The spectacle of the spectator

The Sydney Cricket Ground crowds are known for the larrikins and barrackers who frequent The Hill. One of these was the legendary spectator, Yabba. Yabba (whose real name was Stephen Gascoigne) was born in 1878 and died in 1942. He was a regular at The Hill in the early twentieth century and earned the nickname for his animated and witty barracking. Yabba's connection to the SCG was so strong that a grassy bank at the south end of the ground was named for him. This area was eventually concreted over but in 1991 the Yabba’s Hill sign was erected at the base of the videoscreen.