Eastlake Centenary
1922 Eastlake Cricket Team
Planning for celebration of the Club's centenary at the beginning of Season 2022/23 has commenced with Eastlake representation on the Cricket ACT Centenary Working Group. The ACT Cricket Association (originally called the Federal Territory Cricket Association) will also celebrate its centenary in 2022.
Eastlake Cricket Club is the only foundation Club still playing in the ACT Premier Cricket Competition and has a rich, colorful history (see About Us > Our History). The Club was founded by Mr William (Bill) Findlay and Mr John (Jack) Esmond in 1922, with the original team (pictured above) formed from the staff of the Canberra Cooperative Society Store, located next to the Canberra Railway Station in Eastlake (now known as Kingston). Jack Esmond (pictured on the far left of the photo above) led the Cooperative Store staff in a cricket team which became the core of the Eastlake team when it was founded in late 1922, often playing in local competition at a pitch adjacent to the Store.
The first Club match played under the auspices of the new Federal Territory Cricket Association was on 7th October 1922 between Eastlake and Cadets. The location of this match is unknown, with the first reference to the Kingston Oval location in 1926/27 when Eastlake listed its home ground as an area 'south of the Printers Headquarters' believed to be the current site of Kingston Oval.
More details regarding how the Club will celebrate its centenary will be provided over the coming months. If you would like to be part of the planning for our centenary celebrations, or have any ideas or information, please email eastlakecricket@gmail.com.
