BHRDCA Heritage

BHRDCA Heritage – Catalogue Entry # 8 – January 2014 1882 to1902 Part 3 – 1893 to 1898

Part 3 looks at the period of the 1890’s depression when formal competition was suspended for five years.

Any corrections, additions and any questions should be referred to Andy Lambert in the first instance at [email protected]

Part 3 – The 1890’s Depression 1893-94 Despite the success of the Eastern District Trophy and the detailed report in June 1893 the ecomonic crisis of 1893 had suddenly taken hold and this had an immediate impact on Melbourne society, including . On 30 January 1893 the Federal Bank failed and by May 1893 no less than eleven banks had suspended trading. As a result Victoria fell into a sudden sharp recession due to the collapse of land prices, speculations and holdings. Players were suddenly out of work and as a result clubs were unsure if they could field teams. This put the future of the Eastern District Trophy in doubt and by September 1893 no mention of the competition was made in the Reporter newspaper regarding the coming season and it appeared that the competition would not be held in 1893-94. The minutes of the Camberwell AGM held in September 1893 included the following note. It was decided not to enter for any trophy until at such time as the club was certain there was to be no local cup. Camberwell and Boroondara eventually entered the Sports Depot matting competition, in which clubs were knocked out by Christmas if they had not won enough games. Other clubs in this competition included teams from Malvern, Coburg, Brunswick, Abbotsford and Clifton Hill. Before the season started, Camberwell played a practice game against East Melbourne’s first XI. The opposition contained future Australian test players, (15 tests between 1899 and 1909), and Peter McAlister (8 tests between 1904 and 1909), along with the legendary Albert Trott (5 tests – 3 for and 2 for England). Fifteen years later the relationship between Laver and McAlister disintegrated McAllister blamed Australian selector Laver for not been selected on the 1905 tour to England. The relationship soured further when the player appointed manager of the 1909 English tour (Laver) would not assist the board appointed tour treasurer (McAlister). Despite the players’ support for Laver, the Australian Board of Control stuck by McAlister and in 1912 it all came to a head at [email protected] 17 January 2014

BHRDCA Heritage a board meeting when and McAlister came to blows and six of Australia’s best players refused to go to England. Unfortunately it is this that McAlister and Laver are best remembered for, despite McAlister’s 11,893 runs for East Melbourne in district cricket, which included 31 centuries and Laver’s 158 first class games. Laver also posted scores of 352 not out against St.Kilda in 1892-93 and 341 against Fitzroy in 1902-03, whilst in he took an 8-31 against England. In this game, Laver made 41 out of East Melbourne’s 128, to which Camberwell responded with 33 with Albert Trott taking 4-2, which was of no shame to the Camberwell batsman as Trott took 1674 first-class and remains the only player to hit a ball over the pavilion at Lords. Following the practice game the season commenced and Camberwell defeated Malvern and Clifton Hill in the first two games, but lost to both Boroondara and Brunswick and were subsequently knocked out of the competition by Christmas. In all, Camberwell played 13 games during the year, winning 4, losing 4 and drawing 4. W.Spear averaged 28.5 for the season with the bat, which included a score 145 against Malvern, whilst James Steele (who left Box Hill to play with Camberwell) averaged 25.5, including 94 against Malvern – who Camberwell thrashed by an innings and 225 runs. With the ball, C.Bankhouse averaged 6.00 The majority of other clubs created their own schedule of ‘ordinary’ matches. Reigning premiers Box Hill played 19 games, winning 8, losing 6 and drawing 5. Their best batsman was Williams with 361 runs at 24.06, whilst Phil Plaisted (283 runs), Hodges (230 runs including 84 not out against Blackburn), and Beck (224 runs) featured. Plaisted was the best of the bowlers with 48 wickets at 10.50, whilst Blackburn took 37 wickets and Beck 27 wickets. At their AGM Mr.J.Sergeant was re-elected President and Plaisted was nominated club Secretary. Surrey Hills played 21 games with 2 wins, 6 losses and 13 draws. R.Falconer made 242 runs at 17.28 which included a score of 109 against the Surrey Hills College. P.Leigh made 164 runs and took 31 wickets, whilst R.Blood took 39 wickets at 9.25. Councilor Beckett was named President and W.Kent and F.Fletcher shared the secretarial duties. At Canterbury’s sixth annual AGM, Mr.B.D.Smith was re-elected President and Mr.A.Walker was elected secretary. In all, the club enjoyed a successful season, playing 21 games, winning 13, losing 6 and drawing 5. W.Dodds won the batting average with 405 runs at 36.9 which included 97 not out against Wentworth Avenue. J.Gunner made 191 runs including 96 against the Melbourne Bohemians, A.Robinson 244 runs and F.Mackie 250 runs. With the ball, Tom Mackie had his best season yet with 85 wickets at 6.59. This included 8-23 against the Bohemians, 8-34 against St.Kilda, and 8-28 against Doncaster. Mackie was supported by J.Allen (39 wickets) and A.Walker 34 wickets. Other clubs to be mentioned during 1893-94 included Burwood, Blackburn and Mitcham. Another club mentioned was Doncaster who enjoyed the services of G.Bullen and Sam Whitten, whilst club coach William Meader made a top-score of 73 against his former club Box Hill. Ferntree Gully received limited coverage with I.Lording (116 not out) and E.Lording (105 not out) both making tons against a local church side. [email protected] 17 January 2014

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The Wesleyan churches also continued with their competition with teams from Boroondara, Auburn, Essendon, Lower Hawthorn, Cremorne and Coburg. Teams representing the Australian Natives Association (ANA) also began to emerge around this time. 1894-95 At Camberwell’s AGM in September 1894, a merger between the Camberwell and Boroondara clubs was discussed with the view this combined side would have more luck against the inner-city clubs playing in the Boyle & Scott and Sports Depot trophies. In the end the merger did not eventuate and as it was, neither side received much coverage in the Reporter during 1894-95 as coverage of the Sports Depot competition dropped off during the season. Boroondara withdraw from the Sports Depot competition mid-season and played local matches only. The season started with Box Hill played East Melbourne in a pre-season game. As with the corresponding game against Camberwell in 1893-94 East Melbourne included Frank Laver, Peter McAlister, and Albert Trott – but none of these three contributed much although East Melbourne still won comfortably which was to be expected from one of the leading clubs in in Melbourne at the time. The season itself consisted of series ordinary matches, with Box Hill, Surrey Hills, and to a lesser extent Canterbury receiving most coverage. There were not many games of note, with arguably the best game of the season in March, when Box Hill defeated Surrey Hills by 140 runs, with Box Hill posting scores of 201 and 157. Both William Meader (12-90) and Phil Plaisted (45 not out and six wickets for the match) enjoyed fine games. Meader had started his third season with Doncaster, but returned to Box Hill at Christmas. Another highlight was A.Edgoose making scores of 100 and 78 in March for Box Hill. The bigger clubs submitted their 1894-95 AGM notes to the Reporter newspaper for publication. Surrey Hills played 16 games, won 9, drew 6 and suffered one loss to Box Hill in the last game of the season. A highlight during the season was dismissing Gwenrose for 14 and 5 in one game with J.Bowen taking 8-3 for the match. W.Falconer made 257 runs at 19.00 to win the batting average, whilst captain R.Blood made 285 runs. With the ball, Kelso averaged 3.00 whilst P.Leigh and Davis both averaged 5.00. At their AGM, the committee quashed any rumors stating clearly there would be no merger with another club. By defeating Surrey Hills in March, Box Hill ended the season unbeaten with 8 wins from 17 games. William Meader returned from Doncaster at Christmas to make 128 runs at 42.66. A.Edgoose made 338 runs, which included 100 against New Collegians, 78 and 51 not out in separate matches against Mitcham. Frank Bishop made 242 runs with 80 against Surrey Hills his highest score, Phil Plaisted made 209 runs and L.Williams 338 runs. With the ball, G.Blackburn took 25 wickets at 4.92 – including 8-14 against Doncaster, Plaisted took 32 wickets and L.Williams 21 wickets. Meader took match figures of 12-90 against Surrey Hills. At their AGM, the club discussed creating a tennis club to leverage from the growing popularity of this sport. Canterbury’s AGM was not recorded in the newspaper, but the efforts of Tom Mackie should be noted. Mackie took figures of 6-18, 6-33 and 6-23 as part of his 21 wickets found for the season and he made three scores over twenty (32, 31 not out and 26). Other clubs to play included Doncaster, Blackburn, Mitcham, Burwood, and Ringwood, whilst smaller clubs like Surrey Hills ANA, Ashburton, Australian Mutual Providence society [email protected] 17 January 2014

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(AMP) all played matches during the year. Burwood made one of the highest scores of the season with 213 against Box Hill, Mills making 72. The newspaper of the day ran weekly advertisements for the Doncaster Horse Races which were held in the land behind the Doncaster Hotel (which still stands in its current location) and mentioned that Surrey Hills had a golf course. Whilst the Doncaster Races disappeared over one-hundred years ago, the Surrey Hills golf club moved down to Riversdale and eventually changed their name to the Riversdale golf club, which remains one of the best known golf clubs in Melbourne. 1895-96 By 1895-96 the depression had taken a firm grip on Melbourne and this was obvious through the lack of clubs and overall recorded interest in cricket. Two clubs, Box Hill and Surrey Hills dominated on the ground and with coverage and only Boroondara could say they received similar level of coverage, and only when they played these two clubs. Further research shows that Boroondara was the result of a merger between the Canterbury and Boroondara clubs and established Canterbury players such as Tom Mackie and Dodds represented this entity throughout the season. Mitcham was another club to disappear and their spot was taken by new club Vermont, with the Moore brothers featuring prominently. Alf Moore was found to take bowling figures of 7-13, 7-19 and 6-35 during the season. Doncaster was another club to reduce their playing activity and only one match was found for them during the season. Other clubs who appeared briefly included Burwood, Ringwood Junction, Augustine, Ashburton, Victorian Softgoods and a team named the Public Library who provided stiff opposition to both Box Hill and Surrey Hills. This season also marked the first mention of East Burwood, who lost by 13 runs to Vermont in January. Surrey Hills started the season by dismissing a team from Wyclif for 10 and 14 to win by an innings and 81 runs. In January, Surrey Hills was due to play South Melbourne ANA, but only two players showed up from the opposition. It was recorded that Surrey Hills enjoyed a successful season, playing 17 games, winning 11 and drawing 6. R.Falconer won the batting average with 195 runs at 32.50, G.Richardson made 240 runs, P.Leigh 248 runs and R.Blood 166 runs. With the ball, J.Davis took all before him, taking 101 wickets at 4.70. Davis took ten wickets in a match on three occasions with figures of 12-23 and 11-39 against Augustine and 10 wickets against Box Hill. Davis also took 9-6 in the first match of the season against Wyclif. R.Blood took 48 wickets in support of Davis. Special mention was given to the keeping of Arthur Gibbs. Box Hill played 21 games, winning 10, drawing 10 and losing 1. James Steele won the batting award with 446 runs at 29.73, which included 104 not out against Robert Reid & Co. F.Bishop scored 317 runs which included scores of 53 not out, 53 and 42. William Meader completed his successful return to Box Hill with 378 runs and 37 wickets. Meader made three fifties with a highest score of 64 against Ringwood, where he also took 5-37. Against the Victorian Railways, Meader took 8-34. Phil Plaisted made 235 runs and won the with 43 wickets at 8.69 which included figures of 6-29, 5-37 and 5-38. At the September 1896 AGM, Plaisted stepped down as club secretary and was replaced by William Meader, but this was short lived and Plaisted returned to the role by November. [email protected] 17 January 2014

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1896-97 The first note of the new season was the re-appearance of Canterbury and the disappearance of Boroondara. It is assumed that the merged entity had decided to change their name from Boroondara in 1895-96 to Canterbury in 1896-97. Coverage for the 1896-97 season was dominated by Box Hill, Surrey Hills, and Canterbury who could now be considered the ‘big three’ clubs – a status they would hold for the next forty years – especially in the fifteen years after WWI. Other clubs mentioned included Vermont, Burwood, Augustine, the Public Library and the Victorian Railways side which contained several district level players. Tooronga received its first mention, whilst both East Burwood and Ferntree Gully were recorded for one match. A club known as Glenroy also played on a regular basis, but it is unclear where this club was based – it certainly wasn’t from the suburb based in north western Melbourne. One of the best matches of the season was in early November when Box Hill and Canterbury clashed. Box Hill posted a competitive 178 with James Steele making 54 and Richardson 46. In reply, Canterbury reached an imposing 5-242 with Percy Watsford making 113; whilst Tom Mackie made a career high 88 not out. In the return match, Box Hill had the better of a draw with 142 against Canterbury’s 97. Surrey Hills did not match up as well against Box Hill or Canterbury, but they did dismiss Burwood for 20, whilst posting 5-138 in reply. They also had the better of Box Hill in the last game of the year, Box Hill struggling at 7-36 against Surrey Hills’ 100, when time ran out. The newspaper published club 1896-97 AGM’s and it was recorded that Box Hill played 18 games, winning 6, lost 3 and drew 9. The batting was led by James Steele with 384 runs at 29.50, which included two scores of 54. William Meader made 233 runs, including 68 not out and he also took 33 wickets with efforts of 6-17 and 6-28. Phil Plaisted made 196 runs and won the bowling average with 50 wickets at 7.30. Plaisted took figures of 5-28, 5-30 and 5-34 during the season. Mr.Rodgerson continued as President and Mr.N.Downie was elected Secretary. After a slow start, Surrey Hills played 23 games, won 7, lost 3 and drew 13. As recorded at their AGM, Albert Barton won the batting with 209 runs at 23.20, whilst P.Leigh made 342 runs including a score of 81 not out. Captain, R.Falconer, started the season well and reached 270 runs – but there is a note at the AGM stating that he had left the club (under controversial circumstances) – which did not last long as he had returned by the start of the following season. With the ball, D.Bowen took 41 wickets at 6.70, whilst J.Davis ended the season with 45 wickets after a slow start, his best bowling was 7-13. At the AGM there was discussion about sharing Canterbury’s ground as Surrey Hills felt their ground was unsuitable but this did not go ahead. By the early 1920’s, Surrey Park was seen as the premier ground in the Reporter competition and it is still used today. With their name change Canterbury came out firing in 1896-97 and for their tenth season, played 21 games, won 13, lost 1 and drew 7. Percy Watsford won the batting with 477 runs at 39.90, and he also took 32 wickets. Watsford made 113 against Box Hill, along with scores of 58 and 54. Frank Bishop moved across from Box Hill and made 550 runs which included 106 not out against the Public Library and other scores of 63, 59, 54, 50, 43 and 38. Other batsman to make runs included skipper, W.Dodds and A.Edgoose. With the ball, Tom Mackie took 66 wickets at 9.50 which included figures of 6-10, 5-9 and 5-25. J.Allan was [email protected] 17 January 2014

BHRDCA Heritage next best with 52 wickets. At the AGM, Mr.B.D.Smith was re-elected President, whilst their secretary Arthur Walker retired and the spot was left vacant. Vermont’s AGM was not recorded, but the efforts of Alf Moore should be noted. Moore took figures of 7-23, 7-9 and 5-31 during the season and was Vermont’s dominant player. 1897-98 By 1897-98 the number of clubs playing, matches played, and the level of newspaper coverage had returned to pre-depression levels of 1892, but there was still no formal competition organized. New clubs to start playing included the Box Hill United Churches and Mitcham United, which was an amalgamation of Vermont (whose playing group were mostly from the original Mitcham) and ‘The Australia Club’ – of which no previous mention has been found. Games involving East Burwood, Augustine, Doncaster, Doncaster Heights, the Victorian Softgoods, Blackburn and even Kew Asylum and Deaf Mutes was found alongside matches featuring Box Hill, Canterbury and Surrey Hills. Interesting games found during the season included a game where Mitcham United made 140, to which Lane & Co responded with 7-10 and they duly abandoned the game. Box Hill defeated Surrey Hills by four runs in December, with William Meader making 33 and taking 6-22 for Box Hill, whilst W.Wallace took 5-2 for Surrey Hills. Over the same week, Canterbury defeated Mitcham United despite Alf Moore’s 9-41 and 28 for the Mitcham club. Playing Alameda, Box Hill’s Johnson Strangward took 9-18 and James Steele made 28 not out, but Box Hill could only draw the game, finishing eleven runs short of the target set by Alameda. In early February, Canterbury defeated Box Hill by 14 runs, with Canterbury’s A.Leach making 86 not out and Johnson Strangward taking match figures of 8-52 for Box Hill. During the same month, Doncaster made 183 against Box Hill, despite E.Rawlings taking 9-40 for Box Hill. In late February, Surrey Hills made 2-208 against Roseberry with J.Barton (72 not out) and Albert Barton (119) putting together a huge partnership. In March, Box Hill Uniting’s S.Williams took 9-11 against Mitcham United, whilst Canterbury posted 2-212 against the Titles Office with A.Leach (103 not out) and R.Falconer (78 not out) proving they were a match for Surrey Hills’ Barton brothers who were regarded as two of the best players around. But, the best game of the season was in early March when Box Hill took on Surrey Hills. Box Hill made 76, with Albert Barton taking 3-23 and A.Gunner 3-27, to which Surrey Hills responded with 131, with Albert Barton (41) and J.Barton (58) holding out F.Clarke (5-14). William Meader (56) then helped Box Hill to 151 in their second dig, with A.Gunner (4-42) and Albert Barton (5-62) the best of the bowlers. Needing 96 to win outright, Surrey Hills fell six runs short with 6-90, Albert Barton making 23 to end a fine individual performance. At the completion of the season, the Surrey Hills AGM recorded that Albert Barton won both the batting and bowling awards with 452 runs at 20.54 and 70 wickets at 7.36. The best of Barton’s performances were during late February / early March 1898, when he made 119 against Roseberry, a match double of 41, 23, 3-23 and 5-62 against Box Hill, followed by a double of 53 and 6-18 against the Victorian Softgoods, then 6-16 against the Deaf Mutes. [email protected] 17 January 2014

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J.Barton made 347 runs and took 25 wickets, P.Leigh made 198 runs, Fletcher made 171 runs, A.Gunner took 17 wickets and W.Connor took 55 wickets for the season. Box Hill played 19 games, won 7, lost 4 and drew 8. Jack Cronin won the batting with 174 runs at 21.35, Charles White made 108 runs, Phil Plaisted 216 runs (and 16 wickets), F.Clarke 210 runs and James Steele 257 runs. Captain, William Meader, made 192 runs and took 36 wickets with a highest score of 56 and best bowling of 6-22. The best of the bowlers was new player Johnson Strangward, who took 49 wickets at 5.68 which included 9-18 against Alameda. Canterbury played 24 games, winning 13, lost 2 and drew 9. Whilst aggregates are not recorded, R.Falconer won the batting average with 36.45, whilst A.Leach recorded 35.47 and A.Abud 34.54. Falconer made 78 not out against the Titles Office, with Leach making 86 not out against Box Hill and 103 not out against the Titles Office. With the ball, Tom Mackie averaged 9.7 from 23 wickets found with best bowling of 7-20. J.Allan averaged 10.68 from 14 wickets found. Harry Swan was named club Secretary to begin his long administrative association with local cricket. The Box Hill Uniting Churches played 20 games, winning 7, losing 7 and drawing the remaining 6. Their level of coverage was on par with that of the big three clubs and they proved competitive. E.Slater made 260 runs at 22.2 to win the batting, whilst P.Fairbridge made 250 runs. With the ball, Stewart Williams dominated with 79 wickets at 7.40. In three successive games in January, Williams took 9-11 against Mitcham, 7-18 against Survey, and 6-67 against the Camberwell Uniting Churches. The next best bowler was P.Harvey with 45 wickets. Mitcham United held their AGM, which was presided over by President J.Walker. D.Bowen won the batting average with 20.00, whilst Alf Moore won the bowling with an average of 7.70. Moore took 9-41 against Canterbury and with the bat he made scores of 38 not out, 30 not out and 30 during the season. At the Doncaster AGM, W.Bullen won the batting trophy, whilst R.Buck won the bowling.

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