It was commented in the paper at the time, ‘The “blackfellows” of the Western Province of the great island continent take very kindly, it appears, to cricket, and an aboriginal team hailing from New Norcia antagonised the Fremantle Club (all white men, and reported to be the best all round eleven of cricketers in the colony), on Saturday, February 15th, and defeated them. The New Norcians had on the previous Saturday played at Perth, against a club of that town, and had been easily beaten, but this was probably attributable to the nervousness of the aboriginals, consequently upon their having to play under the public gaze, against a trained team of reputed skillful cricketers. By the next Saturday they had gained confidence. The weather at Fremantle on the day of the match was at first delicious, though subsequently the sea breeze blew rather harder than was agreeable. There was a large assemblage of spectators, whose sympathies were chiefly with the dark team. In the first innings the aboriginals scored 65, Wonola carrying out his bat for 29. Then the pale-faces went in, but the excellent fielding of their opponents prevented them from getting more than 30. In the aboriginals second innings, the fielding of Fremantle was much better, but the bowling was weak. The aboriginals score 47. In their second innings, Fremantle made up a great deal of leeway, for the darkies getting weary, and their captain and principal bowler, Mr H. B. Lefroy, was quite knocked up. The game grew very exciting. Fremantle only wanted nine to win, having made 77 runs in this innings, when a ball, well delivered by Wonola, scattered Mr Jose’s timber stack, and the aboriginals had won. The victory was greeted with shouts of applause and Wonola, who had played all day splendidly, was carried to the tent in triumph on the shoulders of his comrades’.
We are indebted for the photograph from which our engraving is taken to Mr F.K. J. Shenton, of the Crystal Palace, who has also sent us a copy of the Fremantle Herald, from which we have condensed the foregoing details.
Cricket was seen as a civilising influence in the 19th century with many tours going to England. After seeing the Aboriginal cricket team of 1866, an English journalist wrote that the match, ‘proved…that the blackfellow has an extraordinary readiness for picking up knowledge of cricket, however deficient he may be in other respects…it is only reasonable to suppose that, if properly managed and instructed, the native race might have been turned to much better account… and that instead of gradually dying off from the face of the earth, they might have become civilised and respectable members of society’.
An Age journalist reported: ‘Truly, we cannot help thinking that cricket has a humanising and civilising influence, for Mr Lawrence’s black team observe all the courtesies and amenities of the cricketing field and privately both act and speak like gentlemen’.
The New Norcia Cricket Team played continuously from the 1880’s through to 1905.
