The first organised ice hockey match in Australia took place in Adelaide, South Australia shortly after 1900. The rink didn’t last long though.  The focus then shifted to Melbourne and the first international game was played between a team of sailors from the USS Baltimore Warship on the 12th of July, 1906.

Adelaide has had at least two other ice skating rinks that hosted ice hockey, Hindley Street in the centre of Adelaide which used to be next to the Paprika Night Club (it is possibly now the location of a well known adult entertainment facility….something to do with a horse), The SA Ice Centre was located at the corner of Payneham Road and Portrush Road, and Thebarton’s Ice Arena on James Congdon Drive at Thebarton (the only current ice rink in SA hosting ice hockey).  A smaller half size rink had been located at Noarlunga Centre but has since folded in about 2016.

Some sources say Australia has the third oldest Ice Hockey trophy in the world, the Goodall Cup.  Now let’s be blunt here, with a little over only 21 million people and a country not known for Winter sports that’s a pretty amazing feat.

 

SA winning the 2009 Centenary Goodall Cup in Adelaide, South Australia

Wikipedia states that the Goodall Cup has been contested as the national senior men’s ice hockey trophy in Australia since 1909, making it the ‘fifth’ oldest known ice hockey trophy still being awarded, after the Stanley Cup (1892; NHL Championship Cup), the Queen’s Cup (1903; Ontario University Championship Cup), the Boyle Cup (1904; previously Newfoundland Senior Men’s Cup and now Newfoundland High School Championship Cup), and the Allan Cup (1908; Canadian Senior Men’s Amateur Championship Cup).

The Goodall Cup was traditionally run as a state vs state tournament, before it was incorporated into the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) in 2002. New South Wales and Victoria were the original competitors and it was only in 1977 that another state, Queensland won the cup.  The Goodall Cup has been competed for annually since 1909 except for the periods: 1914-1920 (World War I), 1940-1946 (World War II), 1955-1960 and 1993.

South Australia has had its fair share of success winning the Cup in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997 and 2009.  These were won at Adelaide’s two ice hockey rinks, at Payneham (former International sized rink) and Thebarton (Ice Arena).

The following Sub-pages contain information on:

• ice hockey commencing properly in Adelaide at the Hindley Street rink in 1963
• the previous national competition, the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) which was run in the early 1980’s
• the beginnings of the Australian Ice Hockey League
• Ginsberg Under 14 competition run in Adelaide 2009, De Fris
• McCrae-Williamson Under 11 training camp
• Brown over 17 trophy
• Tange U17 trophy