Brian Shultz (Shultzy) was born in 1938 and posted to Bangalow police station as sergeant in 1974. Shortly after arriving in town he joined the Bangalow Cricket Club. The club was formed in the 1950s but there are records of games being played between Bangalow and Byron from the early 1900s.
Cricket was originally played at the show grounds, sharing the arena with the Hockey club and grazing cows. The cricket club would mow the infield around the wicket but the outfield was a mix of long grass and cow poo, not ideal for a game of cricket.
So by 1977 realising it was not fit for purpose, Shultzy, with the help of the Lions Club, called a public meeting in the RSL hall on Station Street and formed the Bangalow Sports Association.
The Holmes family owned a couple of paddocks behind the Bowlo. So Shultzy approached them about buying the paddocks in order to build a cricket field. So around the kitchen table over some tea and biscuits a deal was struck to purchase 12 acres for $40,000.
The Club secured a loan from the local bank manager, who was a cricket fan, and with the Lions Club guaranteeing the loan, the land was purchased.
Over the next year Shultzy, his wife Jan, her best friend Jan Hulbert and a cast of local identities held raffles, progressive dinners, debutante balls and even a couple of walkathons between Byron and Bangalow to raise money to pay back the loan.
Around this time Shultzy and a few mates got wind that the then Premier of NSW ‘Nifty’ Neville Wran was at a golf tournament in the Tweed Valley. So they jumped in their cars and headed up for an impromptu meeting. After a few beers and handshakes they left with a $24,000 grant!
With Shultzy being the local police sergeant, he had his ear to the ground and heard that Ballina council had some large earthmoving machinery arriving from Brisbane and managed to divert the drivers to Bangalow to practice on the machines before delivering them to Ballina. Over the course of a few weeks they cleared all the camphor laurel trees and levelled the paddocks.
A large pile of trees started to form where the tennis courts now are and as they were too large to burn they became a place of shade for all the locals who were helping clear rocks off the cleared land. Eventually this pile of trees turned into ‘The Camphor Laurel Club’ where a cleansing ale could be had at the end of the day for the workers.
Photo from the collection of Jan Hulbert
The ground held its first cricket match on 8 June 1981 between Bangalow and Tintenbar. The large pine tree that is along the tree line in the north east corner of the field was donated by Alstonville Cricket Club on their first visit to the grounds. Shultzy was an opening batsman and wicket keeper. His batting average was around 40 with a top score of 124 N.O. in a game against Ballina. He retired from the police force in 1981 and still lives in Bangalow with Jan.
Howard Zatt