Centenary of Rugby League - Market StreetPrint Page

The plaque commemorates the centenary of Rugby League 1908 -2008. 

The Trumper and Carter Sports Depot was situated at 108 Market Street, Sydney.  In the summer of 1907-08 a group of men braved the Sydney heat to meet at the sports store. The subject under intense discussion was the formation of a professional breakaway competition from the NSW Rugby Union.

Those at the meeting were passionate about the sport but they weren’t all rugby players, promoters or administrators. One was the shop’s owner Victor Trumper, at the time Australia’s most famous cricketer.

A talented rugby player before his Test cricket career took off, he always maintained an interest in the game. But he took a leading role in forming the professional Rugby League mostly because he was sympathetic to compensating working class sportsmen for injuries and time off work.

The Centenary Plaques program was put in place by the Centenary of Rugby League Committee to commemorate sites of historical significance to Rugby League - such as stadiums, suburban grounds and club formation sites. Nearly every aspect of Australia’s Rugby League landscape is covered by a Centenary Plaque – with plaques dedicated to the commemoration of Indigenous Rugby League, National Rugby League (NRL) first-grade clubs, foundation clubs, former Premiership clubs, New South Wales and Queensland Country, and those sites which were host to the foundation of the game itself in Australia.

The plaque itself bears a prominent Centenary logo, the venue name, and a short paragraph of site-specific text on why the venue has been selected as a site of historical significance to Australian Rugby League.

Location

Details

Dedication