timeclock and the bell - pre-date Princes Park itself.
So if you do have a precious item or items that help tell the tale that is uniquely Carlton’s please contact club historian Tony De Bolfo – 9389 6241 or tony.debolfo@carltonfc.com.au – to arrange a viewing.
