Rottnest cricketers? William Back (1856-1911) didn’t set the world on fire. He played two first-class matches in 1892/93 and scored 12 runs at an average of 4. His highest score was 7. No catches. CricInfo doesn’t say who he played for. But the important thing is he was born on Rotto. He died 97 years ago today, in Perth.
Who was William Back, apart from an ordinary batsman? Back is a prominent Rotto name, as any fule kno. We wonder if he was related to Edward Back, the Rottnest pilot from 1846 to 1857. The dates don’t quite make sense, though. According to this reminiscence Edward fell in love with his future wife on a ship (the Fanny) to Freo. Edward supposedly had eight children, it says here. One, William Mercer Back, lived from 1842 to 1910.
(Mary Curtis was the mother of the 1842-1910 William. The reminiscence says she “…was 96 when she died the oldest person in the colony. Her death was reported in the Perth Gazette; ‘Her death was not caused by disease or decay but from shock occasioned when a portion of her dress caught on fire.’ Her death certificate states ‘accidentally burnt’ and that she died at 5am 14 April in Fremantle.”)
It was Brad Hogg’s birthday last week (Feb 6) – we hope you sent him a card.
Today's pic is from Flickr user niki (da sempre)
My Dad used to play cricket (at the local club), and I'm pretty sure he was born on Rottnest - or at least lived there for the early years of his life (undoubtedly playing street cricket).
ReplyDeleteDoes that count? :P