Historical information

This blazer was worn by Joyce Murphy at the Ballarat Teacher's College. David van Leeuwen decided not to have a blazer as he was older, and thought it too much like school days. He attended the Ballarat Teachers' College when 27 years, after serving in the army. Because he didn’t have a blazer he didn’t have anywhere to put the colours so he offered them to Joyce Murphy as they were going out together. There should have been a football embroidery as well, but Joyce Murphy didn’t want that on her blazer because it was too boyish.

Gift of Joyce van Leeuwen nee Joyce Murphy, 2014

Physical description

A blue woollen blazer with pocket featuring the Ballarat Teachers' College logo, sports colours, and representation in tennis, basketball and hockey. The pocket is a dual one. Joyce van Leeuwen remembers: 'Towards the end of our College year, were were given written authorisation denoting our sporting teams, to take to Paterson & Powell for embroidery on our blazer pockets. On my pocket, the hockey sticks, the BB for basketball, as netball was then called, all mine.
The tennis racquet is David's [van Leeuwen], as is the braid topping the pocket denoting the College colours. College colours were authorised for excellence in a chosen sport, and in our year, 1950, only two men's colours were awarded - David's for basketball and Neil Trezise's for football. Neil went on to play for the Geelong Cats [AFL football] and later was Victorian minister for Sport for some time.'