Women's baseball in Australia

Merton Hall's girls baseball team competed against Lauriston and PLC.

[1] Because of clothing restrictions, during the 1900s, "two masters, captaining opposing teams of boarders and day girls, did all the running.

[2] During the 1910s, girls' sports in schools were hard to organise because of a lack of available equipment and space set aside for them.

Arnotts in New South Wales purpose built several facilities for its female employees, including a baseball diamond.

[8] In 1933, the New South Wales Amateur Women's Sport Council was created by Gwendolen Game.

The event was organised by the Victorian Women's Amateur Sports Council and held at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds.

A field hockey tournament featuring Australian, Kiwi and Fijian teams was played.

At this time, all the women's state organisations for baseball go together to formally codify them in order to allow interstate competitions to take place.

The codifiers of the rules decided that they would use the overhand pitch because the ball was thrown faster and more accurately, making it more difficult to hit.

In 1933, the Australian Women's Baseball Association was created as a result of the meeting and rule codification.

All Australian selection was the highest honour a player could get at a time when a national team did not exist.

In 1936, the Australians reached out to see about creating a tournament with national teams from Canada, the United States and Japan.

The sport was tied with baseball, bowls, and ice hockey.ç In 1942, softball was introduced to Australia by American nurses who were in the country because of World War II.

Women's sport organisations had largely remained intact and were holding competitions during the war period.

Black-and-white photo of three female baseball players. One to the right is wearing a catcher's uniform. The one in the centre is a batter who has just hit the ball. The third woman on the left is watching the two other players.
Female baseball players in the field, Brisbane, 1938
Black-and-white photo with a baseball catcher crouching behind the plate while a female batter gets ready for a pitch
Two girls playing baseball, Brisbane, 1940