Historical information

Edgar Gordon Morris was a prominent sportsman in Bacchus Marsh from around 1909 to 1918. He was regarded as the best all-round cricketer in the district and was also Secretary of the Bacchus Marsh Cricket Association. He was also a playing member of local football and tennis clubs. From about 1919 to 1921 Morris had been living in Swan Hill. His death at the age of 35 was reported in the Bacchus Marsh Express on the 5th March 1921 and was received with great sadness in sporting circles in Bacchus Marsh and district. To perpetuate his memory a shield to be presented to the premiership team each season in the Bacchus Marsh Cricket Association. The E.G. MOrris Shield was first presented for the 1921-1922 season.

Significance

This item is of historical significance because it is associated with a particular person, Edgar Morris, a prominent sportsman and sports administrator in the Bacchus Marsh area. It is of comparative significance because it is representative of a shield design for a perpetual sporting trophy. The Shield also provides some research value by preserving and commemorating the memory of a prominent individual sports person in the Bacchus Marsh area.

Physical description

A silver plated shield created to perpetuate the memory of E. G. Morris. Enclosed inside a timber frame and sealed with a glass top. The shield is ringed by smaller shields with inscriptions identifying the premiership winning teams in the Bacchus Marsh Cricket Association between 1921 and 1930.

Inscriptions & markings

The E. G. Morris Shield presented by G. H. Anderson to the Bacchus Marsh Cricket Association as a tribute to the memory of Edgar Gordon Morris 1921