The Don Cricket Club has the honour of being the oldest continuous cricket club in Northern Tasmania
if not the state,but missing records of more than a century ago,suggest the club is more than 143 years old.
The Club was officially established in 1871
Late in 1883 the then owner of the Don Hotel donated four acres of land for a permanent
cricket ground but delays occurred and was not completed until four years later.
The present Don Recreation ground has been used since 1887,while previous matches were played
on the river flats just below that was before the construction of the Forth Road which now runs through the
old field and before that in a farm paddock at Don Heads.
In the early days there were few teams to play against and considerable organisation
was required when the only mode of transport was horse drawn carriage,or on foot.
The arrival of the railway to the coast in the late 1880s allowed the club to
then send teams regularly as far away as Launceston.
In earlier matches the games were more of a social nature but at home games the
team was selected on the spot from players who arrived on time.
Tardy players missed a game,despite their ability with the bat or ball.
Records for the entire 143 years are not available but some statistics has been researched.
In one period during the 1880s,out of 60 consecutive matches played,55 were victorious.
For five seasons no games were lost making Don one of the toughest teams in the district.
In the 17 years from 1954-1971 Don won 13 premierships.
Twice it was successful for four consecutive seasons.
However,three times the club had difficulties surviving.First the Don male population was depleted
when the local sawmill burnt down in 1896 removing the main place of employment
and during both world wars many players enlisted for service.
Don did not fold but carried on with lesser numbers although sometimes being forced to forfeit matches.
Don has been part of association cricket since September 1894 and affiliated
with the Mersey Valley Cricket Association when it was formed in 1965.
On March 20,1976 the Don team built clubrooms on it's home ground,
which gave it's members facilities for social activities which it had previously lacked.
A couple of old scorecards from last century
