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The first international Australian Women's Golf Championship was held August to September 1935 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Black Rock, Victoria. Visiting players from England, Scotland and Ireland dominated the competition. British golfers included Pamela Barton, Phyllis Wade, Jessie Anderson, Mrs Walter Greenlees and Mrs J B Walker. Australian competitors included Katherine Rymill, Betty Nankivell, Betty Sale (MBE), Janet Gardiner, Leonora Wray (MBE), Mrs Sloan Morpeth (née Susie Tolhurst), Mrs Clive Robinson (née Christina “Nin” McMaster), Joan Hood Hammond (DBE CMG), Mrs T S McKay (née Odette Lefebvre) and Mona Macleod. Mrs J B Walker of Britain defeated Mrs Sloan Morpeth of Victoria in the final, before a gallery of 2,000, mostly women.

golf, royal melbourne golf club, women golfers

golf, royal melbourne golf club, women golfers

Photographer notations on slide: "Vic Womens Golf Ch'ship 1935 B98" Published: The Age 29 August 1935 p. 11 Published title: SIX STATE CHAMPIONS IN NATIONAL GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP. Published caption: Six State champions for the first time in the history of women’s golf are competing in the matches for the Australian title. — 1. Miss B. Sale (Tas.). 2. Miss J. Hood-Hammond (N.S.W.). 3. Miss J. Gardiner (Qld,) 4. Miss K. Rymill (S.A.). 5. Mrs. O. J. Negus (W.A.). 6. Mrs. S. Morpeth (Vic.) RESEARCHER'S NOTE: The Age listed Golfer 1 as Miss B. Sale and Golfer 4 as Miss K. Rymill. We verified that these should in fact be the other way around: 1 is Miss K. Rymill, 4 is Miss B. Sale. Trove article identifier: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203982049 Description: Action shot of woman driving golf ball Research by project volunteer, Fiona Collyer: MISS KATHERINE LUCY RYMILL (1913–2008) Katherine was a champion South Australian golfer. She won the Royal Adelaide championships in 1934, 1935 and 1937. She competed in the Australian Women’s Golf Championships at Royal Melbourne in 1935 against British women golfers and was eliminated by Mrs T S McKay nee Odette Lebebvre. Katherine was from a prominent and wealthy Adelaide family and her social activities and golfing career was closely followed in the local papers. Her mother, Shylee Rymill, was the S.A. Girl Guides’ Commissioner from 1935-1950. Her father H.L. (Cargie) Rymill grew up in a Dutch Renaissance style mansion called “The Firs” in East Terrace, Adelaide (now called Rymill House and State heritage listed), and designed Kooyonga, Seaton, Grange, Glenelg and Mount Lofty golf courses. Both parents were champion golfers and have tournaments named after them. Katherine worked for the Red Cross during WWII. In 1935, for the first time in NSW, the Ladies Golf Union (L.G.V.) enforced their rule regarding the wearing of stockings in official associates’ golf matches. Though the Long Reef competitor’s long skirt and golf socks almost hid her sun-tanned legs from view, an eagle-eyed official had noticed the absence of regulation covering and she and her partner were disqualified. Commenting on the Long Reef “no stockings” controversy, Katherine said “In England, players are allowed to appear without stockings in summer and to wear “slacks” in the winter.” “Playing without stockings makes no difference to one’s performance and it is certainly cooler. However, rules which are formed must be obeyed and that seems all there is to say about it.” Katherine continued to play golf throughout her life and died in 2008. Sources: 'SIX STATE CHAMPIONS IN NATIONAL GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP', The Age, 29 August 1935, p. 11, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203982049 'Stockings Or Not, for Golf?' The Mail, 12 January 1935, p. 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58858987

golf, women golfers, royal melbourne golf club

In the 1990s, renowned architectural photographer Ian McKenzie OAM (1939-2014) picked up 240 glass plate negatives at a local market. Believed to be from a Victorian news archive, they dated back to the 1930s. The slides lay dormant in a dusty garage until 2020 when Ian’s wife Louise decided it was time to bring them back into the light.

The McKenzie Collection of glass plate negatives unlocks glimpses of our city not seen for almost 100 years. In the 1990s, renowned architectural photographer Ian McKenzie (1939-2014) picked up 240 glass plate negatives at a local market. Believed to be from a Victorian news archive, they dated back to the 1930s. The slides lay dormant in a dusty garage until 2020 when Ian’s wife Louise decided it was time to bring them back into the light.