Nunn brothers of Dinmore, Queensland, Australia
The Whitwood cricket team, most likely in 1894, with four Nunn brothers from Dinmore. From known images and my research, Sid Nunn is standing far left and my great grandfather Arthur Nunn is at far right. Beside Arthur is David (aka Dick) Nunn and, seated bottom left, is Albert Nunn.
What follows is research into several Nunn brothers in an image which refers to the winners of the Ivett Trophy for a cricket competition in Ipswich, Queensland in 1895. However, I believe the image to be from 1894 and to be referring to the 93/94 season.
I looked at several newspaper reports from 1892 to 1897 and prepared this page which focuses on the Nunn brothers who played during the years 1894-96 and which I believe supports the following summary.
I first had to decide in which season Whitwood won the Ivett Trophy. A report in June 1894 shows that they were first-ever holders of the trophy which strongly suggests the team in the photograph was from the season played over the summer of 1893/94.
That means that the Whitwood Colliery cricket team image was taken in 1894.
Question on which year
A report in 1895 refers to Southern Stars as the trophy winners and mentions Whitwood as holders for the 1893-4 season. Then a report in August 1896 refers to Limestone Cricket Club as being winners of last season’s Ivett Trophy which means they succeeded Southern Stars as holders.
And even further confirmation is found in this article from 1897 which states that Whitwood was the first holder of the trophy but did not win it in any of the following seasons. And it also suggests that the first organised competition (for the Ivett Trophy) started in 1893.
Here are known images of five of the nine Nunn brothers who played for Whitwood taken at various ages (from left): Walter, David, Arthur, Sid and William.
From 1892, the club was known as Whitwood Colliery. See: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123019101.
What newspaper reports reveal
In April 1892, there was a game played in which six Nunn brothers and five Carew brothers made up one team. See: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123025158. The same item has the following which suggests the Whitwood team was founded that year under the patronage of the Stafford brothers, who operated the mine:
“Mentioning the Nunn’s names reminds me that I am informed that the Whitwood Colliery representatives are desirous of meeting the First Stars, on their own ground – which is not a bad pitch – and, now that they have the assistance of William Lindsay as a bowler, they have an idea that they can give the First Stars a “warm reception” at cricket combat. Well, hurry the challenge along, Whitwood men!”
In May 1892, there’s a report of a match between First Stars and Whitwood (or, in some references, the Stafford brothers representatives). See: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123023206.
So, the photo of the Whitwood mine cricket team then is a significant snapshot of the Nunn family of Dinmore, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia because at least six brothers played for the club.
Who’s who in the team?
http://picture.ipswich.qld.gov.au has the following description of the photo to which I have added Christian names derived from newspaper reports and known photos of Nunn brothers.
Winners of Ivett Trophy, Ipswich, 1895 (93 more likely). Whitwood Mine was at the top of the New Chum Mine near Dinmore. Men in photograph: Sid Nunn (turned 23 in 1895), J.Lindsay, Alex Macgregor, Joseph Ivett (Donor of Assoc. Cup), Charles Walker, R. (David known as Dick) Nunn (turned 27 in 1895), Arthur Nunn (turned 24 in 1895). Second row: David Franklin, Aaron Noble, John Stafford (Vice-President), C. W. L. (Louis) Heiner (Capt.), W. Stafford (Pres.), J. Campbell. Front Row: H.?(Albert, turned 33 in 1895) Nunn, James Burns, Bill Lindsay, G. Williams (Scorer).
Whitwood team performances
from 1893.
My great-grandfather Arthur Nunn is positively identified along with his brothers David (standing beside Arthur; even though he has the initial R beside his name, he was known as Dick, hence it being assumed his first name was Richard) and Sid (again, he is positively identified from other images).
The other Nunn brother is seated bottom left but his initial isn’t visible although an H is suggested. However, by looking through newspaper reports of Whitwood games, I’m convinced it’s Albert.
By reading the summary of the 1893 season (see image) it also confirms that Albert was a significant contributor to the team with 33 wickets for the season while Arthur took 23.
The brothers played in most of games, batting in 17 innings as did Sid, while David (aka Dick) had 13 appearances with the bat.
The summary also matches several names of other individuals in the “1895” photo, so it’s safe to say all the assumptions I’ve made previously should be accurate.
Another observation that should be made is that it is common for players to move between A and B teams.
So we see Albert, Walter and David (aka Dick) appearing in both sides while, for the years closely studied, Arthur and Sid are found exclusively in the A team.
Arthur the all-rounder
From what I know about my great-grandfather Arthur from several of his grandchildren including my Uncle Arnold, he was a quiet man who apparently did not speak much about his life.
However, these newspaper report show he was a capable cricketer in his era.
He married in 1895 and, about 1905, moved from the Ipswich area further north to Central Queensland.
More details on Arthur’s life can be found here.
If you see any problems with my reasoning, or have any suggestions, please contact me at this link – Warren Nunn.
The Nunn family of Dinmore
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