Historical information

The pamphlet documents the agenda for the Ruyton Girls' School athletics sports carnival hosted at Glenferrie Oval on Wednesday, 26 April 1950. The program outlines a series of activities to be undertaken by junior and senior school students (including day girls and boarders), including crossball, potato sack race, hockey dribbling, egg and spoon race, relays, baseball throwing, and obstacle courses. Each sport is divided into age brackets including under 14, under 16, and 16 and over. The pamphlet also acts as a scorecard, featuring columns for recording results, points scored, progress points and times.

Ruyton Girls' School has an exceptional reputation in school sport. The School is a member school of Girls' Sport Victoria (GSV), a large sporting association involving 24 independent girls’ schools in Melbourne. Girls in the Senior School have the opportunity to compete in a range of sports over the four terms and at three major carnivals; Swimming and Diving, Cross Country and Track and Field. Ruyton also has a very successful Rowing program and participates in the Victorian Interschools Snowsports Championships.

Significance

The record has strong historic significance as it gives insight into the House system at Ruyton Girls' School; in particular, how the House system is used in a sports context. In the early 1920s, Ruyton was settling into its new home at Selbourne Road, Kew. At the time, students were arranged by their form (or year level) for lessons and other school activities. A collection of eight emblems and mottoes for each form group was published in the Ruytonian December 1922, although the genesis of each were left unexplained. With enrolments continually growing, Principal Miss Hilda Daniell felt a new basis of organisation would benefit students, giving them a broader outlook and something bigger to work for. She took inspiration from tradition and implemented a House system.

The House system was adopted at Ruyton in September 1924 to "provide a new kind of co-operation and competition among the girls, especially in Sport." There were four houses, three of which were named after early Principals: Anderson, Bromby and Lascelles. There was also the School House, initially for boarders only. Some time after the publication of the Ruytonian in April 1928, the School House was renamed Daniell House, and had opened up to day girls. The account published by the newly formed Daniell House in the Ruytonian December 1928 reads, "we are rather bashful in presenting this account of our doings, for we are conscious of our newness. Our house has now the honour of being known as Daniell House."

Four of the original eight form emblems were adopted by the new Houses, while the others were discarded. According to former teacher and author of the centenary history of Ruyton, Ms Majorie Theobald, the House system "gave a new focus for all competitive sport, which had previously been organised on a rather inequitable basis."

The colours chosen for the Houses were cherry red for Anderson, royal blue for Bromby, gold for Lascelles, and pale blue for School (later Daniell).

New students starting at Ruyton from Prep onwards are allocated to one of the following Houses with consideration to family connections and balance of numbers.

The record's significance is further enhanced by its strong provenance, having been produced by Ruyton Girls' School and donated to the Archives by a familial connection of a former notable student.

Physical description

Pamphlet printed on cream coloured paper with navy blue ink. Two pages, folded in half.

Inscriptions & markings

Obverse:
tenns allowed 2 flat 3 teas 1 relay /
1 noveltie /
3 every thing entered in. /
move for heats /
Lanes 5 - 2 /

First Page:
under 15 50 yds. /
2. /
3 under 15 75 yds. /
4 /
5 /
6. Junior Crossball. /
7 /
8 /

Second Page:
9 /
10 under 15. /
11 /
12 /
13 /
14 under 15 /
15 /
16. /

Reverse:
21 Diamond Throwing open /
22 /
23 under 15 /
24 /
25 /
26 /
27 /
Diamond /
28 /
29 /
30 /
31 /
32 /
Junior under 15 1st July 1 Junior relay (?) /
under 15 /
Two sprints and potato go for championships /