LIFE & STYLE
Hawkesbury Hawks 40th anniversary
by Greg Martin
The Rolling Stones once sang goodbye to Ruby Tuesday, but the Hawkesbury Hawks Cricket Club will be celebrating Ruby Saturday on 10 May.
Players and supporters from near and far will gather at the Windsor Function Centre that evening to celebrate the club’ s 40th anniversary as a member of Sydney Grade Cricket( SGC). The evening will also feature the presentation of awards to players across the club’ s six grades.
Long-time club stalwart Hugh McKay— who has served as a player, coach, administrator and supporter— and his fellow organisers have left no stone unturned to ensure the evening will be a
Captains courageous! Mal Cobcroft( r) had the honour of being Hawkesbury Hawks’ initial top-grade captain back in 1985, and Dale McKay( l) skippered the Hawkesbury first grade outfit this past season. Cobby was still active with the Hawks, skippering the 5th grade team when the then 15-year-old Dale made his debut for the club.
memorable occasion.
“ We’ re thrilled to have secured the multi-talented and entertaining media personality, Tim Gilbert, as our Master of Ceremonies,” said Hugh.
“ There’ ll be plenty of awards presented, but above all, it’ s a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with fellow cricket lovers and celebrate 40 years of the Hawkesbury Hawks,” he added.
Since the club’ s establishment in the 1985 – 86 season, the Hawks have remained competitive across all grades, despite the perception at the time that Hawkesbury was too remote to attract big-name players.
However, over the decades, the Hawks have developed outstanding homegrown talent and attracted a few high-profile players, including Australian representatives in Test, One Day Internationals( ODIs), and T20 matches: Steve O’ Keefe, John Hastings, Peter Forrest, Greg Mail and Anthony Kershler.
Many Hawkesbury players have shone brightly during their time in the SGC, including the incomparable Sultan of Spin Ken Hall and current First Grade captain Dale McKay, who this past season reached the remarkable milestone of 10,000 runs.
Hawkesbury’ s entry into SGC dates back to 1984, when the NSW Cricket Association sought to expand the competition. Blacktown was initially offered a position but declined. The association then turned to former State player and Riverstone resident, John Wilson, to assess the viability of Hawkesbury’ s inclusion.
After inspecting Richmond Oval, McQuade Park and other local grounds, and consulting with HDCA representatives, Wilson recommended the move. Local legend Beau Strahan soon formed a committee to conduct a feasibility study, alongside Neal Hall, Phil Tuckerman, Barry Smith and Adrian Lindo. Their findings gave the green light.
Beau led the club’ s steering committee and served as inaugural president for its first four seasons. The original committee members were: Barry Smith( Deputy President), Adrian Lindo( Secretary), Phil Tuckerman( Treasurer), Frank Garay, Ron Hall, Russ Mitchell, Les Madden, Reg Sligar, Hugh McKay, Owen Earle and Barry Quinton( HDCA Representative).
Recruiting experienced First Grade players was a challenge in that first season. However, the club was fortunate to secure
The pioneers! These flannelled fellas comprised Hawkesbury’ s debut first grade XI in Sydney Grade Cricket. Back( l-r):“ Dazzlin’” Darryl Cooper( trainer), Ray Berry, Mal Frost, Ken Gunderson, Mal Cobcroft( captain), Ian Alchin( wkt), Barry Coad. Front( l-r): Steve Maraga, Robert( Sam) Demattia, Mick Puzny, Steve Cross, Gary Donlan.
local resident Malcolm Cobcroft, a classy, hard-hitting top-order batsman who had been part of Penrith’ s 1982 – 83 First Grade premiership-winning side. Cobcroft was named captain, leading a side made up largely of HDCA Martin Shield players and a handful from other clubs.
Big-time cricket had returned to the Hawkesbury— a region steeped in cricketing tradition since the early 1800s.
So popular was the sport that in 1882, a touring English team played against a local side on the grounds of historic Fairfield House. Five years later, the Hawkesbury District Cricket Association( HDCA) was officially formed, uniting clubs from Richmond, Windsor, Pitt Town, Castlereagh and Kurrajong.
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12 ISSUE 180 // MAY 2025 theindependentmagazine. com. au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT