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Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz |
On Monday, we went to view the very excellent exhibition of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gate Pa, currently on display at the Greerton Hall.
The display tells the tale of the battle through the eyes of a Maori warrior and a British soldier.
What I particularly enjoyed, as a history buff, was the tales of what life was like 150 years ago – both in term of terms of world history and living in Tauranga.
The Battle of Gate Pa had a further impact on the Bay of Plenty, with introduction of the game of cricket by the British Garrison, stationed in Tauranga. And the game today is directly traceable back to the 1860s.
The 12th Regiment was responsible for the establishment of the Military and Civil Cricket Club in about 1866, which is the first cricket club established in the Bay of Plenty.
Early honorary secretaries were Captain Marcom and Lieutenant Campbell, who supervised the pitch at the Government Paddock and arranged games between the crews of visiting ships, notably HMS Challenger and HMS Falcon.
An obstacle to continuing regular matches was damage to the pitch by wild and domestic pigs.
The transition from a military to a civilian settlement signalled the demise of the military-dominated cricket club.
In October 1872 the Tauranga Cricket Club was formed by Major Roberts, Captain Skeet and Messrs Griffiths, Sisley, Ogilivie, Samuels, Dacre and Goldsmith.
For the rest of the 19th Century the club revived each summer for Saturday games.
When a match was arranged with an out-of-town team, such as Tauranga versus Katikati, the banks closed early so the inhabitants of Tauranga would be free to attend.
When outside teams weren't available, members of the club divided themselves into sides, such as All-comers, Married, Single, Diehards, Standbacks or simply Mr Gray's side.
An indication the interest in cricket was high was the formation of the Union Cricket Club in 1879 by Alex Finlayson, Mr Maynard and Mr Hall – and by 1888 a well maintained pitch was established at the Domain, followed by the erection of a pavilion in 1894.
Cricket was alive and well in Te Puke well before the turn of 20th Century.
The first recorded cricket match by a Te Puke cricket team actually took place in 1884, between a local side and representatives from Tauranga.
In a low-scoring encounter, Tauranga emerged the winner, scoring 44 and 45 runs in two innings, while Te Puke could muster only 19 and 28 runs respectively.
In September 1887 the Te Puke Cricket Club was constituted, with the president being Captain Evered and the first chairman Mr George Lee.
The first match against Tauranga was lost by an innings. The new club's first success came against Katikati at the Tauranga Domain.
While the club played a number of matches each year, it wasn't until 1898 that Te Puke won their first match against a Tauranga side.
From the early times of the game in Tauranga and Te Puke, cricket has become a cornerstone summer sport in the Western Bay of Plenty, with the Bay Oval at Blake Park becoming NZ's latest international cricket ground.