game were no doubt played in Australia from its colonial beginnings. All colonies of Australia were well established when the final versions of the rules of the game were codified by the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1875 and by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in 1877 when it held its first tournament at Wimbledon. Tennis was regularly played at the SCG in the early days. The Sydney tournament which was to become the New South Wales Open, was first played at the SCG in 1885 before moving to the NSW Lawn Tennis Club's courts at Double Bay, then to White City and later to the Olympic Tennis Centre at Homebush Bay. The SCG was the host of the 1908 Australasian Championships. Motor racing In 1898, Sydney cycle firm, Gavin Gibson Ltd, imported seven motorised tricycles produced by Count Jules-Albert de Dion and powered by one cylinder petrol engines designed by his partner Georges Bouton. On the evening of 1 January 1901, these seven machines raced around the concrete cycle track which ringed the inside of the SCG in those days to compete in Australia's first ever motor race. Empire Games The SCG was the main stadium for the 1938 British Empire Games which were tied into the State's sesqui-centenary celebrations. Perhaps because of this the Federal Government provided no money and only £10,000 came from the State Government to cover the organising committee's administrative costs. The budget was therefore, very tight and using the existing SCG was one way of making ends meet. Cyclist Edgar "Dunc" Gray led the teams onto the ground and athletes ran on a makeshift grass track. Rugby union Club rugby was first played at the then Civil and Military Ground as early as 1870, and the first inter-colonial game was played there in 1882. NSW beat Queensland 28–4. From June 1911 the NSW Rugby League had exclusive use of the SCG, as well as the Sydney Sports Ground and the Sydney Showground, preventing rugby union games from being played there. Over the years the SCG hosted 71 rugby union tests before Sydney international matches were moved first to Waratah Rugby Park (Concord Oval), then the Sydney Football Stadium and later Stadium Australia. The largest ever crowd to watch a rugby union match at the SCG was 49,327 who saw NSW played New Zealand on 13 July 1907. Of those 71 tests none