Players of Note in the Shadows (Part 1)
Gordon District Cricket Club | May 06, 2025
Period: 1905 - 1940s
When the Gordon District Cricket Club entered the Sydney Grade cricket competition in the 1905-06 season it was the 20th club in the competition and the 16th in First Grade. There was obviously a level of expectation and a sense of anticipation that the club would develop, as it was the only club on the North Shore after the North Sydney DCC.
In those formative years there were cricketers who had already made their mark. Dr Gother Clarke and Bob Hickson needed no introduction. Clarke, a left-arm slow bowler, and Hickson, an opening bat, had both played for New South Wales. During the season Frank Iredale, a former Australian player, along with Keith McPhillamy and Gordon Black, both former NSW players, joined the club. Iredale was to continue playing First Grade with the club until the 1918-19 season when he was 51. Charlie Macartney, aged 19, had played for the North Sydney DCC the previous season and was a player of much promise. In the following year he was selected for New South Wales and then Australia. Apart from a brief sojourn in Otago in New Zealand Macartney was most loyal to the club, playing up until the 1933-34 season. He scored the first century for the club, 114 against Glebe in the club’s first season.
The arrival of Victor Trumper in the 1909-10 season was a wonderful fillip for the club. Having Australia’s best batsman playing on Chatswood Oval was certainly what the doctor ordered. His arrival saw a First Grade premiership in the 191011 season, six years after entering the Grade competition. Players such as Bert Shortland, 40 wickets in the summer, complemented Macartney who took 51 wickets at 14.04. The future for the club looked bright.
The Great War of 1914-1918 had a marked effect on the club with seven members from the club giving their lives for freedom. The club’s Honour Roll records the names of Gother Clarke, Colin McCullough, Arthur Bruce, Reginald Black, Fred Easton, Owen Ford and John Rule.
The passing of Victor Trumper saw his younger brother Syd take his place in the Gordon team. Syd was to play with the club for 19 seasons and serve on the committee and at a NSWCA level in various capacities. With the war over several players with a strong cricket background joined the club. They had all been members of the AIF Cricket Team, which had been formed at the conclusion of the war. Charlie Kellaway was already a Test player and along with Bert Oldfield and the mercurial Johnny Taylor (pictured in feature image) added much to the playing strength over the next 15 summers.
There were other players with cricket in their veins who helped the club. For a brief period, there was the quality batsman Dr Claude Tozer, whose life came to a tragic end shot dead by a patient, Austin Diamond, a former NSW captain, and EA Dwyer, later to become an Australian selector.
The arrival of Johnnie Moyes, who assumed the mantle as captain, saw the club annex its second premiership in the 1923-24 season. Moyes was an innovative captain and charismatic cricketer who had played a lot of first-class cricket for South Australia.
The fortunes of the club ebbed and flowed. There was strength in the lower grades with some players contributing significantly to the richness of the club. Rayford Robinson, a local boy, caught the eye of the selectors. This wonderfully gifted batsman did not live up to his early promise. There was an appearance for Australia and a period of wandering in Australia and New Zealand. As Bert Oldfield once said, “Rayford could have been the next best to Macartney. He had it all at the wicket, but life paid him no favours.” He had a very difficult time in the war and suffered for the rest of his life. Jack Potter scored heavily for the club in three decades as did R Lowing who holds the all-time batting record for the club where he plied his craft for over 40 years. R Giddey, JN Campell and the larger-than-life fast bowler LC Hynes, later Sir Lincoln, bowled with much vigour for Gordon and New South Wales.
As in World War I, the Gordon DCC had a significant representation in World War II. The Honour Board lists 110 players who served, with nine losing their lives – G Martin, L Holland, R Lockrey, J McDonagh, D Robinson, N Spalding, G Thame, N Trumper and J Wearne.
The late 1940s saw the club win a few premierships on the back of some fine cricketers for the club. There was Sid Carroll, an extraordinary talent, both as a batsman and captain. Both Gordon, NSW and young aspiring cricketers benefited much from ‘Uncle Sid’ on and off the field. During that time ‘Ginty’ Lush captained the club with the former NSW player, who also played cricket for the famous Sir Julien Cahn XI, adding a much-needed balance to the club. He was a sound journalist who had wonderful insight into the players and ensured they gave their best. With enterprising cricketers such as Derek Mendl behind the stumps, together with his aggressive batting, this English-born cricketer, who kept his cricket trousers with various cricket ties, ensured his fellow players always had something to talk about.
[Part 2 follows shortly]
RONALD CARDWELL and JAMES CATTLIN
© The Cricket Press Pty Ltd and RL Cardwell and J Cattlin
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