Lives in Cricet No 33 - Jack Robertson and Syd Brown

76 Chapter Thirteen Broken Hill While Jack was discovering just how powerful West Indian cricket was becoming, Syd spent the winter in Broken Hill, New South Wales, an isolated mining city over 700 miles west of Sydney and over 300 miles north-east of Adelaide. Surrounded by semi-desert it has been called, among other things, the ‘Silver City’ and ‘Capital of the Outback’. 104 Like many such communities, it was founded on precious metals and once had the world’s richest deposits of lead, zinc and silver. The industry is now somewhat depleted but mining still dominates Broken Hill, although sheep farming is now one of the principal industries in the area. From a 1950 peak of just over thirty thousand Broken Hill’s population had fallen in 2010 to about 19,500. Why was Syd in Broken Hill? He had been engaged by The Zinc Corporation to coach local cricketers with, according to the local newspaper, The Barrier Miner , the intention being to ‘raise the standard of sport here’. As Australia had recently beaten England 3-0 and were shortly to set sail and beat them 4-0, England supporters might have been surprised at the notion that standards needed to be raised. During the previous year, 1920s Australian Test cricketer Arthur Richardson, who had made a name for himself coaching in several countries, had begun the process. He had been impressed with the talent in the area and not surprisingly the Corporation were keen to engage another Australian to continue the good work. However, as they could find nobody suitable in-house they had looked towards England. 105 As Syd would also be re-engaged for the following season it seems that both parties were very satisfied with the outcome. The Corporation had a reputation for treating its workers well and, among mining companies in the area, was a sought-after place to work. It was famous for the impressive facilities that it provided, including two sporting ovals and even an indoor heated swimming pool. Mining is of course a hazardous business and Broken Hill’s Miners’ Memorial honours more than 700 people who have died working the mines there. The arrival of the new coach was anticipated with considerable interest and when he eventually flew in, at the beginning of November, The Barrier Miner lost no time in publishing an interview. Syd, ‘a young well-built man with a ready smile’, said that he had had no hesitation in accepting the 104 Connoisseurs of the arts might like to know that the second Mad Max film was filmed around the area. 105 According to The Sydney Morning Herald (1 December 1949) Syd was ‘secured through Walter Robins … ’.