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HISTORY

FTGCC - A SHORT HISTORY

The FTGCC History, Records & Stats (2009/10 Updated), are maintained by our Official Club Historian - Steve Flemming. It is a work in progress with other records being added or updated on a regular basis, so come back when you get the chance, to read, review and enjoy our new material. 

All information within should be overseen with these accompanying documents…

You can also 'click' on the links on the left hand side of each page (shaded blue), or those located on the upper left hand side to open other historical records or documents

OVERVIEW & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Information supporting these records and documents has been extracted from Scorebooks, Minute Books and material retained by the Club, from Newspaper references, from archives held by the State Library of Victoria and the Knox Historical Society and from verified discussions and recorded observations of Life Members and other prominent club members.

The process of uncovering and recording our history commenced in 1986 when the Club was given access to an original photograph captioned 'The first Ferntree Gully Cricket Club - 1890', suggesting that in a few years we would be celebrating our Centenary. While some individual memories were strong, the club had very little material evidence of this impending and significant anniversary. The lead up to, and subsequent success of the Centenary celebrations, has continued to provide the impetus for others to carry on the task of recording our rich history, throughout the 20 or so cricket seasons since.

Club information sources have included Life Members; Gus & Carol Bull, Peter Clark, Bob DeCoite (Dec), Ian Ewart, Tony Goldsmith, Keith Hill, Cliff James, Barry & Rick Joyner (Dec), Mick, Sandra & Alan Kirkpatrick (Dec), Greg & Kim Mastertoun, Barry Manning, Jim McGowan, Barry Stuart, Wal (Dec), George (Dec) & Harry Tew.

Other past members who provided or verified information have included Peter and Dick Ballam, Rob Blythe, Geoff Barker, Grantley Bland, Jim Bradley (Dec), Jack Clark (Dec), Alick Dinsdale (Dec), Roy Dinsdale (Dec), Bill Dinsdale (Dec), Chris Dockery, Lindsay Ewart Jnr., John Fargie, Jack Feaver (Dec), Maurie Felmingham, Mick Hanrahan, Joe Hill, Jim Kirkpatrick, Ivan Light, Ron Lomax, Kevin Meredith, Doug Merritt and Rob Sidebottom. Additionally many members of opposing clubs have assisted in the provision of material from matches against Ferntree Gully or provided comment and further evidence supporting Club related events. 

More recently the club has been fortunate to obtain and record information and photographs loaned by descendants of Henry Monk, Fred Stevens, George Lovell and the five Williams brothers. These men were among the most significant early contributors to the club and its successful exploits from our origins in the early 1880's until our first recess in 1915; enforced upon the Club and its membership by the horrors of World War One.

We acknowledge and give credit to this huge collaberative achievement and unreservedly apologise to the many more contributors whose efforts we may have inadvertantly overlooked. We trust, however, that through these pages you can all see the outcome of your contribution and can appreciate that your efforts have combined to make the Ferntree Gully Cricket Club archive and record base one of the most complete cricket club archives anywhere in Australia.

NOTE: Where noted an Asterisk (*) accompanying names in these records generally represents an Official or Player who is Deceased.

BRIEF HISTORY

The Ferntree Gully Cricket Club...

  • Is the oldest sporting club and community group in the City of Knox, located in outer east Melbourne
  • Has operated since 1882/83, and was formally founded at the end of the 1889/90 season
  • Is located at the ‘W.H. Tew Pavilion’, on the Ferntree Gully Recreation Reserve (Est. 1912) – corner Brenock Park Drive (Formerly Lysterfield Road) and Glenfern Road (Enter from Glenfern Road)
  • Fields Senior, Vets (Over 40’s), Junior and ‘Milo’ In2Cricket teams ranging from 8 to 70 years of age
  • Is affiliated with the Ferntree Gully & District Cricket Association (FTGDCA)

Founded in the early 1880’s, the Club has prospered since, with the exception of cessations during World War I (1915/16 – 1920/21), the Depression era (1927/28 – 1932/33) and World War II (1943/44). After playing arranged matches in the early years the club first affiliated in competition cricket in the Reporter District Cricket Association (now BHRCA) for seasons 1913/14 & 1914/15, before recessing for World War I.

The Club resumed arranged matches after World War I in 1920/21 and was then affiliated with the Ringwood District Cricket Association (RDCA) in its second season: 1921/22. The Club switched affiliations between the RDCA (1921/22 to 1926/27, 1934/35 to1935/36 and 1939/40 to 1942/43) and the Mountain District Cricket Association (MDCA - 1933/34 & 1936/37 to 1938/39) a few times in the inter war years. We recessed 1927/28 - 1932/33 when a dispute with the RDCA went unresolved and was amplified by the onset of the Depression and then again during World War II for the 1943/44 season, before reaffiliating with the RDCA from 1944/45 to 1946/47.

In 1947/48 the Club became a founding member of the Ferntree Gully and District Cricket Association (FTGDCA), where it remained until 1992/93, when once again we affiliated with the RDCA from 1993/94 – 2004/05. With the pressure of travelling distances (exceeding 45 minutes to some grounds) and facing a loss of numbers and strength in junior ranks, the Club returned to the FTGDCA in 2005/06 where it remains affiliated today.

Since the first Premiership success in 1933/34 the Club has won 43 Senior XI Premiership Pennants (20 in the 1st XI), 2 Veterans XI Pennants and 19 Junior XI Pennants. Over 1,900 players have represented the club in more than 5,000 matches since we commenced competition cricket in 1913/14.

Many long time generations of Ferntree Gully families have donned the whites for the Club. These include the Bradley, Bull, Campbell, Clark, DeCoite, Dinsdale, Hamilton, Hill, Joyner, Kirkpatrick, Mastertoun, McGowan, Pickett, Tew and Waters families – most of who have been in the district for 50 or more years. Since the early 1880’s, 155 players have participated in senior grade cricket on the field for a decade or more and just 43 members have been awarded Life Membership from the first – A.F. (Frank) Pickett in 1934 to the most recent – F.A. (Frank) Breen and T.D. (Trevor) Hion, who will have Life Memberships bestowed upon them at the 2011 Presentation night.

F.T.G.C.C. PLAYING FIELDS

There have been two major locations which the Ferntree Gully Cricket Club has called its home base. The Club had its first home base in the grounds of the Ferntree Gully 'Middle' Hotel where a rough and ready playing field and pitch was hewn from the open ‘paddock’ and utilised for cricket matches until the end of the 1911/12 season.

Since 1912 the Club has been located at the Ferntree Gully Recreation Reserve which initially housed one sports ground (the ‘old oval’), but since the reclamation of the old Ferntree Gully Shire Tip site in 1980 now features two cricket grounds – the ‘old or Number 2 Oval’ and the ‘new or Number 1 Oval’.

 Within the Recreation Reserve, is the Club’s base – the ‘W.H. Tew Pavilion’, named after local identity, club legend, Life Member, and five times Mayor of Knox, Walter Harry Tew (Born 11/5/1915, Died 17/7/2007). Wal’s connection with the Club spanned over 80 years, from his early days following his father who captained the 1st XI in the 1920's until his final attendance at a Club Function in 2006. His work behind the scenes has left the club with a legacy that will support future generations of cricketers and footballers at Ferntree Gully for many years to come.

The playing fields and accompanying two level pavilion are regarded by the City of Knox as one of its premier municipal venues and the facilities are utilised for many community events such as the annual Knox Festival, Christmas Carols by Candlelight and the annual Pet Expo functions.

Last updated August 17th, 2010


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