Carl Sharpe

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Following his death in 2016, tributes for Carl Sharpe flowed from many corners of the globe. Amongst the many accolades, Carl was described as ‘a legend and an icon without peer’, ‘a giant among men’ and 'the heart and soul of Orange City Cricket Club’.

Whilst Carl enjoyed and fostered an interest in a wide variety of sporting activities, it was his commitment to the playing, umpiring, coaching and administrative areas of cricket for which he gained the most respect. ‘Mr Cricket’, as he was known, served the local and western district sporting community for more than forty years.

Born in Forbes on 5 December 1937, Carl was educated at Marist Brothers, where he first played cricket and rugby league. It was when Carl and his family moved to Orange in 1956 that his interest in sports grew. Carl worked initially at Western Stores, then joined Seers & Swain Electrical, where he began playing social cricket for the company team.

On 10 December 1960 Carl married Kathleen Lily Norton at St Joseph’s Catholic Church. Between 1962 and 1970 Carl and Kathy had four children: Colin, Allan, Lyn and Kym.

In 1965 Carl played with Waratahs in the second grade competition. While he played primarily in Reserve Grade, ‘Sharpie’ made many A Grade appearances in the Orange and District Cricket Association and Molong competitions. An efficient batsman, Carl accumulated some 1474 runs in Reserve Grade. He also was a competent wicket keeper.

When Waratahs merged with Booms in 1967 to form Orange City Cricket Club, Carl moved into administration. By this time he had served as President of the Molong Association and Secretary of the Western Districts Cricket Council. In later years he served as Secretary, Treasurer and President of the Orange City Cricket Club.

In 1969 Carl founded the Orange City Hockey Club as “something for the cricketers to do in winter.” That same year he instigated reciprocal cricket tours between the Western Districts Cricket Council and Otago in New Zealand, providing the opportunity for young talented cricketers to participate at a high level of cricket on an international stage.

During the 1970s Carl was instrumental in establishing the Orange Eight Day Games and the annual Orange Sports Awards.

Whilst researching the history of cricket in Orange Carl came to realise there were a number of local sports people who had represented Australia and proposed that a hall of fame be created to formally recognise and acknowledge these people. In 1990 he approached Orange City Council to request a venue for such an exhibition. The original Sporting Hall of Fame was located at the Orange Visitor Information Centre and featured 34 local champions. In 2004 the exhibition was augmented and moved online, making it available to a wider audience. [1]

When the NSW Department of Education withdrew funding for sports coaching in remote areas in 1993, Carl went into business with Beth Norrie. Together they established Quality Sporting Services with the vision of continuing support to budding junior sportspeople in western districts. For the subsequent 18 years Carl and Beth worked tirelessly to provide children in remote areas with the best possible opportunity to enjoy their chosen sports and reach their full potential.

On Australia Day 1998 Carl was awarded the Order of Australia “for service to sports administration particularly cricket, in Orange and the Western Region of New South Wales for over 30 years.”

During the 1990s Carl was instrumental in developing cricket in Fiji. In 1997 he coached the country’s Youth Cricket Team and in 1999 he was the national director of coach education in Fiji.

In 2010 Kathy and Carl celebrated their golden wedding anniversary by returning to New Zealand, where they had spent their honeymoon. The following year Carl published The History of Orange Cricket: the game and its people 1911-2011. The 818-page book took 14 years to research and write and was released to coincide with the centenary of the Orange Cricket Club.

Carl Sharpe OAM passed away at Orange Hospital on 1 March 2016, aged 78. He was survived by his wife Kathy, their four children and four great grandchildren. More than 1500 mourners attended a Service of Celebration and Thanksgiving at St Joseph’s Catholic Church on 7 March. The region’s sporting fraternity paid tribute to their friend and mentor by forming a guard of honour stretching several hundred metres along Byng Street.

The high regard in which Carl was held has seen him deservedly honoured with life membership in many sporting bodies. These include Orange City Cricket Club (1969), Orange District Cricket Association (1975), Western Districts (later Mitchell) Cricket Council (1983), Orange City Hockey Club (1990), Orange Hockey Association (1990), Orange District Junior Cricket Association (1990) and Orange Eight Day Games (1994).

Awards bestowed on Carl over the years include Orange Sports Personality of the Year in 1983 and 1997, Rotary International Community Service Award in 1996 and Australian Sports Medal in 2000.

In November 2020 Carl’s widow, Kathy, opened the Carl Sharpe Cricket Centre at Wade Park, named in honour of her late husband.

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