Howzat! Early Cricket Days

The history of cricket in Australia began in December 1803. In the late 1800s it became a very popular game for men in the Near North Coast.

In the absence of any sporting grounds, paddocks were used to play the game, but they often proved rough going due to long grass and cows grazing nearby. 

M865760 Visiting school cricket team at Buderim, ca 1900.

Townsend’s paddock in Burnett Street was where the game was staged in Buderim from the late 1800s.

Joseph Foote’s property Mons Amri, which had a concrete pitch, was a much more popular place to play in later years.

Buderim’s Len Sorensen, a prolific batsman, was a champion player in the 1930s and if Len played, his team would be the winning side.

He played for many years, and such was his love of the game, he would walk to Woombye for a game if he couldn’t get a lift.

M734577 Woombye Men’s Cricket Club, ca 1925.

Beerwah’s butcher, George Pitt, was the Beerwah club captain in the early 1930s. 

P89922 George Pitt standing next to his bogged coach. As a wicket keeper he was so big behind the stumps those playing against the Beerwah team couldn’t get a ball past him.

George Pitt was a big man and as wicketkeeper, he was such an imposing figure behind the stumps that those playing against the Beerwah team couldn’t get a ball past him. 

Beerwah often travelled across the rough roads to Caloundra for a game and played on Tripcony Park next to the saltwater creek. 

P90068 Beerwah’s Simpson brothers L-R: Robert, Bill and Doug, on their way to play cricket at the Beerwah sports ground, 1930.

Caloundra residents at that time included the commercial fishing families the Clarkes and Chaplins, and Beerwah members and other teams would generally go home with fresh fish for their families after these games. 

Today, cricket is more popular than ever, with women, men and junior teams being part of the Sunshine Coast Scorchers playing on pitches and grounds without the boundary riders of cows that our early cricketers could not even imagine.

M403329 Buderim Girls Cricket Team, ca 1945.

Thanks to Sunshine Coast Council’s Heritage Library Officers for the words and Picture Sunshine Coast for the images.

M180155 Chevallum Cricket Club, ca 1940.

M191233 Nambour Cricket Club during the Isis Cricket Club Tour, 1906.

M191678 Yandina Cricket Team, ca 1908.

M868444 A Grade match between Nambour and Southern District, Nambour, 1973.

M868445 International cricketer Tom Graveney (centre) at Maroochy Cricket Association’s presentation of trophies dance, Civic Hall, Nambour, April 1971.

P88133 Mooloolah Social Cricket Team at the Mooloolah Recreational Ground after a match with the Nambour Cricket Team, ca 1938.

P89473 Mooloolah Cricket Club Annual Ball ticket, 1909.

P90458 Cricket team at the Rotunda in the Landsborough Peace Memorial Park, Maleny Road, Landsborough, ca 1930.