Sporting Notables

'GEORDIE BILL' HINDMARSH 

From A Brief History of the Weston Football Club as shown on the Fox Sports Pulse website:  

'It was late 1906, when the Hetton Coal mining complex, Newcastle, sent a party of workmen to develop the site at Hebburn Colliery near Weston. Among this group were quite a number of Football enthusiasts who persuaded a group to form a Football club. 1909 saw the arrival of former English player Bill Hindmarsh who proved a boon to the club. Colours were changed to black and white stripes with black shorts.

Hindmarsh known everywhere as 'Geordie Bill' was a colourful character and his name lives on at Weston where as time runs out in a game the cry goes out - "Geordie Bill, the ball!" This cry was made famous when Weston played at the Homestead Ground and Hindmarsh was fullback. Whenever Weston needed a breather Hindmarsh would kick the ball into a nearby creek - a handy time waster.'

BILLY MCNABB

Around 1913 a youthful Billy McNabb from Weston Magpies Rugby League Team was looming up on the pro boxing scene after a successful debut on the bare knuckle front.

      On the 27th September 1913 a bout took place at Andrews Stadium Maitland between Joe Shakespeare and Les Darcy. No weight was announced but Shakespeare was visibly the heavier by around 7lbs. Darcy was to finally win the bout in the 7th round when his

opponents corner threw in the towel. In the break Billy McNabb challenged the winner of the contest and Jack Andrews put up a purse of One Hundred Pounds for the event.

On the 18th October the Newcastle Herald wrote....."What promoter Mr J Andrews sees as the greatest combat ever witnessed in the North is to take place on October 25th when Billy McNabb meets Les Darcy for the purse of One Hundred Pounds. Darcy has by his many wins won a warm place in the hearts of sporting followers. He is a hard, clean fighter and McNabb will meet a boxer of the same style. It is the toughest task yet for the hardy East Maitlander".

      The McNabb ancestry went back to the bushranger country around the Bathurst district of New South Wales where James McNabb married MIss Mary Ann Fogarty, sister of "Jawbreaker" Jim Fogerty from Fitzgerald Valley.

      William McNabb was born at Newbridge, in the Bathurst/Blayney region in 1891. Mary, a remarkable "Woman of the West" in later years was to become a well known and highly respected figure around Weston for her bush nursing activities.

      In 1902 the McNabb and Fogarty families moved to the coalfield and settled in Weston. The McNabb brothers Tom and Jack were great bike riders who rode in the classic Goulburn to Sydney marathon. Redhead Billy was a natural recruit to the noble art of self defense and found ample scope for his fighting inclinations when thrown amongst other budding pugilists of the area. Billy made his mark on both the football and fighting fronts. A physical fitness fanatic, in the field of skipping once performed 1000 skips in 4 minutes 28 seconds then went on to record 11,000 turns in 66 minutes without a break.

       After winning the 10 stone tournament at Summer Park in 1911 his record indicated excellent fighting form with KO wins over Les Gleeson,  NZ middleweight at Wollongong on August 10th then coming home to defeat Joe Shakespeare at Cessnock several weeks later.

      Many of the coalfielders who went down to Maitland on 25th October including stable backer Albert Burns threw in for a big win on the Fighting Butcher.

      Tremendous crowds filled Maitland streets and Pubs on the afternoon of the fight and while the gate check showed 2000 paying customers it appeared from casual observation the attendance figures exceeded officail estimates with hundreds being turned away from the stadium doors.

      From the bell the pace was a cracker without any exploring tactics. Darcy proved himself an aggressive coool but relentless fighter and showed that he had the grit to take a hiding. McNabb was always willing and showed he could give as well as take. He pasted Darcy in several rounds with lefts and rights to the face, head and body but paid a heavy toll. The deadly uppercut which he relied on was tried nine times but the wary Darcy kept his head out of the danger zone.

      In the last round McNabb was out for a KO and flew into Darcy's corner from the bell. For a minute he seemed to have his opponent rattled but Darcy was the aggressor for the rest of the fight but could not put McNabb to the floor.

      It was a fitting close to a great fight in which McNabb, although beaten on points by a large magrin stood out as a hard, gritty and plucky fighter who would refuse to acknowledge defeat.   

      Billy McNabb went on to fight Les Darcy once more on the 23rd April 1914 at Andrews Stadium Maitland. Days before the bout Billy suffered a bout of dysentry and his weight reduced to 143lbs. Although a postponement was suggested the promoters push for the show to go on won the day and a well below maximum welter weight went in to meet a solidly well conditioned middleweight. Bill succombed and was knocked out in the 4th round. After the fighters had given a friendly handshake McNabb collapsed from cramps and had to be carried to his hotel.

      The Weston star went on to make his mark on the Australian boxing scene and fought first class ringmen including Jimmy Fitton, Fritz Holland, Fitz Makin, Pat Bradley, Henri Demlin and Jerry Jerome.

      With the passing of time the name of McNabb has been boldly written into Australian Fighting records. Billy McNabb of the tough pioneering coalfields days in the early 1900s who on his passing in 1968 received homage from the sporting public as the last great Fighter of the North to do battle with legendary fistic genius James Leslie Darcy.

      Most Weston residents would probably remember him as "Knocka" McNabb, the old fellow who would ride his bike about town at such a slow pace that he seemed to defy gravity.

The following is courtesy of the Cessnock City Council website  HALL OF FAME - SPORT:

Jack Gilmore

Soccer player

 Jack Gilmore was born in Alnwick in Northumberland, England, in 1894.

He migrated to Australia in 1913, when he was 18 years old, and settled in Kurri Kurri. His early life followed a path that was familiar to many young men at that time: working in the mines, playing local soccer and joining the Australian Imperial Force (the AIF) to serve in the Middle East and Flanders during the First World War.

Jack spent his family life in Abermain, and enjoyed playing soccer at the local level for Weston Workers Bears, and then at state and national levels. In its early years, the Weston Bears club was heavily influenced by its Geordie players, and Jack earned the nickname “Terror of the Geordies” for his attacking prowess.

As an outside or inside left with impressive ball handling skills, Jack represented North NSW on a number of occasions before his war service. Following the war, in the 1923 test series against New Zealand, he became the first Weston player to be selected to represent Australia. He was also one of the scorers in that game.

In total, Jack played four internationals for Australia during 1923/1924, and in two of the games, against China and Canada, he scored two goals.

In the same period, he also played for NSW, and for the South Maitland association when it played matches against state and visiting international teams.

In 2007 Jack was posthumously inducted into the Hunter Region Sporting Hall of Fame, and was also recognised by the Weston Bears in the same year, its centenary, as one of the “Bears of the Century”.

JAMES 'SKEETA' WILKINSON

'James “Skeeta” Wilkinson was born in Weston in 1913, and lived in the town his entire life. His slight frame earned him the nickname “Skeeta”, and he grew up to work in the local coal mines.

Jim’s life as a soccer player began with the team Weston Bears, for whom he played 461 games. He later played for Kurri Kurri and Mayfield, reaching a total of 552 senior games (although his family records record 574 games). This is believed to be an Australian record. 

His soccer career spanned 24 seasons from 1931 to 1955, during which he scored 167 goals as a right winger.

Jim’s representative roles extended to more than 20 appearances for the North, 14 occasions for NSW and 16 internationals (eight of which had full status) against New Zealand, England, Palestine and China.

Jim turned down many offers to play as a professional in England, maintaining his home in Weston. There are many testimonies recorded which indicate that he was held in high esteem, regarded as one of the finest soccer players Australia has produced.

Jim was inducted into the Hunter Region Sporting Hall of Fame in 1995, and into the Australian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2002. His accomplishments are also recognised in several locations in the Weston and Kurri Kurri area.

Skeeta died in 1984.'

EDDIE LUMSDEN

Rugby League great, Edmund 'Eddie' Lumsden, was originally from Eighth Street Weston.  His brothers: twin Richie, Ray and Jack all played rugby league. Edmund Lumsden was an Australian professional rugby league footballer. He was a winger with the St. George Dragons during their eleven-year premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966, playing in and winning nine grand finals. Lumsden is one of four brothers who all played for Country. Wikipedia

Born: 28 September 1936, Kurri Kurri

Died: 6 October 2019

Biography

Achievements

Lumsden began his junior rugby league career with Weston.  1954 was the beginning of his senior career with Kurri Kurri.  In 1955 Lumsden played one season with Manly, before returning to Kurri in 1956. In 1958 Lumsden transferred to St George where he stayed up until the end of the 1963 season.

During Lumsden's rugby league career he represented Australia from 1959 to 1963, New South Wales Country in 1956 and New South Wales in 1957, 1959 to 1963. Lumsden was also made Life Member of St George and was on the Country and New South Wales Selection Panel from 1981 to 1986.

STATE:

1956 - New South Wales Country Representative

1957 - New South Wales Representative

1958 - New South Wales Colts Representative

1959 - New South Wales Representative

1960 - New South Wales Representative

1961 - New South Wales Representative

1962 - New South Wales Representative

1963 - New South Wales Representative

INTERNATIONAL:

1959 - Australia V's New Zealand Touring Team

1960 - Australia V's French Touring Team

1962 - Australia V's Lions Touring Team

1963 - Australia V's New Zealand Touring Team

1963 - Australia V's South African Touring Team

1959 - Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France

1961 - Australian Touring Team to New Zealand

See the following websites for more details of Eddie Lumsden's football career:

Eddie Lumsden at the Rugby League Project.

Eddie Lumsden at Wikipedia.

MARGUERITE RUYGROK 

From: National Archives of Australia:

'Dutch-born Marguerithe Ruygrok, of Weston, NSW, Australia has been chosen to represent Australia in the Olympic swimming team at Tokyo in 1964. 

Marguerithe won the 100 and 200 metres titles in the NSW amateur swimming championships in Sydney, setting up an Australian record of 1/29.09 seconds fro the shorter event, and even breaking record time for the 200 meters with 2/53.5 seconds. 

In the Australian championships she clocked an even faster 100 meters breast stroke of 1/22.8 seconds. 

Marguerithe came to Australia when she was 4 years old and was naturalised in 1960. 

Marguerithe Ruygrok, at 16, is Australia's best prospect in the breast stroke style.' 

ALAN LAMB

Local businessman, the late Alan Lamb, made outstanding civic contributions, especially to the Weston Bears Football Club. 

The following transcript of an article by Sid Grant is from Coalfields Soccer - with thanks to Ean Smith:

ALAN LAMB

When Alan Lamb became associated with Weston Bears, the famous club was gradually slipping down the decline of Depression Drive towards extinction. His belief in the old adage, “where there is life, there is hope”, changed the course of events. He became president in 1954 for a short term but as a committee-man he voiced his opinions in no uncertain manner. Even the moving of headquarters to Abermain Park in 1952-53-54 brought no success. Neither did help from local coaches.

Lamb faced this problem with pluck and determination. Under his dedication, Weston sent Ian Thompson off to recruit players from England and Scotland.  In May 1968, the first contingent of players arrived and Weston were soon climbing the ladder. Lamb’s outbursts about inefficiency in Northern control caused concern. Time proved him correct so when things reached a record low, Lamb was elected President of the Newcastle Soccer Federation. Soon the capable, co-operative group of directors helped Lamb to lift soccer in the North.

Lets relate his achievements:

• • 1.  Secured reliable sponsorship.

    2. Number of clubs rose from 24 to 56.

    3. Club administration improved and made businesslike.

    4. Gained full voting rights for N.S.F. on National body.

    5. Gained two permanent representatives on National Council.

    6. Initiated tours with A.C.T. 

    7. Initiated tour of New Zealand.

    8. Gained permanent coach for the North.

    9. Strong support of Newcastle KB United in National Philips League now an established fact.

Also, Lamb is a leading Rotarian -  constant business pressure plus soccer demands caused Alan to resign in 1977.  In all his ciivic and sporting activities, he has been fortunate that he has had the full support of his gracious wife, Judy.  Soccer within the Commonwealth, as well as Weston, owes a big “thank you” for leadership and business drive.

Lamb is best summed up in Huxley’s words: “The great end of life is not knowledge but action.”

Alan Lamb died in December 2008 aged 79.   His wife Gladys June (Judy) passed away in August 2011 aged 80.

STEWART PIKE

Extracted from Wikipedia: 

Stewart Alan Pike, OAM (born on 1 June 1981) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer and was born in the New South Wales city of Taree. Pike has an intellectual disability and took up swimming to overcome his life frustrations. He attended Weston Primary School and Kurri Kurri High School. 

Stewart Pike won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Games in the Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle S14 event, for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia, and a silver medal in the Men's 200 m Medley SM14 event.  In 2000, he received an Australian Sports Medal and an Australian Institute of Sport Athlete with a Disability scholarship. 

In 2001, he was awarded the Cessnock City Council Australia Day Sports Award. In 2006, he was an inaugural inductee in the Cessnock Hall of Fame.

Stewart Pike

Swimmer

This citation was read on the occasion of Stewart Pike's induction into the City of Cessnock Hall of Fame on 6th December 2006.

Stewart Pike was born in 1981, and attended Weston Primary School and Kurri Kurri High School. He began his swimming career in earnest when he was 16, and three years later was selected to represent Australia in swimming at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games.

At those Games, Stewart was a finalist in a number of events:

• S14 50m butterfly

• S14 200m freestyle

• S14 4×50m medley relay

• S14 100m freestyle

• S14 100m backstroke

He subsequently won the Gold Medal in the S12 4x100m Freestyle Relay in World Record time, and won the Silver Medal in the S14 200m Individual Medley.

Whilst at the Games in Sydney, Stewart achieved Personal Bests in six events, broke five Australian Records and one Paralympic Record.

He was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and the Cessnock City Council Australia Day Sports Award in 2001.

• Born Weston 1981

• Attended Weston Primary School

• Attended Kurri High School

• Finalist S14 50m butterfly at the Paralympic Games, Sydney, 2000

• Finalist S14 200m freestyle at the Paralympic Games, Sydney, 2000

• Finalist S14 4×50m medley relay at the Paralympic Games, Sydney, 2000

• Finalist S14 100m freestyle at the Paralympic Games, Sydney, 2000

• Finalist S14 100m backstroke at the Paralympic Games, Sydney, 2000

• Won the Gold Medal in the S12 4x100m Freestyle Relay in World record time at the Paralympic Games, Sydney, 2000

• Won the Silver Medal in the S14 200m Individual Medley at the Paralympic Games, Sydney, 2000

• Whilst at the Paralympic Games in Sydney, Stewart achieved Personal Bests in six events, five Australian Records and one Paralympic Record

• Awarded the Australian Sports Medal, 2000

• Awarded in 2001 the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Paralympic Games, Sydney, 2000

• Awarded the Cessnock City Council Australia Day Sports Award 2001

CHAD REED

Champion Motorcross racer, Chad Reed, hails from Sawyers Gully: 

'Chad Reed is a multi-time Supercross champion, winning the U.S. AMA Supercross Championship in 2004 & 2008. 

In 2009, he won the 2009 AMA 450 National Outdoor Motocross Championship, and the Australian Supercross Series for his fourth time. 

After winning the Australian Supercross Championship in 2000, Reed went to Europe in 2001 to ride for Jan DeGroot’s factory Kawasaki team. Reed and his KX250 won the MX Grand Prix of Lierop and eventually finishing the year second to multi-time World Champion Mickael Pichon.

Eager to move to America and campaign to world’s premiere series, Reed picked up a ride with Yamaha of Troy to ride 125 East Coast Supercross and 125 Nationals aboard the four-stroke YZ250F. Reed won all but two Supercrosses that season and earned the East Coast championship. Reed moved directly to the 250 class full-time in 2003 with Factory Yamaha. Aboard a YZ250, he won one more race than chief rival Ricky Carmichael, but lost the title at the last round to the Carmichael. For 2009, Chad joined Team Suzuki USA, winning the 450 outdoor Motocross Championship. For 2010, Chad joined with Kawasaki USA. In 2011, Chad decided to start his own team – TwoTwo Motorsports, this year riding Honda’s. In June 2011, Chad received a very special award – he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. The second youngest person ever to receive the acknowledgement.'   

CASEY STONER A.M.

TWO-time World MotoGP winner Casel Stoner grew up in Sawyers Gully (or Loxford?) and also Southport in Queensland. 

The Casey Stoner Cup is held annually at the Loxford Park Speedway.  

Although the local connection is not mentioned in the Wikipedia article, more details of Casey Stoner's extensive sporting career can be found:

 Here.