Barbara Rae

Barbara Rae (1855 – 18 March 1891) was an Australian cricketer and school teacher. She is notable for being the founder, captain, and top scorer of the winning team in Australia's first recorded women's cricket match, held on 7 April 1874 in Bendigo, Victoria. Rae's leadership, her role in organising the match, and her visibility as a young woman defying social expectations have since made her an important figure in the early history of women's cricket in Australia.

Rae has been commemorated with a permanent sculpture in Bendigo that was installed in early 2026, in recognition of her significance as a sporting trailblazer. This will be the first statue that honours a female cricketer in Victoria, and only the second in Australia.

Early life and family Rae was born in 1855 in Sandhurst (now Bendigo, Victoria). Her parents were John Rae and Helen (née Fincher). Barbara Rae was 19 at the time of the 1874 match in which she captained the Blues team. She worked as a school teacher at Rae's Ironbark School in Bendigo, where her father was the headmaster. John Rae originally proposed a women's cricket match to raise funds for the Bendigo Hospital and Benevolent Asylum. Barbara Rae's stepmother, Emily Rae, captained the opposing Reds team, and her sister Nellie Rae also played.

1874 Bendigo Women's Cricket Match

Organisation and background The first women's cricket match in Australia took place on 7 April 1874 during the Bendigo Easter Fair. It was a major fundraising event.

The Bendigo Historical Society's History House Museum hosted an exhibition in 2024 titled Frisky Matrons & Forward Spinsters: Australia's first women cricketers in Bendigo. The exhibition celebrated 150 years since the first recorded women's cricket match had taken place in 1874.

A bronze statue of Rae was commissioned as part of the Victorian Women's Public Art Program and installed in early 2026. Located at the entrance to Bendigo's Queen Elizabeth Oval, the statue acknowledges the significant role Rae played in the establishment of the first women's cricket team and match to be played in Australia.

Despite the initial hostility, Rae's strength and determination played a significant role in the evolution of women's cricket. Her role in the historic 1874 and 1875 matches is now seen as a crucial step in women's cricket. From being regarded as a 'male-only' sport, women's cricket has since grown to attract record crowds and participation numbers. Rae's two one-off fundraising games predate this by some 20 years.

The Victoria Women's Cricket Association was founded in 1905, and the Australian Women's Cricket Association in 1931. The current competition is run by the Women's National Cricket League.