Barbara Rae (cricketer)
Barbara Rae was an Australian cricketer and school teacher. She is notable for being the founder, captain, and top scorer of the winning team in Australia's first recorded women's cricket match, held on 7 April 1874 in Bendigo, Victoria. Rae's leadership, her role in organising the match, and her visibility as a young woman defying social expectations have since made her an important figure in the early history of women's cricket in Australia.
Rae will be commemorated with a permanent sculpture in Bendigo to be installed in early 2026, in recognition of her significance as a sporting trailblazer. This will be the first statue that honours a female cricketer in Victoria, and only the second in Australia.
Early life and family
Rae was born in 1855 in Sandhurst. Her parents were John Rae and Helen. Barbara Rae was 19 at the time of the 1874 match in which she captained the Blues team. She worked as a school teacher at Rae's Ironbark School in Bendigo, where her father was the headmaster. John Rae originally proposed a women's cricket match to raise funds for the Bendigo Hospital and Benevolent Asylum. Barbara Rae's stepmother, Emily Rae, captained the opposing Reds team, and her sister Nellie Rae also played.1874 Bendigo Women's Cricket Match
Organisation and background
The first women's cricket match in Australia took place on 7 April 1874 during the Bendigo Easter Fair. It was a major fundraising event. After John Rae suggested the idea, the project was taken up by the women themselves. Barbara Rae acted as match secretary, recruited players, and organised coaching sessions at local grounds. She placed ads in the Bendigo Advertiser calling for women interested in playing in the cricket match, and two teams of eleven were easily formed. Players from the Bendigo United Cricket Club, which included several Australian representative cricketers, assisted with coaching.Match and Reception
The two teams were distinguished by the colour of their jackets, red and blue. Rae captained the winning Blues team, finished as the top scorer, and was widely recognised as the player of the match. The Bendigo Advertiser praised the event as unprecedented and courageous, writing that “such a remarkable event as a ladies’ cricket match had seldom happened, even in the old country—the home of cricket.” Local sports reporters were impressed with the playing standard, comparing it to that of prominent Australian cricketers such as Midwinter, Beswick, Allan, and Wills. The game, which raised significant funds for charity, was considered a success by thousands of attendees.However, within days, the players faced strong criticism in some Melbourne and Victorian regional newspapers, which published hostile articles and labelled the event “unseemly” and “deplorable,” reflecting contemporary resistance to women participating in athletics.
Second Match in 1875
A second match between the Blues and Reds took place on 31 March 1875 at the Bendigo Easter Fair, again attracting large paying crowds and favourable local coverage.Despite the success, hostility from some Victorian newspapers persisted. The players were subjected to months of abuse in the media. After the match, Barbara Rae encouraged Melbourne women to play a charity match, but the idea was ridiculed. On hearing this, Australian cricketer Tom Wills invited the Bendigo team to Geelong in support, though the players ultimately declined. The 1875 match is the last known appearance of the early Bendigo women cricketers.
Death and legacy
Barbara Rae Archibald died on 18 Mar 1891 in Bairnsdale, Victoria, at the age of 36.A book Bowl the maidens over: our first women cricketers by Louise Zedda-Sampson, published in 2021, tells the story of Rae's involvement in the first women's cricket match held in Australia, and the media responses at the time.
The Bendigo Historical Society's History House Museum hosted an exhibition in 2024 titled Frisky Matrons & Forward Spinsters: Australia's first women cricketers in Bendigo. The exhibition celebrated 150 years since the first recorded women's cricket match had taken place in 1874.
A statue of Rae has been commissioned as part of the Victorian Women's Public Art Program and will be installed in early 2026. It will be located at the entrance to Bendigo's Queen Elizabeth Oval, acknowledging the significant role Rae played in the establishment of the first women's cricket team and match to be played in Australia.
Despite the initial hostility, Rae's strength and determination played a significant role in the evolution of women's cricket. Her role in the historic 1874 and 1875 matches is now seen as a crucial step in women's cricket. From being regarded as a 'male-only' sport, women's cricket has since grown to attract record crowds and participation numbers. The Victoria Women's Cricket Association was founded in 1905, and the Australian Women's Cricket Association in 1931. The current competition is run by the Women's National Cricket League.
Another woman involved in the early days of women's cricket in Australia was Lily Poulett-Harris. Some have suggested that she was the founder and captain of the first women's cricket team in Australia. However, given that her Tasmanian team was established in 1894, Rae's team predates this by some 20 years.