Portsea Polo is an annual

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

event held in Portsea, Victoria. The event was founded in 2002 by David Calvert-Jones, grandson of philanthropist

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Dame Elisabeth Joy Murdoch, Lady Murdoch (née Greene; 8 February 1909 – 5 December 2012), also known as Elisabeth, Lady Murdoch, was an Australian philanthropist and matriarch of the Murdoch family. She was the wife of Australian newsp ...

. It is held on a Saturday in mid-January at Jarman Oval, near the former Quarantine Station located on

Point Nepean Point Nepean (Boonwurrung: ''Boona-djalang'') marks the southern point of The Rip (the entrance to Port Phillip) and the most westerly point of the Mornington Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia. It was named in 1802 after the British politici ...

History

Started as a charity event to raise money for the

Murdoch Children's Research Institute The Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) is an Australian paediatric medical research institute located in Melbourne, Victoria, affiliated with the Royal Children's Hospital and the University of Melbourne. The institute has six resear ...

, the event only attracted a few hundred spectators in its first year. Across the following few years the event began to grow, drawing in 5000 spectators in its fifth year and selling out for the first time. It has consistently drawn crowds of up to 6000 spectators since, and now raises over $100,000 for the charity annually. The event, which costs over $1 million to run, is funded through sponsorship from large brands, and has variously had naming partnerships with ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

,''

Stella Artois Stella Artois ( , ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent Alcohol by volume, ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is sold in many EU countrie ...

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

Teka The Teka Group is a multinational company founded in Germany in 1924 and engaged in the manufacture and commercialisation of kitchen products. It specializes in sinks, exhaust hoods, hobs and ovens. The group has 14 factories in Europe, the Amer ...

, Elica and

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

. It regularly attracts many well known names from some of Melbourne's most affluent families. The 2008 event was cancelled by the Point Nepean Community Trust due to concerns surrounding an outbreak of equine influenza.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.portseapolo.com.au/ 2002 establishments in Australia Sports organizations established in 2002 Sports competitions in Melbourne Polo competitions in Australia Sport in the Shire of Mornington Peninsula