Last year, The Bugle published an article about the 100th anniversary of the Gerringong and District Cricket Association. There were five clubs that existed, Gerringong Town (The Seagulls) Toolijooa, Omega, Crooked River and Foxground. When the Association folded in 1938, all those clubs ceased to exist. This was a pity as they were such a big part of the community in those days. Foxground 90 years ago was such a vibrant community with a school, church and post office. There have been get-togethers from time to time, whereby old residents have met and remembered the good times. Horris Kemp, the schoolteacher, was a favourite topic.I was talking to Brad Speering, President of the Gerringong Cricket Club, about this and he said “no worries, I have established a social competition of cricket with five teams starting this year.”The teams will have the names of the five clubs from 100 years ago. He has even designed brightly coloured shirts. The name ‘Foxground Renegades’ will be prominently displayed on one of the shirts. I felt a tinge of excitement thinking about how proud the ghosts all of the residents of the old Foxground village would feel seeing the old Foxground Cricket Club live again, if only in a social competition.It got me thinking about an old article my father, Clive Emery, wrote about a cricket game between Foxground Cricket Club and a visiting group from Tonga. It does not have a date but I am sure it would have been in the 1930s sometime as that is when my father lived in Foxground.I wanted to share his story of the day as it mentions such a large number of those wonderful people from that community:Other writers may tell of their games, but I will restrict myself to one in particular that was as a fun game which the Foxground team played against a Tongan team brought to Australia by the members of the Methodist Church fraternity, Tonga being under their jurisdiction.  The game was to be played during the week, so as not to impinge on the Saturday competition games.  All hands and the cook attended as if it was an International game.  School holidays were on, so most of the boys from the Foxground School were present, hoping to be included in the game if needed, which we were, since the Tongans brought along fifteen hefty fellows, all anxious to be part of the teams.  It was therefore decided that all should have a bat, so our team picked enough of the schoolkids to make up to fifteen as well.  It was the first and only time all the fielding positions ever invented were fully manned. We could almost hold hands around the batsmen!It was a terrific morning with plenty of sunshine. I had the stove hot before I went to the milking yard, to assist mother with her cooking for the great day, and I know most of the women in the Foxground Valley were doing the same, for we were doing the entertaining and a big crowd was expected.Irvine Thompson would be taking his kerosene can along, blackened by the many services it had rendered for the making of tea, and a factory can of water for all purposes.  Mollie Foley would be making her prize-winning sponges, cemented together with ample whipped and flavoured cream.My mother would be making enough scones and sandwiches to feed an army, and this would be replicated in the homes of all our players and supporters.Our home ground was really in Broughton Village, a mile south of Foxground, and an assortment of cars and sulkies gathered about and horses were tethered to a fence in the shade of the gum trees beyond the boundary line by the time Stanton’s truck load of happy Tongans arrived.  They were dressed in the home costumes of shirt and skirt, with happy smiles and bare feet with pink soles and heads of massed curly hair.   It was the first time most of the schoolmates had seen men coming to play cricket with bare feet, and thought it an odd thing to do, especially as we had a couple fast bowlers in Stan Leaney and Jack Thompson! The ladies arrived with their baskets of food, and Wenty Craig helped them across the stream that was one boundary of the ground.  The pole bridging the stream was a bit daunting for them, so members of our team took their baskets across and then helped the ladies safely across to the shade of four gum trees where the meal was to be held, Irvine suggesting we should not trust them to carry the food across, else it might be lodged in the stream and be lost, but if a lady fell in she would surely survive and he could dry her off when he had the fire going to boil the water for tea. Venie Craig took him up on that, and said if she fell in she would take him with her, which he parried declaring if he had to fall in he hoped it would be with a younger woman, which brought a grimace, and a rather scalding response.  By common consent the visitors were allowed to have first bat, and Stan opened the bowling, with Wenty stating he would be one umpire and Billy Winter at other end.  Before the game started I heard Wenty whispering in Billy’s ear that he could close his eyes a bit to appeals, and Billy nodded his approval.Harry Miller was our wicket-keeper, and advised Stan to bowl on the off, not so much for the comfort of the visitors as much as for himself to get a good sight of the fast deliveries he had to stop.  The wickets began to fall, but the Tongan captain, a huge fellow about fifteen stone proved a defiant batsman and began to take charge of our bowlers, and Irvine called upon Stan to lob one on his big toe nail as the way to get him out, but Wenty declared it would be a no-ball if he did, but Irvine said he would be able use the toenail for a shovel (as it was larger than a crown piece). Meanwhile, Stan kept bowling on the off as directed, then he bowled one on   the leg side that the batsman could not handle, and neither could Harry, for it struck him right in the middle of his large paunch and knocked the wind out of him for a while, and he had to sit down and have the spot massaged by the slip fieldsmen to get his wind back.This caused a deal of merriment for the Tongan batsmen, but not as much as when Alan Motley slipped on the pole and dangled his feet in the stream, unable to resurrect himself, and had to shuffle along the pole to the other side.Then it was lunch time, and Irvine, who had the can of tea boiled and wanted to call everyone to lunch, so he asked one of the Tongans how to call their fellows to lunch, and the fellow said: ‘Kai-Kai’, so Irvine kept calling out: ‘Kai-Kai’, until his wife told him to shut-up, ‘he sounded like a young magpie swallowing a grub!’  The luncheon was a hilarious occasion. Everyone was in a joyous mood, and suitable speeches were made, with Irvine declaring Mollie Foley’s sponge cakes were high enough to make a milking-stool, when she proudly accepted as praise when she brought them forth.The Tongans had scored one hundred and five runs and would have scored more if the ball had not been hit into the stream. A thorough search was required to find it and so much time was lost.With luncheon over, the Foxground team went in to bat.  The two Thompson boys Jack and Tom opened for us, while the rest of our team sat under the Coral trees to watch, along with my sister Olive who was the Foxground scorer.  One of our chaps hit a ball high into the air and it was going to come down where we sat, so Billy Winter, who had been relieved of umpiring, made to catch it, but the nor-east wind caused it to swerve and, in its descent, caught Billy right on the nose, which sent him to the stream to stop the bleeding. He had to have a handkerchief knotted around his head to protect the skinned area. He explained how he ‘had his eye on the ball, and the wind caught it, and…’ but Wenty Craig assured him if he had his eye on it he would have a black eye and not a bloody nose!  Meanwhile, we sat and applauded every stroke and run, to try and urge our players to greater efforts. It was all great fun; even the tricks played on the unsuspecting spectators by Frank Thompson, one of our schoolmates, when he tickled the ears of the intense barrackers with a straw of paspalum grass and had them repeatedly slapping at the imaginary flies all the while.Frank was our fifteenth batsman and managed to win the game on an overthrow! We loaded our visitors on the lorry and gave them three mighty cheers and a basket of left-over food as they moved off, while we rolled up the mats and stacked the gear away. Altogether it had been a great day; one not to be remembered for the game itself, but by the comradeship and good humour of players and spectators alike, not to mention of course, the Billy tea and superlative luncheon provided by the ladies.’ 

When my father, Clive Emery, passed away, I was tasked with sorting through his historical treasures. Among these was an article from the Kiama Independent from 1951 which was entitled ‘Cricket in the Nineties’, meaning, of course, the 1890s. It outlined matches played by Gerringong against other teams. The author had based his research on some scorebooks he had borrowed from Athol Noble, who is arguably the greatest sporting official in the Kiama district, let alone just Gerringong.I spent my time thinking these scorebooks must surely be one of the most valuable historical artefacts in Gerringong cricket history, if not all Gerringong history.Athol had long since passed away and I was wondering if they still existed. Luckily, Michael Tierney came to the rescue. He was in possession of a wonderful collection from Athol. As well as the scorebooks there was a large scrapbook of articles about Paul Quinn, who must challenge Michael Cronin as the best Rugby League player Gerringong has ever produced.  Michael kindly donated these scorebooks as well as the other priceless artefacts and they are now the most prized possession of the Gerringong Cricket Club. At this moment I want to digress a while to set the scene for the tale.Firstly, 100 years ago, give or take 50 years, sporting clubs from Sydney would venture out into the country to play matches in various sports against country towns or Groups. They may have been playing a challenge match for a competition, playing promotional games to foster the particular sport or just having a relaxing weekend away bonding with their teammates. For example, in 1934 South Sydney Rugby League team played a match against Group 7 in Kiama. Incidentally Group 7 contained a Gerringong boy whose name was Eric Langton, a wonderful rugby league player, who was an excellent cricketer as well. Secondly, the Sydney area around Redfern Oval is very built up these days. However, in the 1890s this was not the case. A large open space existed in the form of Albert Park. In the late 1800s there was the premier sporting ground that went by the name of Albert Oval. Many great games of cricket were played there up to the 1870s. A very powerful cricket club, Albert Club, was based at that oval. The ground was closed in 1880 but the Redfern Albert CC played their games at what is now known as Redfern Oval. The old Albert Ground is now a public housing tower building behind the oval. Maybe the open parkland that used to exist there is where they got the rabbits from for the ‘rabbitohs ‘ to sell.Back to the tale. There is not a lot of information on the match unfortunately, other than the priceless scorebook. However, it is assumed that the Redfern Albert Club decided to take a trip down the coast to Kiama. I am imagining the team trooping out to Central Station to catch a steam train for a picturesque trip down the coast. After establishing themselves in one of the local hotels the team challenged Gerringong CC to a match. And therefore, on 7th November 1895 Redfern Albert CC played Gerringong CC at what is now known as Micheal Cronin Oval. Gerringong batted first and scored a very respectable 229. P. Deitz top scored with 57. Other significant scorers were R. Bell with 49 and J.M. Miller 48. Redfern Albert responded with 148. N. Camps was the best bowler for Gerringong with 4 for 34. No doubt the game was played in great spirit and Redfern Albert returned by train to Sydney after a very relaxing weekend. Maybe they had a celebration with the Gerringong club in the School of Arts hall (which is now the museum).Redfern Albert was not the only Sydney team to make the trip. The scorebook has scores from matches against MacDonaldtown and Strathfield Cricket Clubs.One interesting point is that the Gerringong team has a ‘J. Dixon’ mentioned. This is Joe Dixon, who, I hazard to guess, was the first Wodi Wodi sportsperson to play cricket, or indeed for any sporting team, in the Gerringong district.  He was fondly remembered by my father who met him as a little boy living in Gerroa, when Joe was a much older man. Athol also spoke very highly of him when asked to recall great Gerringong identities in the first newsletter of the newly formed Gerringong and District Historical society in 1982.Joe came to the attention of the Gerringong Cricket Club for his skilled performances while playing for the Crooked River/Wodi Wodi Cricket Club. This club was formed from Dharawal men and boys living in what is now called Gerroa by Mickey Weston, a tribal elder and, presumably, cricket fanatic. The team toured the South Coast for a time. But that’s another story.As I said, there is little or no information about the game or the trip undertaken by the Redfern Albert club in 1895. If it was not for Athol’s love of collecting artefacts the game and the players would be lost in the mists of time. These scorebooks show the love affair that the Gerringong District has with cricket for many, many years.Author: Mark Emery

All Kiama locals and visitors know the central park on the northside of Terralong Street between Collins and Shoalhaven Street in Kiama as Hindmarsh Park, but how well-known is the history of Hindmarsh Park? In 1967, Kiama Council renamed ‘part of Central Park’ to Hindmarsh Park to honour community services by Michael Nesbit Hindmarsh, Nesbit Evans Hindmarsh and Alfred Neil Hindmarsh, in addition to the role of Michael Hindmarsh and his siblings in the very early days of the settlement of Kiama, where Hindmarsh’s Store on Black Beach was one of the first structures and Micheal’s brother George was the first Postmaster.On Saturday 20 November 2010, a new plaque commemorating the ‘Founding Orphans’ was unveiled in Hindmarsh Park, Kiama, explaining the provenance of the name.It celebrates the central role that the Hindmarsh family played in establishing Kiama, as well as the strong civic role that family had made in all facets of Kiama over the next four generations.The Hindmarsh family got their land grant at Gerringong in 1822, and built Alne Bank in 1855 which has been lived in by ten generations of Hindmarshes to this day. The founding orphans of the plaque cover the history of Michael Hindmarsh who arrived in 1822, age 22. Michael Hindmarsh had 14 children and the extended family played many roles in Kiama’s life. Their fourth child was Kiama Mayor eight times. One of the first structures in Kiama was the Hindmarsh general store, which was supplied by boats landing on Black Beach before Kiama Harbour was built. Micheal’s sister, Hannah ran a school. In addition, later generations served on Kiama council, and played a variety of community roles. Nesbit Hindmarsh had the Kiama Motors, and lived in ‘Rosebank’ a Hardy Wilson-designed home sadly knocked down.Later his older brother George and his sister Hannah also emigrated to Kiama and Gerringong. George was Kiama’s first postmaster and Hannah established the first private school for girls called Rosebank School on her brother’s George’s property Rosebank in Collins Street. Rosebank House was demolished in 1982 for a block of units and a Jewel supermarket, and was the impetus for starting the Kiama and District Historical Society’s important role in preserving important heritage sites in Kiama and Jamberoo. As Kiama Library records, the central park was the main water supply during early settlement with a creek paralleling Terralong Street to enter the sea at Black Beach near School Flat. It is now underground and piped. The park was much lower than the current level of Terralong Street and was described in the Kiama Independent of the day as a ‘steep hollow.’In 1898, a petition was made to the Minister of Lands to turn the water reserve into a park. Water carters had previously taken and sold the water through the steep streets of Kiama. The water reserve was described in the Kiama Independent as ‘often unsanitary.’The well-known Norfolk Pines were planted in 1897 and the saplings can be seen in protective boxes in photos of the time during the two Great Fires of 1899 that completely destroyed the main shopping district of Kiama between Collins Street and Shoalhaven Street.From 1899 to 1906, the park was filled with rubbish (quite possibly from the recent fires across the road) and quarry spoil. In 1906, two tennis courts (now demolished) were built at the back of Central Park and the tennis club house (now demolished) was built in the park. The Memorial Arch was placed in 1925. The unstable nature of the fill below it was a factor in the arch needing stabilising work as it developed a lean over time. Both courts and clubhouse were demolished in 1988 and the Tennis Club moved to the Noorinan Street complex. The Kiama Rocket in Hindmarsh Park is a fond memory of many Kiama locals and visitors in the 70s, 80s and 90s and as a climbing structure in the shape of a rocket with a slide for children was both quite popular and quite unsafe. The year of the Kiama Rocket’s removal is uncertain in local history so any local with further details is welcome to contact The Bugle and add further detail.The most recent change to Hindmarsh Park was the demolition of the old Ambulance Residence fronting Shoalhaven Street which started on 20 July 2023 and was replaced by turf. On December 14, 2023  the giant blocks of basalt in Irvine street were relocated to this spot to create Kiama’s own Henge Stones.

This is an appeal to the community, especially around Gerringong, for any details or history of these gates. Quite close to the Gerringong Museum, and on the way to Cronin Cval are the remains of the Jubilee Park Gate on either side of Blackwood Street, north and south.The gate is now about 88 years old. No remains of the actual fate seem to exist, just the pillars on either side of the road.The Bugle is asking the local community if they have any details on the Jubilee Park Gates and the early history of Jubilee Park which was obviously bigger when created as the park must have included Blackwood Street where the gate was situated.The Silver Jubilee of King George V was held on 5 May 1935 and marked 25 years since he took the throne. He was succeeded a year later by his son Edward VIII, who abdicated within the year and was replaced by Queen Elizabeth II’s father, George VI.The Gerringong Museum is currently researching our question on the history of these gates, and would love to add more of the gate’s history for the Gerringong and wider community to their files.Apparently, the Kiama Independent covered the installation of the Gates in an article published 15 August, 1936. This can be found on a search on Trove, the free online research portal operated by the National Library of Australia in Canberra.Further notes via Trove say that the gates and the new sports pavilion were officially opened on Saturday 14 November, 1936 by H. J Bate MLA.The article stated the reconstruction of the sports ground was undertaken by Kiama Council with emergency relief work and much voluntary assistance by the citizen’s committee.One little known fact is the porcelain drinking fountain that was erected in 1939 was famous across Australia after being featured in the iconic Aussie film “Dad and Dave.”