The Melbourne Cricket Club is deeply saddened by the passing of former President Bruce Church OAM who led the Club during one of its most challenging eras from 1997 to 2003.
After taking up MCC membership in 1942 Bruce was elected to the Committee in 1978 and served for six years before being appointed to the position of Treasurer in 1984. In 1987, Bruce took on the role of Vice-President of the Club from Colin Spargo before being elected President ten years later in 1997, replacing John Mitchell at the helm. Bruce was only the second former Treasurer of the Club to reach the positions of Vice-President and President.
Bruce governed the Club during a tumultuous period and one of great change in which he and his Committee fought hard to maintain the Club’s role as day-to-day managers of the MCG, following the introduction of legislation to reform the MCG Trust by the Kennett Government in 1998. The reform proposed to give the Trust power to call tenders for management rights for the Ground, an action Bruce fought steadfastly against, and was able to correct alongside the renegotiation of the Club’s tenure at the MCG.
In a 2003 edition of MCC News, in which Bruce reflected on his time as President, he said: “Nothing compares with the ultimate success we can claim in challenging the unfair legislation thrust upon us in 1998. That threatened the very existence of the Club and therefore threatened the ongoing development of the MCG. I’m not sure that the people responsible for the revolution appreciated that the Club and the Ground are essentially interdependent.”
Bruce’s time as President also included the planning, preparations and commencement of the demolition of the Olympic, 70-year-old Members’ Pavilion and Ponsford stands to make way for three new conjoined grandstands that were completed in time for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, a project that his successor, David Jones, saw through.
Across his tenure on the Committee, Bruce served on a number of Sub-committees including public affairs, building, finance, membership and operations.
Bruce chaired his last meeting of the MCC Committee in February 2003 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 72, just weeks short of serving 25 years’ service as a Committee member. At the 2004 Annual General Meeting, Bruce received Honorary Life Membership of the Melbourne Cricket Club in recognition of his deep commitment to Club life.
After his term as President came to a close, Bruce’s service to the Club continued as he could be found in the iconic red, white and blue striped MCC blazer sharing his immense knowledge of the Ground with groups of sports fans as a volunteer tour guide at the MCG.
MCC President Michael Happell said Bruce’s contribution to the Club across his roles on the Committee, in the volunteer network and sporting sections will be everlasting.
“Bruce’s passion for the Club, sport, community and our home here at the MCG shaped the future of the Club and paved the way for those of us that have followed in his footsteps,” said Mr Happell.
“His dedication inspired many of his fellow MCC members, his peers on the Committee, MCC staff and more. He had an infectious way about him and was greatly respected by those that worked closely with him, particularly through the challenges of the late 90s.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to Bruce’s wife Mary and his family, friends and those that Bruce worked with during his time at the MCC.”
In 2011 Bruce was listed on the Queen’s Birthday 2011 Honours List and awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to cricket.
As a keen sportsman Bruce played football for the Old Melburnians and cricket for Hawthorn-East Melbourne in his youth and his ties with both clubs remained strong throughout adulthood and in his time with the Melbourne Cricket Club in which he was also a long-serving member of the XXIX Club.
Bruce’s legacy will live on with the Bruce Church Perpetual Trophy, presented to the winner of matches between the Melbourne and Kingston Hawthorn cricket clubs. The Trophy honours Bruce’s service to both clubs; as a player for Hawthorn-East Melbourne (as Kingston Hawthorn was then known) and as an administrator for the MCC.
As a chartered accountant by trade, Bruce also served as a Director of the Royal Dental Hospital, Power House, Melbourne Football Club and the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club Foundation in addition to his service to the MCC. He also donated his services as the pro bono auditor of Lord Somers Camp, Power House and the Victorian Amateur Football Association.
MCC News said in a newsletter from 2003: “Our immediate past President had a football or cricketing metaphor for most of life’s situations. He didn’t mind facing up to a few short ones, took a few on the body when necessary and would happily drop the shoulder as circumstances required.
“He was a staunch defender of the Club and its traditions throughout an extremely testing time and members of the MCC are much in his debt. Keep dancing down the pitch, Bruce.”
Cover image: Supplied by the Australian Sports Museum. Oil painting by Robert Hannaford.