Thump of leather on willow for Walhalla
By Keith Anderson Walhalla’s unique cricket ground perched about 200 metres above the historic township may soon be hearing the thump of leather against willow again.
The Walhalla Cricket Club, originally formed in 1885 at the height of the gold rush, has been reactivated after a hiatus of about 15 years and volunteers, under the supervision of Park Victoria, have been working to make the ground playable again.
Plans by the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) to play a match at the famous mountain top ground just over a year ago had to be jettisoned when an inspection revealed regrowth trees were encroaching on the ground that had also been severely damaged by motor bikes and four-wheel drive vehicles and there was plenty of evidence it was being used as a camping area.
Cricket club president Brian Brewer of Warragul said membership had grown to 20 people – most are also members of the Walhalla Heritage and Development League – but it had no plans to play competitively although it has affiliated with the Traralgon and District Cricket Association.
We just want to maintain the ground as a venue for occasional social games, he said. Getting to the ground is a feat in itself. It is at the end of a one-kilometre track through the bush that can only be walked or, in parts, scaled and takes about 20 minutes to reach from the town.
Recently a local logging contractor John McConarchie has used a bulldozer to clear the outfield, something the miners from the Long Tunnel gold mine didn’t have the luxury of when they began shaping the ground in the early 1880s.
With picks and shovels they sliced almost 10 metres off the top of the mountain, carved a ground about 125x80 metres and poured a concrete cricket pitch in the centre.
Mr Brewer said no grass ever grew on the ground, the outfield was rough gravel and the boundary defined by a row of gum trees.
Motorbike and 4WD access has now been blocked to the ground and in the next few weeks cricket club members and other volunteers will further prepare the surface for seeding and fertilising.
One of the stories from the Walhalla ground that has now become part of local, and wider, legend is a visit by former Australian Test player Warwick Armstrong about 100 years ago.
Armstrong, who played 50 Test matches and was undefeated captain in 10 of them, was known as “The Big Ship” because of his physical size and bet the then cricket club secretary that he could hit a ball onto the roof of the Star Hotel almost 200 metres below the ground. A bit of local skulduggery denied Armstrong. The story goes that a fieldsman was planted behind a gum tree outside the oval and caught Armstrong among the trees.
The umpire, a local goldminer, had no hesitation declaring “out” and despite not winning his bet Armstrong did go to the Star Hotel where he enjoyed a few drinks with his mining hosts.
Anybody interested in the ground or becoming a member of the Walhalla Cricket Club can contact secretary Jim Hall, c/- the Walhalla post office, 3825.