the Spanish–American War, stopping all baseball activities until November 1899. Oceania Besides Australia and New Zealand, some of the island nations in the Pacific have baseball federations, especially those with American or Japanese backgrounds, such as Guam or Saipan. The only country from the region which has participated in major international competitions is Australia. Australia The first noted baseball game in Australia was played in 1869. This game, played at The Old Lonsdale Cricket Ground, near the Botanical Gardens is the first reference in Melbourne newspapers: The first match of the Baseball Club will be played on the old Lonsdale Cricket ground, near the Botanieal-gardens-bridge, at half-past two o'clock this afternoon. This game is as popular in America as cricket is here, and as to-day will witness its first trial in the colonies it will no doubt prove attractive to lovers of out-door sports. However, there are suggestions of earlier games on the Victorian goldfields (possibly amongst American miners chasing wealth on Victorian fields) and a passing reference in the Tasmanian Colonial Times and Tasmanian of 22 September 1855. On this occasion, complaint was made of the intrusion on the sabbath of players of sports including baseball. At the end of the 19th century, Americans also tried to set up baseball leagues and competitions in Australia, with some success. A national league was initiated in 1934, and the national team entered World Championship competition in the late 1970s. Prior to winning the silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Australia had finished 7th in the Olympics twice, which is also the highest position reached in World Championships. A national-level competition still exists, as well as lower-level club competitions, but the game attracts comparatively little spectator or media interest. Several Australians, however, have attracted the attention of American scouts and have moved on to play in the major leagues in the United States and Japan. The revived Australian Baseball League began again in 2010–11 season. New Zealand Albert Spalding's team of All-Stars in 1888 is the first known baseball game played in New Zealand. Since that time, various local competitions have existed, but it wasn't until 1989 that the New Zealand Baseball Association was formed, consisting of teams in the Auckland area. It would be 14 more years before baseball would venture out of Auckland with the creation of the Canterbury Baseball Club in 2003. 2006 saw the Northland