Historical information

This trophy is one of several awarded in the 1930s by the Inter Church Indoor Sports Association in Warrnambool. It is a grand aggregate cup and it has been won jointly by the Congregational Men’s Institute (C.M.I.) and the Church of England Men’s Society (C.E.M.S.). Both of these men’s groups were prominent in the 1930s. A Congregational Church was opened in Liebig Street, Warrnambool in 1864 and transferred to Henna Street in 1940. This Henna Street church was sold to the Salvation Army in 1979 when the Congregational Church and the Methodist Church merged to form the Uniting Church. The Anglican Church in Warrnambool, called Christ Church, was established in Henna Street in the 1850s under the direction of the first minister, Archdeacon Beamish. The present church was constructed over the ensuing decades with the square tower added in 1882.

Significance

This trophy is of interest as it comes from the 1930s and is one of the trophies given by the now-defunct Inter Church Indoor Sports Association of Warrnambool. It also has connections to both the Congregational Church and the Anglican Church in Warrnambool.

Physical description

This is an electro plated nickel silver cup with two side handles and an ornate stem attached to a silver base. The cup is mounted on a circular Bakelite stand. The stand has a small silver plaque with an inscription.

Inscriptions & markings

‘I.C.I.S.A. Grand Aggregate C.M.I. & C.E.M.S. 1937’