Background

In the period up until 1881, there was no settlement of Wauchope as we know it today and no local newspaper to report on news relevant to the Hastings communities, until the ‘Port Macquarie News and Hastings Advocate’ was established in 1882. Prior to 1882, local correspondents may have sent away articles for possible publication to newspapers such as the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ and ‘The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser’. It may have been a number of weeks however before any article was published.

While small farming existed, timber was the primary industry of this region with small communities first established around the timber mills at Ennis (Redbank) and Huntingdon. Others were later developed in the lower and upper reaches of the Hastings River.

Rollands Plains Cricket Club was the inaugural club formed in 1843, where they largely played matches between themselves such as “Married Men” vs “Single Men”. They played their first inter-club game against the Port Macquarie Cricket Club in 1857.

Hastings Cricket Club

The Hastings Cricket Club which represented the greater Wauchope region, was the 3rd club formed. In an article published in the ‘Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate’ on 13 July 1895, comment was made “the first cricket match was played in this District between the Hastings and Rollands Plains in ‘61, and (he) believed it was played on a part of Huntingdon estate”.  

Cricket matches were irregular and dependent on farming activities within the district. Quite often, matches were largely played between cropping seasons when a pitch could be cut in fields, and therefore matches were played on almost bare earth. Due to the irregularity of matches, clubs were not formed into perpetuity, but on an annual basis.

Although little is known of the inaugural match, details of the first confirmed game appeared in ‘The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser’ on 6 March 1862 written by the Rollands Plains correspondent. Played on 26 February 1862, the result was a disappointment to the Plains’ men who at the time not only had 2 teams to select a combination, but were well experienced cricketers with many games behind them either playing intra-club, against Port Macquarie, or the 2 sole Macleay clubs of Frederickton and Union (Kempsey). The article read:

“The much talked of game of cricket came off at Redbank Hastings River, on Wednesday, the 26th instant, between the Rolland's Plains and Hastings River Clubs and the like of the first innings of the Plains men I suppose was never heard of before, and I suppose a game of cricket was never played on such a bad piece of ground. It was as hard as a stone, and all in hills and hollows, so that the ball went in a zigzag manner, and was very hard to play to. The Hastings men went in first.

Hastings

Rollands Plains

I am almost ashamed to send you this but I suppose it is nothing but right to send the account when we lose as well as when we win.”

This was possibly the first report of pitch doctoring!

Due to isolation, cricket was not just a game between players but importantly a means of social gathering of communities. It therefore became part of the social fabric in those communities. With teams sometimes having to travel large distances to play, the same correspondent wrote to ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ (published on 14 March 1862) detailing post game activities following the match above.  

“After the conclusion of the game a scratch match, of eleven picked by the captains of the respective clubs, was played, to fill up the time until six o'clock, when the whole field, umpires, scorers, and visitors were taken across the river to partake of a sumptuous repast provided by the Hastings Cricket Club. Due attention having been paid to the liberal supply of good things, the usual loyal toasts were given by the chairman, and received with more than usual warmth. These were followed by others of a more local nature, each club, umpires, captains, &c., coming in for a share of the compliments. About 10 o'clock the company parted, with an understanding that a return match was to come off at Rolland's Plains on or about St Patrick's Day”.

The next match against Rollands Plains was played on 18 March 1862, and reported in ‘The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser’, on 3 April 1862.  

“We have had another contest, played on the 18th March, with the Hastings River men, which resulted in the defeat of our men by 21 runs. The decisions of the Hastings umpire were, however, disputed, very justly.”

With firstly pitch doctoring and now the questioning of umpire decisions, no further reports of matches played against Rollands Plains by the Hastings Cricket club are available.

It has been assumed the formation of the settlement of Wauchope in 1881 signalled the end of the Hastings Cricket Club. In 1882 when the ‘Port Macquarie News and Hastings Advocate’ was established, the Hastings Cricket Club had split into 3 clubs being the Wauchope Cricket Club, the Huntingdon Cricket Club and the Rawdon Island Cricket Club. With the slow demise of Port Macquarie from 1847 when it was no longer a penal settlement, Wauchope became the hub of industry, and the heart of cricket in the region.

The roots of cricket in our region go back to 1861, with the Wauchope RSL Cricket Club the custodians of that history. Due to sponsorship arrangements into the current naming of our club, we are in effect the Wauchope Cricket Club, responsible for the history of other local clubs formed in the area, when we all fell under the banner of the inaugural Hastings Cricket Club