OUR HISTORY
Whilst there is documentation of an Umpires President and/or Secretary going back to 1963 or thereabouts, our Association was formally established in 1989, and has fulfilled its objectives in both providing umpires to the HKHDCA fixtures and providing on going courses for Senior Competition Captains and Umpires.
With membership fluctuating over the years, with recruitment proving to be a difficult task, as it is for many similar organisations, in cricket and other sports at the district level, it is only through the dedication of following members that the Association continues to grow, in both quantity and quality.
On the 8th of September, 1989, a meeting was held at the Hornsby RSL Club, commencing at 8.00pm, chaired by Godfrey Lucas, those attending being George Richards, Grant Maio, Ray Twining, Bryan Boyd, Jim Barrett, David Toose, Mark Bolger, Drew Morrow, Graeme Kurtz and Wayne Hughes.
Drew Morrow outlined the main reasons for forming an Umpires Association being:
The first motion put to the meeting was “This meeting shall formally agree to form an umpire’s association which shall be called “The Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai and Hills District Cricket Umpires Association.” Moved by Drew Morrow and seconded by Godfrey Lucas, the motion was approved UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting then considered a draft constitution which had been provided by the NSWCUA, clause by clause. Where necessary, minor modifications were accepted unanimously by the meeting. A second motion, “That the amended draft constitution be accepted as the constitution of the HK and HDCUA.” Moved by Drew Morrow and seconded by David Toose, the motion was approved UNAMOUSLY. And thus, THE HKHDCUA was created and then elections were conducted by the duly appointed Returning Officer, George Richards.
Barry McDonald was nominated for the role of President and being the sole nominee, was elected unopposed. Godfrey Lucas was similarly elected unopposed as Vice President. David Toose was elected unopposed as the Secretary, and Drew Morrow to the role of Treasurer, with Bryan Boyd unopposed as Honorary Auditor.
The initial Examinations Committee of Grant Maio, Godfrey Lucas and Barry McDonald were unanimously elected and the first Lecture Program was scheduled for three nights of presentations PLUS a fourth night for the written examination. The Examination Committee undertook to develop the program ASAP, in their words.
All attendees at this initial meeting applied for Membership of the Association, and a motion was passed that the Examinations Committee consider them in the immediate future. And thus, the HKHDCUA was established, and has been through many changes in personnel over the 30 plus years since its creation, and has provided the HKHDCA with a high standard of umpires for many seasons, for the Junior Finals, the Senior Competition and the Representative fixtures at both Junior and Senior levels.
During the first decade of the HKHDCUA the dedication of each of Drew Morrow and David Toose, in their respective roles as President and Secretary, must be acknowledged as the base upon which the Association has continued to build, in accord with Godfrey Lucas, who was instrumental in the formalisation and growth of the Association.
The Association’s initial Constitution proposed the establishment of three Committees:
In addition, the Constitution permitted the creation of a Special Committee to consider and report on any question which may be referred to it.That initial Constitution remained in place until the current Constitution was prepared and accepted by the membership on the 20th October, 2009.
Whilst the records are somewhat inconsistent, the major contributors in this decade were the legendary Barry McDonald and the memorable Kenny Carter, two names that will never be forgotten by the players of that era. These two gentlemen shared many A Grade Finals, at least six, and in those days, umpired one up throughout the competition rounds assisted by player umpires at square leg.
However, they were not alone as the names of John McQuillan, Brian Woolford, John Reisman, George Richards, Alan Griffin and Brian Carle are very apparent in the documentation of those years. Drew Morrow was the Association President throughout the 90’s, assisted in the Honorary Secretary’s role by David Toose (1989/97) and John McQuillan as Vice President (1996-2002). Stuart Finlay and the never to be forgotten Bob Somerville acted as Secretary in the final 3 seasons of the decade.
These dedicated men gave their time to the cricketing community at Senior Competition level and within the District Cricket Association (DCA) representative Junior and Senior fixtures. During this period the concept of the Captain’s Ticket Course was developed, with Barry McDonald taking the primary role, assisted by various colleagues over the years.
From the turn of the century, the Association was being led by Drew Morrow (President), Bob Somerville (Hon. Secretary) and John McQuillan (Vice President) with an expanding group of umpires including Barry McDonald, Ken Carter, Simon Moore, Steve Wilson, Col Griffin, Geoff Hasler, Richard Eslick and Alex Terry.
During the next five seasons, our ranks further increased with the addition of Bruce Wood, Stuart Wood, Les Howard Tom Chen, Pat Riley and Mark Rushton umpiring on a regular basis. This increase in numbers allowed us the opportunity to stand two umpires in the A Grade Competition on a more regular basis, a development that enabled the camaraderie that is the cornerstone of any organisation.
In Season 2002/3 John McQuillan stepped into the role of President with Geoff Hasler having been appointed as Hon. Secretary in the previous season. These two gentlemen maintained these roles for six/seven years, with Geoff Hasler then transitioning into the role of President assisted by Bruce Wood as Hon. Secretary initially, followed by Simon Moore and Steve Wilson.
In 2009/10 Tim Davidson was elected to the position of Treasurer and Public Officer as the Association took the step to incorporate, with Geoff Hasler being elected to the role of President, Bruce Wood was in his third year as Hon. Secretary and Alex Terry continued for a fifth term as Vice President.
Geoff Hasler continued in the role of President for eight seasons, ably assisted by Steve Wilson as Hon Secretary for six of those seasons with Tim Davidson reconfirmed as Treasurer throughout that period and, in fact, continues in that important to this day.
During the 2010/11 season, Barry McDonald was nominated to be the first Life Member of our Association, and given Barry’s exceptional service to the Association as an umpire on the field, the initiator of the Captain’s Training Course and his untiring commitment to the promotion of cricket umpiring, he was elected unanimously by our members.
In 2012, Geoff Hasler was nominated and elected to be a Life Member given his commitment to all aspects of the development of the Association since joining in the 1999/2000 season. Geoff had joined Barry in the delivery and administration of the Captains Course, and had served as the Hon. Secretary for six seasons 2001/02 through to 2006/7
Steve Wilson was the third of our members to receive a nomination and duly elected Life Membership in 2016, once again for his long service as Hon. Secretary (a position he held for six seasons) and his positive commitment to our Association, including negotiating our first sponsorship through the then Asquith Bowling and Recreation Club, a relationship that continues to this day. Steve was a tireless worker for our group of umpires and was, in no small way, committed to growing our numbers and promoting us in the cricket community.
Two long term contributors to the HKHDCUA in John McQuillan and Simon Moore were honoured in 2017 with Life Membership, as both of these gentlemen had given great service and commitment both on field and off, with John having served as President for a period of seven seasons and participated as Examiner within the Captains Course structure. Simon has also served on the Executive of the Association as Hon. Secretary in 2010/11 and from 2018/19 to 2022/23, and as Assistant Secretary some eight seasons, being responsible for the umpire appointment duties for both the Senior Competition and Junior Representative programs.
Tim Davidson, the Treasurer of our Association since 2009/10 is the most recently elected Life Member in recognition of his dedication to his role of steering our Association to incorporation in 2008/09 and guiding us to a secure financial situation, whilst funding increased benefits for our members in terms of consumables and the creation of our web site. Tim has worked harmoniously with the Presidents since accepting his role in 2009 and has been the consistent, steadying hand that all not-for-profit organisations thrive upon.
During the 2018/19 season discussions commenced with our members and then through the Executive Committee to move away from our traditional “Black and White” to a Sky Blue and Navy Trim long sleeve shirt, complete with our HKHDCUA logo and recognition of our long-term sponsor, the Asquith Bowling & Recreation Club by having their logo on the back of the shirt.
The task of sourcing the shirts, quotes etc fell to Geoff Hasler who negotiated with the highly regarded Kingsgrove Sports Ltd to supply our requirements. The fabric was based upon the NSWCUSA shirts and was enthusiastically accepted by our members and the HKHDCA cricketers. We certainly looked better, felt more comfortable and wore them with renewed pride in our organisation.
A new supply will be in place for season 2023/24 featuring our new sponsors together with the renamed “THE ASQUITH CLUB” our original and continuing sponsor, Di Jones Real Estate through Ray Talati, new sponsor, the EKIM Brewery.
It is essential that the association’s activities are assisted by the generous backing of our sponsors, and we look forward to continuing these relationships into the future.
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