Reopening of the Dudley Seddon Memorial Stand and The Hughes Family Long Room at Petersham Oval

Randwick Petersham Cricket Club | May 02, 2024

On Sunday 6 November 2022 Randwick Petersham in conjunction with Inner West Council and the Mayor Darcy Byrne reopened the Dudley Seddon Memorial Stand and opened The Hughes Family Long Room at Petersham Oval to commemorate the dedication of Dudley Seddon and also The Hughes Family; Noel, Pat, Mark, Garry and Graeme for their contribution to Petersham-Marrickville and Randwick Petersham over 64 years. Petersham Oval is one of the most picturesque and historic grounds in NSW Premier Cricket and thanks to Inner West Council is being restored to its former glory.

 

Randwick Petersham Cricket Club is proudly sponsored by Petersham RSL

Thank you to Jeremy Jastrzab and Chris Sullivan for their dedication and tireless work to bring these honours to the Seddon and Hughes Families. 

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne

Randwick Petersham Cricket Club President Mike Whitney AM

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne and Randwick Petersham Club President Mike Whitney AM unveil the plaque for the Dudley Seddon Grandstand

The D. Seddon Memorial Grandstand

Dudley Seddon nephew Ron Seddon in the white shirt is on hand with the enveiling

Dudley Seddon played for Petersham from 1915 until 1943. He scored almost 8,000 runs in 1st Grade, captaining the team for seven successive seasons. He also played for NSW six times. While cricket was Dudley’s first love, he was also a capable rugby league centre three-quarter for Newtown who went on to represent NSW when aged just 20.

As an administrator Dudley was first elected to the Petersham committee in 1930 before becoming the club’s delegate to the NSW Cricket Association in 1942, a position he held for the following 26 years. He was made a NSW Cricket Association Life Member in 1951 having previously been conferred with such honour by the Petersham club in July 1940. He became Petersham-Marrickville President in 1959 serving in that role until 1968, the year he retired.

It was Dudley’s role as a State and Australian selector between 1947 and 1967 however, where he exerted his greatest influence on the game. As a national selector for the final 12 years of that period with Sir Donald Bradman and Jack Ryder, he was an integral part of one of the most formidable selection panels in the game’s history. It was this group which established a selection approach and culture which ushered in a golden era of Australian cricket, the benefits of which remain evident in today’s modern game.

Dudley Seddon died at Dulwich Hill on 18 April 1978 just prior to his 76th birthday. In recognition of his contribution to the Petersham club the grandstand at Petersham Oval was named in his honour. For reasons unknown, his name on the grandstand awning had been painted over and remained as such for some years

The Hughes family

While the names Tommy Andrews and Dudley Seddon are synonymous with Petersham/Petersham-Marrickville cricket, there can be no doubt that the name “Hughes” conjures similar recognition. Two generations of Hughes players, administrators and volunteers covering a period of activity totalling 64 years between 1944 and 2008 gives ample testimony to that claim.

Born in Newtown and a product of Lewisham Christian Brothers, Noel Hughes joined the old Marrickville club as a 15 year old in 1943-44. He joined Petersham the following summer and in 1947-48 made his 1st Grade debut. Over the following 32 seasons, he went on to score over 9,000 runs including 6,817 in 1st Grade.

In 1946, Noel brought along his then girlfriend and later wife Patricia to help out with afternoon teas at Petersham Oval. That was the beginning of a period of voluntary assistance which continued until her “retirement” in 2008—62 years later. Together with two other ladies—Helen Milford who joined her in 1951 and Robin Gardner in 1966—Pat and her “team” became legendary in Sydney Grade Cricket for their Petersham Oval hospitality. Indeed, there would hardly be a 1st or 2nd Sydney Grade cricketer in all that time who wasn’t served “a cuppa” by each of these ladies. In fact, Pat Hughes was as well known in Sydney cricket circles as any leading player.

Noel and Pat Hughes were married in 1951 and in October 1952 their first son Garry was born. Mark followed a couple of years later with Graeme arriving in 1955. Each of the three boys played 1st Grade cricket for Petersham- Marrickville with Graeme fulfilling his father’s dream and playing Sheffield Shield cricket for NSW. Graeme became a dual State representative playing rugby league for NSW. Between father Noel’s debut season of 1947 and the final season of Graeme’s career in 1995, there had hardly been an occasion when Petersham or Petersham-Marrickville 1st Grade team took the field without the Hughes name in the starting line-up.

Noel Hughes was a cricket icon in the Petersham area throughout his career. After filling in for a few matches in 1975-76 Noel Hughes hung up his boots. He continued to serve the club as a committee member however, and when he eventually stood down in 1998, he had chalked up a mammoth 42 successive years as an administrator.

Deservedly, he was awarded Life Membership of Petersham Marrickville in 1971 while in 2000 he, along with wife Patricia who had served an estimated 50,000 cups of tea at Petersham Oval, was awarded the Australian Sports Medal by the Governor-General. In 2010 they were again both honoured with Cricket Australia’s 50 Years’ Service Medal.

While Garry and Mark Hughes played 1st Grade with Petersham-Marrickville CC, it was third brother Graeme who had more success on the cricket field. He made his 1st Grade debut at age 17 and went on to play for the following 21 seasons scoring over 6,500 runs with 11 centuries. He was the top-scorer in the Grand Final when Petersham- Marrickville won the 1st Grade premiership in 1974-75. Hughes went on to play 22 matches for NSW making his Sheffield Shield debut against Victoria in 1975 aged 20.

Just prior to his first-class cricket debut, Hughes played his first game of rugby league for NSW against Queensland aged 19 becoming a “Dual Blue”. He followed Dudley Seddon who also achieved that feat.

Hughes was an integral member of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs sides of the late 1970s-early 80’s along with his brothers Garry and Mark. All three played in the NSWRFL Grand Final of 1980 won by Canterbury-Bankstown 18- 4 over Easts with Graeme playing a starring role.

Hughes brothers - Graeme, Mark and Garry