A Colourful Game

Concordia’s 1907 footballers stepped out in brown long-sleeved turtle-neck skivvies teamed with knickerbockers and long socks.
Some years later, however, the adoption of a distinctive jersey created some unforeseen ripples. In 1916 the headmaster of Queen’s School, North Adelaide (1890-1946) vented his extreme annoyance in a letter to Concordia’s headmaster Dr C. F. Graebner. He complained that Concordia had decided on ‘chocolate and gold’, the very colours he believed had been registered for his own school’s football team. Even worse, he discovered that Concordia had gone as far as ordering a supply of the same jerseys he had designed, and that they had even instructed the supplier not to sell them to anyone else!
His letter concludes: ‘I must beg to protest strongly against your infringement of the colours which we have worn for 26 years and especially of the conduct of your football club in an attempt to deprive us of our own colours and design.’
While there is no record of a response to this letter, Concordia continued to retain the colours of brown and gold. However, there were some further developments.  In 1920 footballers were wearing long loose white shorts and jerseys with pockets displaying a small gold cross; and by 1923 the jersey displayed a large gold monogram of two Cs linked together in a shape intended to resemble a cross. This was heralded as a marked improvement, and a special hand-coloured photo  of the First XVIII was produced.

Kicking up their Heels

In the late 1930s Miss Baker, the gymnasium instructor, undertook to teach the girls folk dances. Yet when it came to performance time the results were quite unpredictable.
For the Dutch dance at the 1938 concert the girls appeared in colourful green, blue and red costumes. The lighthearted report in the Brown and Gold magazine for 1939 has this to say:
 ‘As you know, Dutch girls are anything but graceful. Could this have been the reason why the steps suited us particularly well?’
But the audience loved the hornpipe at the 1939 break-up concert.  The costumes were sewn by the matron, Miss Oster, and the performance was hitch-free.

By 1940 there were 27 girl boarders. The usual initiation concert was held near the start of the year, with all new students expected to perform in some way. Yet several were so overcome with shyness that they refused to budge from their seats, even though they were threatened with a ‘ducking’! However, performances were called for, especially for the farewell concert in the Australia Hall. A gipsy dance was chosen for this end of year occasion, and once again the girls were brutally honest in their evaluation.
 ‘The costumes were bright and pretty, the music was attractive… but the dance steps were anything but accurate! Towards the end of the number our’ delighted’ audience could see nothing but a mass of brightly-dressed girls vainly trying to restore some order before the curtain fell.’ (Brown and Gold, 1941).

The Value of Sport

Over the long history of Concordia, sport has played an important role in the lives of students. Particularly during the early years of the College, boys lived, worked, studied and played together, almost as one big family. Games were always a highlight.
An article in the first issue of the Brown and Gold magazine in 1924 reminds readers of the importance of maintaining a balance between study and sport.

‘Who would deny a game of cricket or tennis or football to a young student whose head is ‘swimming’ after the long hours of mental toil, and whose face is pale and serious, when it is known that the fun and movement of the game will bring back colour to his cheek, smiles and laughter to his countenance, and brightness to his eye. The games are grand; they serve a most useful purpose at our College.’
‘But’, he continues, ‘there are boys who positively do not like sport. This is very remarkable. But it is no use quarrelling with people’s temperaments. There are some strange souls among us.’

The article concludes by pointing out that ‘sports are a danger if indulged in too much. Their very attractiveness, which makes them so useful as a tonic for a student’s mind, has drawn many a promising youth from his path of duty and made of him a worthless sports fiend.’

The 1905 tennis team is one of the oldest sports photos in the Heritage Centre archives.