Edith Hull was the Manager and Coach of the Victorian team when it competed at the interstate carnival in Brisbane in August/September of 1934. At the time, she was also the holder of an All Australian Umpires’ badge and President of the Victorian Women’s Basketball Association (VWBA - what we know today as Netball Victoria).
She and Becky Douglas - stylishly dressed! - were snapped by a newspaper photographer just prior to their departure from Melbourne. Both women were determined to bring home the Elix Shield from the carnival, which had previously been won five times in succession by South Australia.
On the night before the team departed for Brisbane, the touring party were entertained with a farewell dance at a Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) hall that was decorated in flowers of blue and white; the colours of Victoria. During the evening, Louise Mills, a former president of the VWBA, presented blazer pockets with - ‘V’ for Victoria stitched on them - to each member of the team.
The recipients of the pockets were Becky Douglas (Captain), Ethel McCarthy (Vice Captain), Lorna McConchie, Anne Henderson, Dot Middleton, Dot Eckart, Alice Elso, Lilian Angus, and Mary Ord. Miss Jean Girdwood also accompanied the team to fulfil her duties as a delegate at a post-tournament meeting of the All Australia Basketball Council.
Victoria and South Australia both made the final of the competition, with the Victorian team winning decisively; 31-21, despite the fact that goal shooter, Ethel McCarthy, suffered a shoulder injury in the third quarter. Before returning home, some of the Victorian women spent time at Southport "surfing in perfect weather", while later Miss Girdwood summed up the team’s success by declaring to the Melbourne press that their victory was achieved due to "their superior team work and the excellence of their passing".
