Brockelbank, Lilla (1883 - 1948)

Born
1 January 1883
London, England
Died
16 July 1948
East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Cricketer
Summary

Lilla Brockelbank was born in London in 1883 and emigrated to Australia with her family in 1885. After winning a Melbourne Educational Institute Scholarship, she continued her education with a private tutor and gained her Matriculation in 1899. In 1907, at the age of 25, Brockelbank enrolled at the Working Men's College, where she studied evening classes for four years. She passed subjects including Algebra, Applied Mechanics and Land Surveying and won the Working Men's College Open Even Scholarship in 1908. Brockelbank worked as a clerk and architect's assistant and later described herself as an architect and responsible for 'the plans and specifications and oversight' of the War Memorial erected at St. Peter's Church, East Melbourne (Melbourne Technical College Magazine, p.7). Alongside her professional interests, she was a pioneering Victorian women's cricketer, playing for Coldstream and St Peter's teams and helping to promote women's cricket through the Victorian Ladies Cricket Association. She lived in East Melbourne from 1935 until her death in 1948.

Related Organisations

Published Resources

Books

  • Butcher, Betty and Sports Federation of Victoria, The Sport of Grace: Women's Cricket in Victoria, the Beginning, Sports Federation of Victoria, 1984. Details

Online Resources

Images

Title
Miss Lilla Brockelbank, the 'William Rhodes' among  lady cricketers.  Sporting Globe, 25 Nov 1922
Type
Image
Date
1922

Details

Prepared by: Miranda Francis

Created: 23 October 2026, Last modified: 28 October 2026