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The Victorian Trugo Association invites you to be part of history and play a game of Trugo today.
This unique local sport of Melbourne is played in the suburbs of Ascot Vale, Brunswick, Footscray, Port Melbourne, Sandridge, South Melbourne and at the home of Trugo, Yarraville.
With the changing population in these areas and the traditional players of retired persons on the decline, Trugo needs new players to keep the sport alive.
Come and have a go at Trugo.
What is Trugo?
Trugo is a 'true blue aussie game' played on a grass court by hitting rubber rings with a wooden mallet from one end of the green to goal posts at the other.
It is like a cross between croquet, wood chopping, lawn bowls and AFL football!
- Croquet - because of the wooden mallet used.
- Wood chopping - because of the hitting action.
- Lawn bowls - because it is played on a grass green.
- AFL football - because you have to hit the rubber ring through goal posts.
When is it played?
Thursdays, the Trugo season runs from August to April.
- Spring, Summer and Autum.
- Competition games are played on Thursdays.
- Before Christmas competition games start at 1.00pm.
- After Christmas competition games start at 12.00pm.
How long does the game take to play?
Trugo takes about one and a half hours to play.
- A lite afternoon tea is supplied by the host club.
What is the cost?
The teams pay $15 per year per person for registration; each of the clubs have their own in house method of raising additional moneys.
What age do you have to be?
The game of Trugo is open to people of all ages.
The game of Trugo was invented by Thomas Grieves of Yarraville in 1926. Inspired by the skylarking behaviour of fellow workmen at the Newport railway yards hitting train components around the workshop he devised a game he called Tru-Go.
By the late 1930s regular games where being played in the Yarraville gardens between teams from around the local area.
In 1940 the Footscray club opened the first dedicated Tru-Go pavilion and green. "New playground for aged men: official opening", Footscray Advertiser, 10 February 1940, "Footscray True-Go club will officially open its new ground and pavilion in Buckley Street next Monday"
In 1941 after being granted land in Beaton reserve Yarraville, Thomas Grieves, his friend Claus Ebeling and other local Yarraville business men officially open the Yarraville Tru-Go club pavilion and green in Beaton reserve Yarraville.
Other suburbs follow and start construction of pavilions and greens for the new sport of Trugo.
Since 1926 Trugo has been played in the following suburbs: Ascot Vale (Moonee Ponds), Brunswick, Coburg, Footscray, Newport, Port Melbourne, Prahran, Preston, Queen's Park (Moonee Ponds), Sandridge, South Melbourne, Williamstown and Yarraville.
Today Ascot Vale, Footscray and Port Melbourne still have original structures standing from that period.
...you really do get a feeling that time has stood still.
and play a game today!
