Guide to the Papers of Heathfield Harman Stephenson (as filmed by the AJCP), 1861-1890

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Summary

Collection number:

M855

Creator:

Stephenson, Heathfield Harman

Extent:

9 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Includes: Memorandum of agreement September 1861 regarding the 1861-62 cricket tour of Australia; photograph December 1861 of the English team in Melbourne; addresses by the Queenscliff, Melbourne and Castlemaine Cricket Clubs to the visiting team; printed items: The Cabinet: A Repository of Facts, Figures and Fancies Relating to the Voyage of the Great Britain SS from Liverpool to Melbourne

Biographical / Historical:

Heathfield Harman Stephenson (1833-1896), the son of a surgeon, was born at Esher, Surrey. He became a professional cricketer at an early age and made his debut for Surrey in a match against Kent at The Oval in 1853. His first-class career lasted until 1871 and in that time he made 7360 runs, took 303 weeks and 152 catches, and made 25 stumpings. In 1861 he became the first bowler to be awarded a hat for taking three wickets with consecutive balls, which led to the term 'hat-trick'. He was playing for an All-England team at Sheffield and, on account of his feat, a collection was taken up and he was presented with a cap or hat bought with the proceeds.In 1859 Stephenson was a member of the All-England team led by George Parr that visited North America, the first cricket team to play overseas. Two years later, Stephenson led the first English team, made up of professional cricketers, to tour Australia. Arriving in December 1861, the All-England Eleven played twelve matches, usually against teams of 18 or 22 players. The first and last matches of the tour were in Melbourne and they also played in Sydney, Bathurst, Ballarat, Bendigo, Castlemaine, Beechworth, Geelong and Hobart. The tour was a great success and made a large profit for the players and tour promoters. After his retirement, Stephenson lived at Uppingham in Rutland and was the cricket coach at Uppingham School. He was an occasional umpire of first-class matches, including the test match between England and Australia at The Oval in September 1880.Harman S. Healy, the owner of this collection, was the grandson of Heathfield Stephenson.

Reference: David Frith. The trailblazers: the first English cricket tour of Australia 1861-62, Southlands, Cheshire, Boundary Books, 1999.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:: Available for Access.
Conditions Governing Use:: Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.