Club History
Competition cricket was first played in Redhead for one season in 1926/27. Very little information is known about the 1926/27 team, although it is thought that it was a group of miners who worked at the local pit and was made up of locals and englishmen who had migrated to Redhead to work in the mines. It is thought that they played on what is now known as Webb Park, as several senior locals can remember cricket played in the park. Webb Park at that time was known as the football ground. On the eastern end of the ground was a large shed which was the dressing shed and a community hall. The shed was destroyed by fire, year unknown, but believed to be somewhere around the mid 1940s. This park was also very popular for company picnics.
Until 1947, no other cricket team formally existed after the 1926/27 season. A meeting was called and held in the Redhead Memorial Hall on 30th January 1947 to discuss the formation of a cricket club. The meeting was presided by Mr Bob Cowie. Here are the minutes from that meeting:
Moved by B. Cowie, seconded by D. Cane [also spelt Kane in later minutes]; that a cricket club be formed. Decision unanimous.
Moved by F. Vost, seconded by I. Allomes; that B. Cowie be elected president. Decision unanimous.
Moved by E. Flowers, seconded by F. Vost; that George Liles be elected secretary. Decision unanimous.
Moved by G. Liles, seconded by A. Stokoe; that D. Cane be elected treasurer. Decision unanimous.
Moved by F. Vost, seconded by G. Stokoe; that executives enquire as to grounds available from Council, and also enquire as to gear from different firms. Decision unanimous.
Moved by ?, seconded by E. Flowers; that the meeting is adjourned till 13th Feb. 1947. Meeting closed.
Until 1947, no other cricket team formally existed after the 1926/27 season. A meeting was called and held in the Redhead Memorial Hall on 30th January 1947 to discuss the formation of a cricket club. The meeting was presided by Mr Bob Cowie. Here are the minutes from that meeting:
Moved by B. Cowie, seconded by D. Cane [also spelt Kane in later minutes]; that a cricket club be formed. Decision unanimous.
Moved by F. Vost, seconded by I. Allomes; that B. Cowie be elected president. Decision unanimous.
Moved by E. Flowers, seconded by F. Vost; that George Liles be elected secretary. Decision unanimous.
Moved by G. Liles, seconded by A. Stokoe; that D. Cane be elected treasurer. Decision unanimous.
Moved by F. Vost, seconded by G. Stokoe; that executives enquire as to grounds available from Council, and also enquire as to gear from different firms. Decision unanimous.
Moved by ?, seconded by E. Flowers; that the meeting is adjourned till 13th Feb. 1947. Meeting closed.
A full transcript of all the minutes taken in the 1947/48 season can be viewed by clicking here. Later, in April of 1947, a club constitution was drawn up.
The Constitution of 1947
Name of club
The club formed under these rules shall be known as Redhead Cricket Club.
Membership
The membership of the club shall be open to any person, nominated by one financial member of the club and shall become a member on acceptance of a 2/3rd majority of a full meeting.
Membership Fees
Shall be governed by the annual meeting each year.
Unfinancial Members
Shall have no part in meeting business and club games. Members will be given to the second playing Saturday after season begins to have paid all fees.
Annual Meeting
Shall be held on a suitable date in August. At this meeting the balance sheet of the income and expenditure from the previous season shall be read by the secretary, treasurer or auditor. The executive officers shall be elected for the ensuring year. Any business of an urgent nature to be dealt with immediately by executive.
Quorum
No business shall be transacted at the annual or special meetings unless attended by 8 financial members.
Governing Bodies
The governing bodies of the club shall consist of the President and Vice-Presidents.
Executive officers
Shall consist of the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and two auditors.
Duties of Officers
Chairman - shall preside at all meetings at which he shall preserve order and give impartial decisions on all questions submitted to him. Should he wish to take part in general debate he shall vacate the chair which shall be filled by a deputy.
Treasurer - Shall examine all accounts rendered by the secretary, receive membership fees and shall conduct all business in accordance with the funds of the club.
Secretary - Shall be responsible for all correspondence and payments of accounts and shall keep a true and accurate record of all proceedings of meetings of the club.
Auditors - Shall be appointed for the purpose of auditing the books of the club in connection with the annual balance sheet and shall certify as to their correctness or otherwise.
Discussion forbidden at meetings
No matters dealing with politics or religion shall be discussed at any meeting of the club.
The club formed under these rules shall be known as Redhead Cricket Club.
Membership
The membership of the club shall be open to any person, nominated by one financial member of the club and shall become a member on acceptance of a 2/3rd majority of a full meeting.
Membership Fees
Shall be governed by the annual meeting each year.
Unfinancial Members
Shall have no part in meeting business and club games. Members will be given to the second playing Saturday after season begins to have paid all fees.
Annual Meeting
Shall be held on a suitable date in August. At this meeting the balance sheet of the income and expenditure from the previous season shall be read by the secretary, treasurer or auditor. The executive officers shall be elected for the ensuring year. Any business of an urgent nature to be dealt with immediately by executive.
Quorum
No business shall be transacted at the annual or special meetings unless attended by 8 financial members.
Governing Bodies
The governing bodies of the club shall consist of the President and Vice-Presidents.
Executive officers
Shall consist of the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and two auditors.
Duties of Officers
Chairman - shall preside at all meetings at which he shall preserve order and give impartial decisions on all questions submitted to him. Should he wish to take part in general debate he shall vacate the chair which shall be filled by a deputy.
Treasurer - Shall examine all accounts rendered by the secretary, receive membership fees and shall conduct all business in accordance with the funds of the club.
Secretary - Shall be responsible for all correspondence and payments of accounts and shall keep a true and accurate record of all proceedings of meetings of the club.
Auditors - Shall be appointed for the purpose of auditing the books of the club in connection with the annual balance sheet and shall certify as to their correctness or otherwise.
Discussion forbidden at meetings
No matters dealing with politics or religion shall be discussed at any meeting of the club.
A parcel of land was allocated to the Redhead Cricket Club by Lake Macquarie council (LMC), which is the current ground known as Liles Oval No.1. The ground had to be cleared of small shrubs and levelled. Work commenced in February 1947 under the guidance of D.Kane and Norm Liles, and all members of the club were expected to participate. A horse and dray were borrowed to help transport the soil which was removed by pick and shovel from the hilly areas to the low lying areas, as well as carrying ashes from the local pit to be used as filling.
The club wrote numerous letters to LMC requesting water to encourage grass growth, and soil to level the outfield without any response. Numerous delegations were also sent to council meetings again without success. Working bees were held every weekend and Norm Liles and a few others would work on the ground after finishing their normal work on week days.
Requests were made for soil to LMC right up until February 1948 without response, so the RCC purchased 10 tonnes of 'Maitland' soil and 2 tonnes of wicket soil to level the outfield and top dress the wicket which at this stage was 2 wickets wide.
LMC was also asked if a grader could be sent to the ground to do the final levelling.
In the mean time money had to be raised to purchase gear and to do this games nights were organised at different members houses at weekends. All members of the club were expected to attend these nights. The games played were shuttlecock, table tennis, coyts, bobs and whist. All members paid to enter each tournament and the winner received a cash prize from the takings, the remainder was profit for the club. Dances were also held on a regular basis and the best dancers on the night received a prize, they were judged by Matron Lovell and Mrs. Nichol. A ladies committee was also formed, with these ladies supplying the supper for the tournament nights and the dances, and they later supplied afternoon tea at home games for a small donation. Raffles were also held and Mr. T.Miller offered to supply 1lb of tobacco, papers and matches as 1st prize. Mrs Single offered to knit a gernsey also to be raffled. No alcohol was allowed on council grounds and was also banned by the NC&SCA.
A team was entered in D grade for the 1947/48 season in the C&S competition and all games were played on away grounds as Redhead Oval was not ready. However work continued on laying a turf wicket, and it was ready for the 1948/49 season with Norman Liles as the curator. George Liles being a carpenter at the local pit "acquired" some timber and with the help of club members erected a 12'x 10' shed which was the first club house. This shed was located where the existing practice nets are located now (2006).
The club wrote numerous letters to LMC requesting water to encourage grass growth, and soil to level the outfield without any response. Numerous delegations were also sent to council meetings again without success. Working bees were held every weekend and Norm Liles and a few others would work on the ground after finishing their normal work on week days.
Requests were made for soil to LMC right up until February 1948 without response, so the RCC purchased 10 tonnes of 'Maitland' soil and 2 tonnes of wicket soil to level the outfield and top dress the wicket which at this stage was 2 wickets wide.
LMC was also asked if a grader could be sent to the ground to do the final levelling.
In the mean time money had to be raised to purchase gear and to do this games nights were organised at different members houses at weekends. All members of the club were expected to attend these nights. The games played were shuttlecock, table tennis, coyts, bobs and whist. All members paid to enter each tournament and the winner received a cash prize from the takings, the remainder was profit for the club. Dances were also held on a regular basis and the best dancers on the night received a prize, they were judged by Matron Lovell and Mrs. Nichol. A ladies committee was also formed, with these ladies supplying the supper for the tournament nights and the dances, and they later supplied afternoon tea at home games for a small donation. Raffles were also held and Mr. T.Miller offered to supply 1lb of tobacco, papers and matches as 1st prize. Mrs Single offered to knit a gernsey also to be raffled. No alcohol was allowed on council grounds and was also banned by the NC&SCA.
A team was entered in D grade for the 1947/48 season in the C&S competition and all games were played on away grounds as Redhead Oval was not ready. However work continued on laying a turf wicket, and it was ready for the 1948/49 season with Norman Liles as the curator. George Liles being a carpenter at the local pit "acquired" some timber and with the help of club members erected a 12'x 10' shed which was the first club house. This shed was located where the existing practice nets are located now (2006).
[Sacred Liles in wide-screen panoramic view.]
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This history could not have been compiled with out the assistance of the following people,
Mrs Barbara Liles Basil and Val Feeney
Bill and Thelma Coull Jack Yates
Ray Carter Bob Turnbull
And I thank them very sincerely,
Brian Blatchford
16-2-2006.
This history could not have been compiled with out the assistance of the following people,
Mrs Barbara Liles Basil and Val Feeney
Bill and Thelma Coull Jack Yates
Ray Carter Bob Turnbull
And I thank them very sincerely,
Brian Blatchford
16-2-2006.
The junior club has produced some outstanding junior players who have gone on to play 1st grade district cricket. From the 60's were Fenton Coull who played for Belmont and Southern Lakes clubs. Jack Littlewood who played for Belmont and Cardiff Boolaroo, and also represented Newcastle. From the early 70's was Rodney Liles who played for Belmont. From the mid 70's were Paul McConkey and Glen Liles who also played for Belmont. And from the late 70's was Stephen Clarkson who went on to captain the Belmont 1st grade team. Martin Dunn from the mid 90's has gone on to play with the Charlestown District club and collected the Junior Associations highest points score while an RCC junior.
The malthoid which had been laid over the concrete wicket in the 1955 season, deteriorated badly and was scraped off in the late 60's meaning teams played on the old concrete wicket which chewed the balls up quite severely. In 1974/75, matting was purchased through Belmont CC and used until the end of the season. During this season 2 players received severe facial injuries from sharp rising balls. It was then decided to lay a turf wicket in the off-season on the eastern side of the concrete strip. The turf area was only two and a half wickets wide and was used the following season. At the end of the season a second turf wicket was laid on the western side of the concrete strip this wicket was laid three and a half wickets wide. At this time LMC would not allow the club to remove the concrete strip in case the club folded however in 1986 the concrete was removed and this area turfed.
A concrete practice wicket 11 yards long was laid at the northern end of the ground in 1975 by club members. Several years later a new practice wicket was laid next to the old wicket which was removed as the surface had deteriorated severely. The new practice wicket was of ¾ length.
In 1980 LMC built the small brick canteen and toilet block, and removed the old diamond rail and post fence and replaced it with a pipe fence with taps fitted for watering of the outfield.
In 1991 George Liles who had been secretary of Redhead Cricket Club from 1947 to 1976 passed away after a long illness and is sadly missed by all who new him.
Liles Oval No.2 amenities building and grounds were officially opened on 22nd June 2003, by Matthew Morris Member for Charlestown. Due to government regulations in 2004 the club had to change to a propriety limited company (PTY. LTD.) or become incorporated (INC.). It was decided that the club would be incorporated. The clubs official name now is Redhead Cricket Club Inc.
The 2004/05 season will be forever remembered as the most successful campaign in the clubs history. The clubs 5 senior teams all made their respective grand finals with 4 taking the major title. 3 of the teams also collected Minor Premierships and the club received the Multi Team (Joint Coal Board Trophy) for the second time in 3 seasons. Mark Wyborn also collected the Associations 'Most Wickets' title to cap an extraordinary season that will be hard to repeat by any club.
The malthoid which had been laid over the concrete wicket in the 1955 season, deteriorated badly and was scraped off in the late 60's meaning teams played on the old concrete wicket which chewed the balls up quite severely. In 1974/75, matting was purchased through Belmont CC and used until the end of the season. During this season 2 players received severe facial injuries from sharp rising balls. It was then decided to lay a turf wicket in the off-season on the eastern side of the concrete strip. The turf area was only two and a half wickets wide and was used the following season. At the end of the season a second turf wicket was laid on the western side of the concrete strip this wicket was laid three and a half wickets wide. At this time LMC would not allow the club to remove the concrete strip in case the club folded however in 1986 the concrete was removed and this area turfed.
A concrete practice wicket 11 yards long was laid at the northern end of the ground in 1975 by club members. Several years later a new practice wicket was laid next to the old wicket which was removed as the surface had deteriorated severely. The new practice wicket was of ¾ length.
In 1980 LMC built the small brick canteen and toilet block, and removed the old diamond rail and post fence and replaced it with a pipe fence with taps fitted for watering of the outfield.
In 1991 George Liles who had been secretary of Redhead Cricket Club from 1947 to 1976 passed away after a long illness and is sadly missed by all who new him.
Liles Oval No.2 amenities building and grounds were officially opened on 22nd June 2003, by Matthew Morris Member for Charlestown. Due to government regulations in 2004 the club had to change to a propriety limited company (PTY. LTD.) or become incorporated (INC.). It was decided that the club would be incorporated. The clubs official name now is Redhead Cricket Club Inc.
The 2004/05 season will be forever remembered as the most successful campaign in the clubs history. The clubs 5 senior teams all made their respective grand finals with 4 taking the major title. 3 of the teams also collected Minor Premierships and the club received the Multi Team (Joint Coal Board Trophy) for the second time in 3 seasons. Mark Wyborn also collected the Associations 'Most Wickets' title to cap an extraordinary season that will be hard to repeat by any club.
Most of the players in the D grade side were under 18 years of age and in the winter of 1956 formed a soccer team and entered a competion. This was the formation of Redhead Soccer Club later to amalgamate with Dudley Soccer Club.
During this time George Liles (club secretary) wrote a letter to the Newcastle City and Suburban Cricket Association asking if it was possible for an under 18 grade to be instigated instead of D grade, as many players in the D grade were aged between 14 and 18 years old. The NC&SCA were very interested in this idea, and after several committee meetings, an under 16 competition was introduced in the 1956/57 season. This was the beginning of junior cricket in Newcastle.
In the1956/57 season the club was very strong with over 100 social members, and 4 teams (AR, B and D grade and an under 16's team). At about this time Redhead Bowling Club had finished building its new club house. RCC was given the old bowling clubhouse (commonly known as Mrs. Brown's house) and with volunteer labour dismantled the building and transported it to Liles Oval. The original clubhouse was of no further use so in a moving ceremony it was set on fire (saved pulling it down), and the new clubhouse was then reassembled on the old site and was used until 1979/80.
To assist in fund raising in 1957, Frank Moore obtained a 2 bob [20c] poker machine and placed it in the new club house. Frank was very mechanically minded and adjusted the machine so that it would not pay out a jackpot or any large prize. There was often a que of people wanting to play the machine, and the club made a nice profit from it. Several years later after a couple of drinks too many Frank let out the secret of the poker machine, as he had not told anyone in the club what he had done. Quote from one interviewee "he got out of hospital 3 weeks later".
The club was very strong until the 1959/60 season when it may have gone into recession however there was a B grade team in the 1960/61 season. In the 1961/62 and 1962/63 seasons it appears that the club may have been in recession as there are no records to verify that the club was operating.
In the 1963/64 season the club entered 2 junior teams and 1 senior team in competition. The juniors have been going continuously to the present day (2006). In the 1965/66 season the club had 3 junior teams (u/12's, u/14's & u/16's). While in the following season there were 2 junior teams (u/12's & u/14's), as the previous years' u/16's played in D grade becoming minor premiers. They also won the Wynne-Opie trophy for being the highest points team.
The next season (1967/68), 2 junior teams competed and the seniors played in C grade. There is no evidence that the senior team continued playing after 1968, although the juniors were still going.
In the 1973/74 season the senior club was reformed. The team was made up of players from the previous years under 16 team although half of the team was still eligible to play under 16's. The team played in the C3 grade and were minor and major premiers, and were captained by Darcy Wasson who had played A grade C&S with Police Boys and ETA food clubs. During the 1970's the club had 2 import coaches; Barry Duffin from Belmont district club, and Les Edwards who played for StGeorge in the Sydney 1st grade competition. Les also played for the New South Wales second eleven.
During the 1974/75 season part of the old mine workings under the oval collapsed and a hole approximately 2 meters diameter and 4 meters deep appeared at the northern end of the concrete wicket. This happened on a friday night and luckily the Redhead team was playing away. The council filled the hole with rocks and top dressed with soil, and play was possible the next week although it was a little scary coming in to bowl and running over the fall in not knowing if you would reach the bowling crease. To this day this area continues to slowly subside each season.
During this time George Liles (club secretary) wrote a letter to the Newcastle City and Suburban Cricket Association asking if it was possible for an under 18 grade to be instigated instead of D grade, as many players in the D grade were aged between 14 and 18 years old. The NC&SCA were very interested in this idea, and after several committee meetings, an under 16 competition was introduced in the 1956/57 season. This was the beginning of junior cricket in Newcastle.
In the1956/57 season the club was very strong with over 100 social members, and 4 teams (AR, B and D grade and an under 16's team). At about this time Redhead Bowling Club had finished building its new club house. RCC was given the old bowling clubhouse (commonly known as Mrs. Brown's house) and with volunteer labour dismantled the building and transported it to Liles Oval. The original clubhouse was of no further use so in a moving ceremony it was set on fire (saved pulling it down), and the new clubhouse was then reassembled on the old site and was used until 1979/80.
To assist in fund raising in 1957, Frank Moore obtained a 2 bob [20c] poker machine and placed it in the new club house. Frank was very mechanically minded and adjusted the machine so that it would not pay out a jackpot or any large prize. There was often a que of people wanting to play the machine, and the club made a nice profit from it. Several years later after a couple of drinks too many Frank let out the secret of the poker machine, as he had not told anyone in the club what he had done. Quote from one interviewee "he got out of hospital 3 weeks later".
The club was very strong until the 1959/60 season when it may have gone into recession however there was a B grade team in the 1960/61 season. In the 1961/62 and 1962/63 seasons it appears that the club may have been in recession as there are no records to verify that the club was operating.
In the 1963/64 season the club entered 2 junior teams and 1 senior team in competition. The juniors have been going continuously to the present day (2006). In the 1965/66 season the club had 3 junior teams (u/12's, u/14's & u/16's). While in the following season there were 2 junior teams (u/12's & u/14's), as the previous years' u/16's played in D grade becoming minor premiers. They also won the Wynne-Opie trophy for being the highest points team.
The next season (1967/68), 2 junior teams competed and the seniors played in C grade. There is no evidence that the senior team continued playing after 1968, although the juniors were still going.
In the 1973/74 season the senior club was reformed. The team was made up of players from the previous years under 16 team although half of the team was still eligible to play under 16's. The team played in the C3 grade and were minor and major premiers, and were captained by Darcy Wasson who had played A grade C&S with Police Boys and ETA food clubs. During the 1970's the club had 2 import coaches; Barry Duffin from Belmont district club, and Les Edwards who played for StGeorge in the Sydney 1st grade competition. Les also played for the New South Wales second eleven.
During the 1974/75 season part of the old mine workings under the oval collapsed and a hole approximately 2 meters diameter and 4 meters deep appeared at the northern end of the concrete wicket. This happened on a friday night and luckily the Redhead team was playing away. The council filled the hole with rocks and top dressed with soil, and play was possible the next week although it was a little scary coming in to bowl and running over the fall in not knowing if you would reach the bowling crease. To this day this area continues to slowly subside each season.
The rule of the day was that for each team in a club, the club had to have a qualified umpire to officiate at home games. Norman Liles and Charlie Banfield (Steven Terrills great grandfather}were the local umpires. In November 1949 while umpiring a match at Redhead, Norman Liles suffered a heart attack collapsed and died. During 1950 a joint meeting was called by the Redhead Progress Association, the Miners Lodge, Pensioners Association, and RCC Members and it voted to send a letter to LMC requesting the cricket ground be named after Norman Liles, as he was very popular in the community.
There were many arguments among the executives of the club in the 1951/52 season and also financial problems, due mainly to the poor condition of the outfield. LMC would not answer letters written to it by the club, so letters were written to the local branch of the ALP requesting them to put pressure on the council with no result. Consequently the club went into recession until the 1953/54 season when the ground was finally fit enough to play on. The wicket had deteriorated during this recession and the outfield was covered with paspalum weed. Numerous letters and phone calls early in 1953 to L.M.C. finally achieved results when in August of that year a concrete wicket was laid and the outfield levelled and sprayed to kill off the paspalum weed, it also killed off all of the grass.
In July1955 LMC laid malthoid over the concrete wicket as the surface of the wicket was in a very poor condition and malthoid was the "in" thing for wicket surfaces. The club had a very strong membership of 40 registered players at this stage, with teams in AR and D grade. There were also 85 social members who paid 2shillings (20c) membership and most of these members attended home games along with their families. During the 1955/56 season club members erected a diamond rail and post fence around the full perimeter of the ground in 3 weekends and painted it with primer and 2 coats of white paint.
There were many arguments among the executives of the club in the 1951/52 season and also financial problems, due mainly to the poor condition of the outfield. LMC would not answer letters written to it by the club, so letters were written to the local branch of the ALP requesting them to put pressure on the council with no result. Consequently the club went into recession until the 1953/54 season when the ground was finally fit enough to play on. The wicket had deteriorated during this recession and the outfield was covered with paspalum weed. Numerous letters and phone calls early in 1953 to L.M.C. finally achieved results when in August of that year a concrete wicket was laid and the outfield levelled and sprayed to kill off the paspalum weed, it also killed off all of the grass.
In July1955 LMC laid malthoid over the concrete wicket as the surface of the wicket was in a very poor condition and malthoid was the "in" thing for wicket surfaces. The club had a very strong membership of 40 registered players at this stage, with teams in AR and D grade. There were also 85 social members who paid 2shillings (20c) membership and most of these members attended home games along with their families. During the 1955/56 season club members erected a diamond rail and post fence around the full perimeter of the ground in 3 weekends and painted it with primer and 2 coats of white paint.