Oamaru's oldest cricket club is celebrating its 150th anniversary next month but, despite sending out about 200 registration forms, is still trying to find about 60 former members.
It is expecting at least 100 former members for the anniversary from March 21 to 23, including three life members - Bill Cubitt, Tony Cartwright and Rob Dick - who between them have a combined 160 years of service to the club.
The 150th anniversary committee chairman, Mark Julius, said yesterday it was ''a momentous occasion for any club''.
He asked former members who had not received information to contact him or the club.
To mark the occasion, Oamaru lawyer Ben Coleman had updated the club's history, including a lot more statistics and information, which would be printed in time for the anniversary celebrations.
The Oamaru club was formed early in 1864 and played its first match - also the first organised team sports game in the town - on March 11 at Takaro Park between two club teams.
Five days, Oamaru played Timaru in the first representative cricket match, Oamaru winning by six wickets.
By 1873, the club had regular exchange matches with Dunedin teams, and two of its members, Lynch and Read, made the provincial side, scoring 89 of Otago's 144 runs.
In 1878 the club played the first Australian team to visit England.
On a new cricket ground between Caledonian Rd and Witham St before about 1000 people, in the first innings Oamaru scored 70 and the Australians 113. In the second innings Oamaru was out for 43. While the result was a sound beating, the visit led to the formation of other clubs.
