Club History

This is by no means a full account, If you can add to the History please contact a Club Official, every little bit of History is precious.

In 1980, Ken Trembath looked across at Hession Oval and saw the concrete Cricket Pitch, it was then that he wanted to start a cricket club at Helensvale, He met up with Tom Connolly and said I think we shall form a Cricket Club, I will be President, You can be treasurer and Dobbie can be Secretary, Tom comment was " whats a treasurer do" With that Ken said, nothing much, collect and bank the money and sell the drinks, Tom's comment years latter was "Yeah right wasn't I fooled".

That was the beginning of the group known as Helensvale Cricket Club, but the Association hog tied that plan, with the restriction they had to play under the Runaway Bay Cricket Clubs Banner first, this they did whilst planning and steering the idea and dream of Helensvale Cricket Club, The Original Steering Committee was Ken Trembath, Chris Payne, Gay Trembath, Tom Connolly, Les Dobbie, Rick Love, David Jones.

Helensvale Hawks Founding Members

Top Row Left to Right: David Jones, Rick Love, Les Dobbie, Tom Connolly

Bottom Row Left to Right: Ken Trembath, Chris Payne, Gay Trembath

The Players of this Group of men, went out and played the game under the Associations Conditions and won the 2^nd division Flag, and despite other Stories floating around, was given permission to field a First Grade Team, Under the Banner of Helensvale Cricket Club, in the 1982 Season.

The Council approved a Clubhouse ( ahummmm if that's what it was). The small fenced building on the other side of the toilet block was the clubs first clubhouse, back then it was FIBRO walled and had 2 small fridges, 1 for beer and 1 for soft drinks. In the words of Tom Connolly, he said, NO money in my hand NO DRINK. If you look in the Curator shed, you can see part of the original BAR still in use. Part of the agreement, which the Clubhouse was allowed to be built, was the Council put a toilet block on site next to clubhouse and the club had to keep it clean. That lasted all of a few months after the local louts violated it every weekend, council took over the control of it after they saw the state of it. The shed I have been told was donated (by who I am not sure of but am trying to find out) and for a while the shed was bigger than the clubhouse. When the old clubhouse wasn't in use by the cricket club any longer, it was donated to the mothers club that had been using it once a week. It is still used as a playgroup today.

The below people borrowed funds to build the existing clubhouse, the loan was obtained from ANZ these members actually signing their lives away as guarantors for the loan to build the club, Without these men, there would not be the fine clubhouse we now have, building started with the first sod turned By Col Kleinschmidt and Chris Payne in1985 and it was the members again, most of those on the list that toiled long and hard to lay the foundations, slabs, and lay the bricks that are the Clubhouse, it was not contracted out but build by hand by the members, Helensvale Cricket Club has a fine member tradition and good harmony and comradery starting way back when the club was born. The Clubhouse building was finished  March 7, 1986 and officially opened by The Honourable MLA Mr. I. J. Gibbs

Clubhouse building guarantors

Neil Craig McQuillan
Darren Richard Love
Ronald Roy Saunders
William George Sands
Paul Andrew Trembath
Norm Jessen
Darren Huxtable
Paul Lang Hicks
Terrence David Williams
Richard Henry Love
Christopher Payne
Kenneth Douglas Trembath
Thomas Terrance Connolly
Gregory James Trembath
George Athol Payne.

In 1987 Helensvale Cricket Club became Incorporated and officially became Helensvale Cricket Club Incorporated

09/03/1989 Interest free loan from ALBERT Shire Council  for payout of Guarantor Loan from ANZ Bank

1991-92 Club purchased a bowling machine with assistance from Council.

1991-93 Dolphins used ground and clubhouse, when they left they took the roller, covers and site screens to their new ground at Kerrydale.

1992 Ran a successful Touch football competition

1992-1993 Club won the Second Grade Pennant.

17/09/93 Second Hand Roller Purchased from Compressor sales and hire Southport.

1995 Wicket Rebuilt: The Original Turf Wicket had seen its day, it was sunken, rippled and drainage from the deck was non existent, Jeff Lindemann arrange the dozer and other machines needed, that were all donated, Steve Gooley (and his wonder dog Conan) supplied the surveyor equipment and skills to use it, Steve Wilson obtained the roadbase, aggregate, drainage piping, timber and black soil for new decks, Greg Carney along with Steve and Julie Wilson supplied the time and labour to wash the new Turf,  that Col Kleinschmidt donated $575.00 from his Pastoral Company to provide Tyagarah turf for the new wicket. The first ball was delivered by Col Kleinschmidt and is signed by the playing team and is displayed in our display case along with the photo of Col bowling it.

1995 delivered 2667 copies of the big pages colour directory for 20 cents a  book and received $535.40

Helped Colin Kleinschmidt the then Councilors, for our are for many years with the Red Shield Appeal, From hearsay the Club was involved from early 1990's to mid 2000, The club organized and co-ordinated collections and manpower from Helensvale and Oxenford areas, collecting thousand of dollars for the Salvation Army's  Red Shield Appeal.

During the Mid 1990's the club also did its share of international friendliness, holding Classes for Student Exchange Programs ran by the Australian Institute of International Understanding, it involved students from different Japanese schools being billeted in the community and then attending the Clubhouse 5 days a week for 2 weeks, apart from helping the students, it made the club well needed funds, the gifts can still be seen in the Clubhouse Trophy Cabinet.

In 1998, We conversed with Col Kleinschmidt, (He might say hassled and pestered), for lights, finally after doing all the investigative work for them, Council agreed and contracted Emerlite to install the lights for the nets. For the first time in club history we had night training, it is ironic that after many years of complaining about the Nets and the Drain, Council out of the blue and in its wisdom flattened the old nets, 2 faced the field as they do now and 2 ran parallel with Discovery drive, we lost so many balls in the stormwater drain as then it wasn't a concrete drain, but a leech ridden smelly deep muddy cesspool called a small creek.

More to be added soon...