Cricketers Chased the Ducks Away

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 961, 2 May 1930, Page 7

Cricketers Chased the Ducks Away

The cricket and football domains at Devonport, which are classed with the best about the city, and on which so many stirring battles have been fought out, were formerly a duckpond; the early Devonport residents could dodge round there any night In the season and secure a bird for the next day's dinner—or for a friend in the city. Before that, the Maoris maintained it as an eel preserve. The first efforts at chasing the ducks out of house and home, and making a cricket ground were made in 1890-1. Bet *> late as 1910 the football domain was s up spotted over with big pools of water, into which the unwary school boy could be pushed by his companions and where the truants from school did get much fun playing in punts; until they got wet and had either to face the maternal anger by going home or go to school, and explain away their damp state. The accompanying illustration shows the condition of the ground as it existed in 1850, the date of the first survey. Except for the attempts of the neighbouring property-holders to drain their laud, by lowering the level of the lagoon by draining it into the sea at North Head side, it remained much the same until 1890. In that year, the North Shore Cricket Club, homeless, had to get hold of a ground, and it approached the Devonport Domain Board to be allowed to reclaim portion of the Domain. The club captain was the genial W. Swanson, recently dead. The board also offered to find £SO if the cricketers would do the same, and two wickets were prepared in the corner nearest the present pavilion. The committee that got the money together was Jas. F. Logan (he went as a missionary to India), Tt. Wyn yard (long secretary of the Taknpuna Jockey Club), Fred Wells (sliil taking an interest in life) and C Itenery. Most of the work was carried out by

How Lagoon at Devonport was Reclaimed into Sports Ground —Humus Caught Fire end Burned for Two Years! —Clash Between Domain Board

the good old “working bee,' but at times “the men on the hill,” as the Permanent Force was known, were marched down to give a hand. Gradually the ground was drained and levelled off. The present main pitch

and Tennis Enthusiasts

is laid ou a big bed of scoria which accounts for its being relatively easy to keep dry. However, something goes wrong with the best of schemes, and when the domain began to dry

out someone set the humus on fire. It burned for two years, despite the advice of experts, local and city. At the other end of the swamp. th«r l tennis enthusiasts secured the use of a small sandy beach, and by dint ct much effort and hard work managed to get room for one court. The men mainly responsible were Mr. J. B. Russell, a well-known legal light, F. E. Mason, accountant, Alf. Bartley, architect, J. C. Macky, who went down in the Lusitania, and F. J. Whittaker, sharebroker. Within three years the clubs had three grass courts, but things started to go badly with the club, and it lost members. The Domain Board officially regarded the club as defunct and allocated the area to the Rugby Club, which used to practise on an adjoining bit of dry swamp. The Domain Board, in its majesty, also set out to enforce its decree, and in a body sallied out to pull down the fence separating the tennis and football grounds. It was astounded to find the tennis men busy planting trees along the fence line. After heated argument, during which the late Mr. Macky offered to lay down an asphalt court at his own expense on the ground in dispute, the Domain Board beat a retreat. Devonport bowling court started in 1895 and added its efforts to the improving of the Domain, while in the intervening years the various football clubs have helped the Domain Board to better the new fields that emerged from the old lagoon. The younger sports, who sometimes cast aspersions on the “old jokers” who come down to watch games, should sometimes remember that it was the “old jokers” who made possible the use of the fine grounds available at the Shore today!